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*{{Databank|anakin-luke-and-reys-lightsaber|Anakin, Luke, and Rey's Lightsaber|archivedate=20170504204540}}
 
*{{Databank|anakin-luke-and-reys-lightsaber|Anakin, Luke, and Rey's Lightsaber|archivedate=20170504204540}}
 
*{{Databank|asajj-ventress|Asajj Ventress|archivedate=20190531005019}} {{Po}}
 
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*{{Databank|at-at-walker|AT-AT Walker (All Terrain Armored Transport)|archivedate=20190608111659}}
 
*{{SW|url=bespin-history-gallery|text=Bespin History Gallery|archivedate=20170814025341}}
 
*{{SW|url=bespin-history-gallery|text=Bespin History Gallery|archivedate=20170814025341}}
 
*{{Databank|cave-of-evil|Cave of Evil|archivedate=20170504100309}}
 
*{{Databank|cave-of-evil|Cave of Evil|archivedate=20170504100309}}

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"That lightsaber was Luke's. And his father's before him. And now it calls to you."
―Maz Kanata, to Rey[src]

Skywalker's lightsaber, also known as Anakin, Luke, and Rey's Lightsaber, or simply Rey's lightsaber in later years, was a Jedi weapon constructed by the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars. It was passed down to his son, Luke, and later to the scavenger Rey. Kylo Ren, the grandson of Anakin Skywalker, claimed that the lightsaber belonged to him. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Maz Kanata harbored the lightsaber, in turn, before passing it on to Luke and Rey, respectively. However, as Rey initially rejected the offer, Kanata gave the lightsaber to the renegade stormtrooper Finn, who wielded it against the First Order for a time.

With the loss of his first lightsaber on Geonosis, Anakin built a new lightsaber that would serve as his weapon throughout the Clone Wars. After Anakin's fall to the dark side of the Force, the newly-anointed Sith Lord Darth Vader retained the lightsaber during his attack on the Jedi Temple where he used it to kill his former comrades, including Jedi younglings. Vader also used the lightsaber during his mission to Mustafar where he executed the members of the Separatist Council, but then lost the weapon in a duel with his former Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

For two decades, Kenobi kept his fallen apprentice's lightsaber before passing it down to Anakin's son, Luke Skywalker, who accepted the family heirloom along with the opportunity to become a Jedi Knight like his father before him. Luke would make use of the lightsaber, both as a Rebel freedom fighter and Jedi trainee, until he lost it during an encounter with his father on Bespin. Approximately thirty years after the end of the Galactic Civil War, Skywalker's lightsaber was found by Rey on Takodana. By then, it had fallen into the possession of Maz Kanata, who kept the weapon hidden in her castle prior to the Battle of Takodana.

Though she initially rejected Skywalker's lightsaber, Rey ultimately used it to defeat an injured Kylo Ren during the assault on Starkiller Base. In the aftermath of the Resistance victory, Rey sought out the last Jedi, Luke Skywalker—who had chosen a life of exile on the planet Ahch-To as a result of his nephew's fall to the dark side and the failure to restore the Jedi Order—and presented him with his father's lightsaber. To Rey's surprise, Luke threw his father's lightsaber over a cliff, hoping to lose it again.

Rey reclaimed the lightsaber and trained with it during her time on Ahch-To in spite of Luke's reluctance to train another Jedi. After Luke declined Rey's invitation to leave Ahch-To and join the fight against the First Order, Rey kept the Skywalker lightsaber and journeyed to the First Order Navy flagship Supremacy where she intended to redeem Kylo Ren. She was taken to the throne room of Supreme Leader Snoke, who kept the lightsaber at his side while interrogating Rey. The aspiring Jedi attempted to summon the weapon back into her possession through telekinesis but was overpowered in the Force by the dark side wielder and sentenced to die by Ren's hand. Unknown to the Supreme Leader, Ren subtly manipulated his grandfather's lightsaber with the Force, turning it to face in Snoke's direction before activating the blade to bisect his Master's body. Rey and Ren both used the Skywalker lightsaber to fight the Elite Praetorian Guard, but when their objectives clashed they each attempted to take the lightsaber with the Force, only for the weapon to snap in two due to the stress. Rey then took the broken halves with her on the Millennium Falcon. Sometime after the Battle of Crait, the lightsaber was reconstructed.

