There are six fundamental boxes a lightsaber must tick: it must light up and glow when in use, it must be able to cut through an object, it must be retractable, it must make a trademark whooshing ...

Simply clicking to try out the Star Wars Facebook lightsaber profile photo will not change it automatically, so you can experiment with the size and placement of the photo before you make it public.

Flynn Michael is searching the galaxy far and wide for his blade of light — and you, Brooklyn Paper readers, may be his only hope.

Check out the above video for a history lesson that takes you back in time to 1977, when the original “Star Wars” team first created the ingenious, entirely in-camera lightsaber effect.