Vegas Sphere Goes Full Death Star for CES Lego Stunt

Posted on: January 8, 2026, 05:24h. 

Last updated on: January 8, 2026, 05:24h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Vegas Myths Busted.

After two-plus years of being an emoji, a blinking eye and a basketball, the Sphere finally achieved its highest form: a 366‑foot‑tall LEGO Death Star that CES VIPs blew up for fun.

CES is known for over-the-top tech demos, but nothing topped the moment the $2 billion dollar concert venue became a 366 foot tall LEGO Death Star that VIPs could blow up for fun. (Image: YouTube/LEGO)

On Wednesday night, the globular wonder’s 580,000‑square‑foot “Exosphere” was re‑skinned as the brick‑built space fortress with the iconic trench from the original 1977 “Star Wars.” The activation was designed by Sphere Studios in collaboration with The LEGO Group, Disney Consumer Products, and Lucasfilm.

Invited guests — including New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, a lifelong “Star Wars” fan — climbed into a life‑size LEGO X‑Wing cockpit installed outside the venue. Their gameplay controlled the action on the Sphere in real time, culminating in the destruction of the Lego Death Star.

Dart said the experience made him feel “like a kid again,” recalling childhood “Star Wars” costumes and noting that even his on‑field look is inspired by Anakin Skywalker.

I Sense Great Sphere In You

In any other city, turning a $2 billion-dollar concert venue into a playable LEGO Death Star would be unhinged. In Vegas, it was just Wednesday at CES. (Image: AFP via Getty)

The spectacle served as the global reveal for LEGO SMART Play, a new interactive platform launching with Star Wars‑themed sets. SMART Play centers on the SMART Brick, a standard 2×4 LEGO brick containing a custom mixed‑signal ASIC chip, accelerometers, light sensors, a sound sensor, a miniature speaker and wireless charging — allowing LEGO creations to respond to movement, proximity, and interaction with lights and sounds in real time.

Sphere executives framed the activation as a milestone for the venue’s evolving capabilities.

“I think this is going to get people excited, both about Lego as a product launch, as well as about Sphere and the capabilities that we’re doing and unveiling for the first time with Star Wars and Lego,” Marcus Ellington, EVP of ad sales and sponsorships, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The event took place during CES, the biggest annual convention in Las Vegas, where tech companies get to demonstrate their latest gear to entertainment and consumer product execs.

Quickly, the playable Death Star became the most talked‑about demo of the weeklong convention, even eclipsing an AI robot who dealt blackjack.