Description

"What is it?"
"It's your father's lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age."
―Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi[src]

Like every lightsaber of the Jedi Order,[7] Anakin Skywalker's melee weapon[11] was powered by a kyber crystal in the core of the hilt.[7] As with his previous lightsaber,[12] the new one emitted a blue[11] plasma[13] blade[11] due to the crystal's connection with its first owner.[7] In addition to the crystal, Skywalker's lightsaber possessed other components such as a power cell at the base of the hilt, an activation matrix, and a mechanism to adjust the length of the blade.[8]

History

Carried by Anakin Skywalker

A new lightsaber during the Clone Wars

Anakin Skywalker RotS

During the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker wielded a blue-colored Jedi lightsaber.

After losing his first lightsaber on Geonosis[12] and sometime prior to the battle of Christophsis, Anakin Skywalker built himself a new lightsaber.[2]

When Count Dooku was forced to crash land on Vanqor, Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi pursued him into a cave. However, Dooku then caused a cave in, which buried Skywalker and separated him from Kenobi. Dooku then took his lightsaber, hiding it alongside his and then arranged for transportation with Hondo Ohnaka and his pirate gang aboard their ship to Florrum. However, Dooku lost both his and Skywalker's lightsaber to the pirates. When Kenobi and Skywalker came to check on their claim, Skywalker tried to take his lightsaber back from Pilf Mukmuk to no avail.[14] Skywalker was then able to retrieve from Mukmuk, free himself and Kenobi and hold Ohnaka hostage until Jar Jar Binks arrived.[15]

At some point, Anakin used his lightsaber to teach how to sword fight through a holographic recording. This recording was later found in Kanan Jarrus' Holocron.[16]

Skywalker later used this weapon to duel and defeat Dooku, also known as the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, during the Battle of Coruscant. He later lost the weapon while effecting the rescue of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and it was retrieved by one of General Grievous's IG-100 MagnaGuards. The weapon was then given by the MagnaGuard to Grievous, who briefly wielded it, but Obi-Wan used a trick of the Force to recover it and returned it to Anakin. He would wield this weapon until he took the mantle of Vader.[6]

Weapon of a Sith

"Where is your lightsaber, Lord Vader? Use its power! Defend yourself!"
"Lost in the fight with… Obi-Wan. He…took it."
"That blade belonged to another. A Jedi. You are a Sith."
―Darth Sidious and Darth Vader[src]
ChildrenSlaughter

Several Jedi younglings were murdered by the lightsaber of Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Knight who became Darth Vader.

As Darth Vader, he later used the weapon to slaughter many of his fellow Jedi, including younglings, during Order 66 and his Attack on the Jedi Temple. After this, he used the saber to assassinate the entire Separatist Council on his Mission to Mustafar. He would use the weapon to duel his former master on Mustafar. However, Vader lost the weapon when he was defeated and crippled, the lightsaber falling from his hand to the ashy shores. Reluctantly leaving his former apprentice to burn in the lava, Kenobi retrieved the lightsaber and took it with him.[6]

Carried by Luke Skywalker

Obtaining the weapon

"Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade like your father did."
―Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Luke Skywalker[src]
Lukesaberanh

Luke Skywalker inherited his father's lightsaber from Obi-Wan Kenobi, who took the weapon after defeating Vader.

Anakin's lightsaber remained in Obi-Wan's possession for nineteen years until he was given an opportunity to give the weapon to Luke, Anakin's son, after rescuing the young Skywalker from a Tusken Raider attack. At his home, Kenobi presented Skywalker with his father's lightsaber stating that his father wanted him to have it when Skywalker was old enough but his uncle Owen Lars wouldn't allow it as he thought Skywalker would follow in his father's footsteps and join Kenobi on some "damn fool idealistic crusade".[1]

Following the death of his aunt and uncle, Skywalker became Kenobi's apprentice and started to learn the ways of the Jedi. During his voyage to Alderaan, Skywalker began training with the weapon onboard the Millennium Falcon where he used the Jedi form of Form I, to deflect blaster bolts from a training remote.[1]

