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Who needs a lightsaber when you can have a high-powered assault rifle?
Disney is being shot down for featuring what appears to be an unmodified AK-47 in its upcoming “Star Wars” prequel series, “Andor.”
A full-length trailer for the 12 episode series dropped Monday, with fans furious after noticing an unnamed character brandishing what appears to be the controversial rifle during an action scene.
Longtime lovers of the George Lucas sci-fi franchise say the inclusion of the weapon is unfaithful to the “Star Wars” universe and have slammed “Andor” producers as “lazy.”
It’s also likely that gun reform campaigners will be triggered by the appearance of an AK-47 in a Disney show, particularly in light of recent mass shootings.
While “Star Wars” prop teams have frequently used real-life weapons as the basis for fictional munitions featured in the franchise, this appears to be the first time an unmodified real-life weapon has appeared in the “Star Wars” world — and fans aren’t happy.
“5 seconds into the trailer and you’ve already pissed me off,” one fan raged. “The guy has got a f–king AK-47! IN A STAR WARS SHOW! YOU’RE SO LAZY! You couldn’t be bothered to design a space gun. I’m so tired. So very tired.”
“Hard pass, no aliens and just a regular old AK-47. No creativity. Where does this take place.. Russia or Ukraine? How dumb,” another complained.
“That design clearly being a prop AK-47 is just lazy. Hell, the guy looks like he’s wearing a jacket and hoodie. These aren’t Star Wars designs,” a third person fumed.
According to the website Task & Purpose, George Lucas “drew on real life conflicts” when he started making movies back in the 1970s.
For instance, he purportedly claimed that the Rebels, featured in 1977’s “A New Hope,” were inspired by the Viet Cong in the Vietnam War. At the time, many Viet Cong fighters used AK-47s, but Lucas didn’t dream of including the real rifle in his movie. Instead, he used the gun as the basis by which to create the fictional A280 blaster rifle, which was famously featured in the film.
Task & Purpose is bemoaning the seeming lack of imagination in the new “Andor” series, saying the nuance and creativity displayed by Lucas now seem to be in short supply.
“It appears subtext is now just text,” the site tartly wrote.
Meanwhile, the inclusion of the AK-47 could prove problematic for Disney given the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York; Ulvade, Texas; and Highland Park, Illinois.
While none of those mass shootings were carried out with an AK-47, the alleged perpetrators used similar weapons to slaughter their victims. Last week, in the wake of the violent attacks, the House passed a bill that would ban the sale of assault-style weapons, including the AK-47.
The weapon was first designed in the Soviet Union back in the 1940s and became extremely popular across the world in the ensuing decades. According to Britannica, it is “possibly the most widely used shoulder weapon in the world.”
The Post has reached out to Disney for comment. “Andor” premieres on Disney+ on Sept. 21.
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