Usage on Cymoon 1

"You hold that weapon like an untrained child. You have no right to it."
―Darth Vader, to Luke Skywalker[src]

Following Kenobi's untimely demise at the hands of Darth Vader and the subsequent Battle of Yavin, Skywalker began to teach himself how to wield his father's weapon. On the moon of Cymoon 1, Skywalker participated in an assault to infiltrate and destroy the Weapons Factory Alpha. After the Force guided Skywalker to a cage filled with Imperial slaves, he was confronted by a guard. Skywalker first attempted to use a Jedi mind trick to ward the guard off, but when that failed, Skywalker ignited his lightsaber and sliced the guard's hand off, allowing Skywalker to break the slaves out of their cage and lead them to the other Rebels.[9]

File:Lightsaber revelation.PNG

Vader briefly held the lightsaber he once used as a Jedi.

When he found out that Darth Vader had arrived on the moon, Skywalker searched for him in the facility, as he still believed that Vader was the man who killed his father. As Skywalker approached the Dark Lord, he had his lightsaber drawn and activated as he came face to face with his father's so-called killer.[9]

Vader mocked Luke for his lack of training in lightsaber combat, and he easily pulled the lightsaber out of Luke's grasp through the Force. However, before Vader could strike the unarmed Luke down, he suddenly recognized Luke's lightsaber as his own former weapon. Luke managed to escape from Vader after Han Solo and Leia Organa broke through the wall with a stolen AT-AT, while Vader used Luke's lightsaber to kill several escaped slaves. Luke was able to retrieve the weapon when Vader was shot at using the walker's guns,[17] and continued to use it, but the encounter left Vader eager to learn more about Luke's identity and heritage.[18]

Usage on Tatooine

"You're running out of options. And blood. Put down the lightsaber."
―Boba Fett, to Luke Skywalker[src]
Luke deflects SW6

Luke defends himself from Boba Fett

When Skywalker returned to Tatooine to learn more about the ways of the Jedi, Skywalker used his lightsaber to defend himself against Tusken Raiders that were raiding Kenobi's home, managing to scare them off.[19] He also used it against the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who was sent by Vader to learn more about Skywalker. Though Luke managed to escape from Fett, the bounty hunter was still able to inform Vader of Luke's name, which all but confirmed Vader's suspicions.[20]

Stolen on Nar Shaddaa

"You want the saber? Come and get i—wha?"
"Thanks. Don't mind if I do."
―Luke Skywalker and a thief[src]

After escaping Tatooine, Luke felt that he had to visit the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. To find someone that would take him safely to Coruscant, he traveled to Nar Shaddaa. After entering a bar, the Zabrak bartender ordered the bar's patrons to kill him. As he was about to be attacked by the mob of customers, Luke ignited his lightsaber in defense. The bartender stopped, and offered to sneak him onto Coruscant in return for the lightsaber. Skywalker declined the offer, so the bartender once again told his customers to kill him. Luke tried to defend himself, but the lightsaber was stolen by a thief, who ran off with it.[21]

Luke duel SW10

Luke fights several MagnaGuards

Luke chased after the thief, who leapt off a roof and grabbed onto a passing ship. Luke leapt after him, knocking both the thief and his lightsaber to the ground. After landing, Luke retrieved his lightsaber, but turned around to find Grakkus the Hutt behind him, declaring the lightsaber his property. Luke refused, and Grakkus sent two IG-100 MagnaGuards after him. He tried to fight back, but one of the droids struck him with its electrostaff, knocking him to the ground. Grakkus knocked Skywalker out, taking both him and his lightsaber to his palace.[22] Once at Grakkus' palace, Luke was sent to face off against a man known as "the Gamemaster", who returned his lightsaber to him. At first, Luke was unsuccessful in defending himself against the Gamemaster, who managed to knock him down onto the ground. Luke continued to duel, both against the Gamemaster, and then against several more MagnaGuards.[23] Grakkus then put Luke up against "Kongo the Disembowler", but gave him a lightsaber that was not his own.[24]

While Luke was fighting against the roggwart, R2-D2 found his lightsaber, and returned it to Luke, who was being dragged away by several TIE fighter pilots. Luke retrieved his weapon and cut the pilots down, but was confronted by the Gamemaster, who revealed that he was an Imperial stormtrooper. Before he could take Luke prisoner, he was grabbed by Grakkus, and Luke, who had escaped him, was rescued by his friends.[25]

Usage on Vrogas Vas

"Really. This is getting to be rather monotonous with the arms, don't you think?"
―0-0-0, after Luke Skywalker slices his arm off[src]
0-0-0 loses an arm SW13

Luke disarms 0-0-0

Still seeking knowledge of the Jedi, Skywalker visited Vrogas Vas, learning that a Jedi Temple existed on the planet. With the help of Doctor Aphra, Vader tracked Luke there, but Luke collided his X-wing into Vader's TIE Advanced, causing them to both crash on the planet.[26] Aphra, who had followed Vader to Vrogas Vas, managed to locate and kidnap Luke with the help of the protocol droid 0-0-0.[27] Han Solo and Chewbacca also arrived on the planet, and encountered Aphra. Chewbacca tore one of Triple-Zero's arms off, allowing Luke to escape. Luke activated his lightsaber, cutting the droid's second arm off, before stabbing his lightsaber through Triple-Zero's torso. Although Triple-Zero survived, the damage he sustained slowed him down, letting Luke, Han, Chewbacca and R2-D2 escape.[28]

Defending the Harbinger

"Surrender. I warn you, I know how to use this."
"Do you? You sure didn't the last time we met."
―Luke Skywalker and Kreel[src]
Luke vs Kreel SW24

Luke fights with Kreel

During the Rebel Alliance's attempt to hijack the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Harbinger,[29] the Star Destroyer was boarded by SCAR Squadron, led by Sergeant Kreel, who Luke had encountered as the Gamemaster on Nar Shaddaa. Kreel and Luke met, and Luke defended himself with his lightsaber, dueling Kreel. As they fought, Darth Vader arrived above Tureen VI,[30] and ordered Kreel to keep Luke alive. Kreel managed to knock Luke down while he was distracted by Vader's presence, but Luke pushed him back, trapping him under a pile of debris.[31]

Mission to the Vagadarr system

With the rocks SW30

Luke faces Garro with his lightsaber

After reading a journal entry written by Kenobi,[32] Luke ventured to a planet in the Vagadarr system, where he met Garro, a former Rockhawker who had taught Yoda in the ways of the stonepower.[33] Garro, who needed Luke's life force to kill what was left of the giants who once inhabited the planet, attacked him with several knives made of blue stone. Luke drew his lightsaber, telling Garro that he would rather let the creatures live. He deflected several knives that Garro aimed at him, and Garro realized what he had to do, sacrificing himself to bring life to the planet again. Luke then used his lightsaber as a source of light when entering the caves of the great mountain.[34]

Usage on Ktath'atn

Doctor Aphra, wishing to get the Queen of Ktath'atn to activate her Rur crystal, went to Ktath'atn with Luke Skywalker, hoping that the Queen would trade him for the crystal's activation.[35] However, the Queen did not intend to provide anything in return, setting Abersyn symbiotes loose on them.[36] As Luke and Aphra escaped through the Citadel of Ktath'atn, Luke stopped, drawing his lightsaber to hold off a horde of possessed zombies. Before he could do so, Han Solo crashed Aphra's ship, the Ark Angel II, nearby. Sana Starros, who had been on the ship, shot at Aphra, but Luke blocked it with his lightsaber. They were then forced to run from the Queen's servants, and Luke continued to use his lightsaber to deflect the shots they were firing.[37]

Luke kills the queen Aphra8

Luke kills the Queen of Ktath'atn

After Luke was taken prisoner by the Queen,[37] who wished to feed on his Jedi energy, his lightsaber was taken from him and placed on a table nearby. Luke managed to break free of the machine he was held in, and retrieved his weapon, brandishing it at the Queen. The Queen disappeared in front of him, reappearing nearby. Before the Queen could attack, Aphra triggered an explosion, breaking through the wall. One of the Abersyn symbiotes infected Luke,[38] and he faced off against the Queen. With the help of Eternal Rur, Luke broke free from the parasite, and struck the Queen down with his lightsaber.[39]

Stranded

"Look out, he's got a—"
―A shoretrooper, shortly before being killed by Luke Skywalker[src]
Luke vs shoretroopers SW33

Luke attacks several shoretroopers

After he and Leia crashed on an ocean planet, Luke was forced to use his lightsaber in combat against the native wildlife, such as the spikeshark. Three weeks after they had crashed, they discovered the existence of an aquatic species native to the planet. When first encountering the species, Luke ignited his lightsaber, but put it away when he realized the creatures were harmless. Knowing their presence on the planet endangered the species, they drew the Empire, who had been searching the planet for them, onto the island they were stranded on. The Imperials attacked the island with walkers and shoretroopers, and Luke used his lightsaber to kill several troopers. Luke and Leia managed to defeat the Imperial forces, and escaped the planet.[40]

Usage on Jedha

"You have a lightsaber! Are you…Jedi?"
"Well…I'm trying!"
―Chulco Gi and Luke Skywalker[src]

On the moon of Jedha, Luke used his lightsaber to defend several members of the Partisans from a group of snowtroopers. As they escaped on a spamel, Luke deflected shots from a patrol transport, allowing them to reach the Millennium Falcon unharmed.[41] While in the settlement of Ai-jed, Luke noticed several stormtroopers incinerating the residents. Before anyone could plan a counterattack, Luke drew his lightsaber and attacked the stormtroopers, killing the entire group. The incident made Luke understand what was at stake on Jedha, and he wished to do more to help.[42]

Luke confronts Kanchar SW42

Luke confronts Officer Kanchar

Benthic took him to destroy a drill citadel that the Empire had dropped onto the moon. Luke used his lightsaber to carve a hole in the drill, allowing them to enter. After the drill citadel had been destroyed, Luke went with Chulco Gi to visit the shrine of the Central Isopter. On their way to the shrine, they were attacked by a sand slug, and Luke killed it with his lightsaber. They were met by several cultists,[43] who spoke to them. Gi was corrupted by the dark side of the Force, attacking Luke. With no other choice, Luke killed Gi with his lightsaber.[44] Luke later used his lightsaber to break out of a storage crate on the Leviathan. Once aboard the crawler, he confronted Kanchar,[45] and fought with him. Kanchar used his cybernetic arm to defend himself, knocking Luke back using a flamethrower. Luke disabled Kanchar's cybernetics with an ion torpedo, allowing him to knock the officer unconscious.[46]

Mission on Mon Cala

"Seriously, Chewie, I—"
"Turn off the damn saber!"
―Luke Skywalker and Han Solo[src]

As part of the Rebel Alliance's mission to recruit the Mon Cala Mercantile Fleet,[47] Leia led a team to rescue the changeling Tunga Arpagion from the Dex Acquisitions Depot on Meor Ain. When R2-D2 was unable to open the door to the cell, Luke used his lightsaber to cut the panel out of the door so that Chewbacca could knock it down.[48]

Luke on Strokill Prime

Luke ignites his saber underwater

Their mission later took them to Strokill Prime, where the Mon Calamari king, Lee-Char, had been imprisoned. Once they were under the surface of the planet's ocean, their submersible was attacked by an opee sea killer.[49] Luke exited the craft, telling Han to disable its lights. After swimming away, Luke ignited his lightsaber, drawing the creature away from the craft. As the creature moved to attack Luke, he was saved by Chewbacca, who tried to tell him to turn his lightsaber off. Unable to understand him, Luke kept the lightsaber on, and Han had to interrupt and translate the words Chewbacca was saying. Luke switched off his lightsaber, causing the opee sea killer to crash into a rock wall nearby.[50]

Usage on Crait

"Where I come from--When someone pushes you--you push back harder!"
―Luke Skywalker to Kreel[src]
Luke vs Kreel on Crait

Luke duels Kreel

In an attempt to find a new base of operations for the Rebellion, Luke visited the planet of Crait with Leia, Han, Chewbacca and several other rebels. Their guide, Trusk Berinato betrayed them, and had signaled the Empire, who sent Kreel's SCAR Squadron to fight the rebels. While fighting the stormtroopers on V-4X-D ski speeders, Luke was shot down, and his speeder crashed. Kreel confronted him, drawing his lightsaber. Luke ignited his own lightsaber, defending himself from Kreel. As they fought, several vicious worms emerged from below the ground. The worms grabbed onto Kreel, trapping him. While Kreel was distracted by the worms, Luke swung his lightsaber at Kreel's, destroying it. Kreel managed to survive the duel, however, and fled the planet.[51]

Usage on Hoth

When Skywalker was captured by a wampa, a creature native to the ice planet of Hoth, he found himself hanging upside down from the ceiling of a cave that the wampa resided in. Seeing his lightsaber on the ground, he used the Force to call the weapon to him, cutting himself free and slicing off one of the wampa's arms allowing him to escape.[10]

When Solo found Skywalker nearly frozen to death, he used the lightsaber to cut open his dead tauntaun and keep Skywalker warm while he put up shelter.[10]

During the Battle of Hoth, Skywalker used the combined ability of a grappling device and his lightsaber to cut open a hatch on the bottom of an Imperial AT-AT walker prior to throwing in an explosive to destroy the enemy vehicle.[10]

Usage on Dagobah

"Your weapons. You will not need them."
―Yoda, to Luke Skywalker[src]
Luke-trial

Skywalker wielded his father's lightsaber against an apparition of Vader.

During his training with Jedi Master Yoda on the planet Dagobah, Skywalker entered a cave that was strong with the dark side as a test given by Yoda. In the hollow, Skywalker had a vision in which he faced Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith. As Skywalker used his lightsaber to decapitate Vader with a high lightsaber blow, the illusory Sith Lord's helmeted head rolled on the floor, and the face shield cracked open to reveal the young Jedi's own countenance behind the mask.[10]

Usage on Bespin and loss

Lukenohandsma

Skywalker was defeated by Vader, resulting in the loss of his lightsaber and right hand.

Following his duel in the dark side cave, Skywalker received a Force vision of his friends being in danger on the Cloud City on Bespin. There, he faced Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel, where Skywalker demonstrated his new found skills with the weapon that impressed even the former wielder. However, Vader ultimately won the duel when he sliced Skywalker's hand off that was holding his lightsaber and it fell, along with the lightsaber it carried, into the depths of Cloud City.[10] After recovering from his injuries and replacing his severed hand with a synthetic one, Skywalker built himself a new lightsaber to replace the one he lost.[52]

Carried by Finn

"That lightsaber… It belongs to me."
"Come get it."
―Kylo Ren and Finn[src]
File:Finn Lightsaber Stance.jpeg

Although Skywalker's lightsaber called to Rey, Finn wielded it for a brief time.

The lightsaber resurfaced some thirty years later on the planet Takodana, in the possession of Maz Kanata, though the old spacer was very secretive regarding exactly how she got it. When Rey, Finn, BB-8, and Solo visited Maz Kanata's castle, the lightsaber awoke and called out to Rey, who ventured into the castle's basement and found the lightsaber inside Maz's curio box. Upon touching it, she received a series of visions and recoiled in horror, rejecting Kanata's attempt to give her the lightsaber. Han, who had been a close friend of Luke's, asked Maz where she got the weapon, but she dismissed him, saying it was a story for another time. Finn later took it for safekeeping. Shortly after, the First Order attacked after having been informed of the presence of BB-8. Finn used the lightsaber in the battle, killing at least one trooper by running him through with the blade and then fought against the shock-baton wielding FN-2199, who nearly defeated him before getting blown away by Han Solo. After the attack on Takodana, the Resistance moved to attack Starkiller Base in an attempt to stop the First Order from firing its primary weapon at the Resistance base on D'Qar. Finn used the lightsaber again in a confrontation with Kylo Ren while on Starkiller Base, taunting the dark knight to "Come get it" after Ren demanded he hands the lightsaber over. Though Finn put up a good fight considering his lack of training and the inherent dangers of wielding a lightsaber, he was ultimately bested and struck across the back, but not before hitting Ren's shoulder.[5]

Carried by Rey

Victory on Starkiller Base and Ahch-To

Rey SWI168

Though reluctant to accept the weapon, Rey used the lightsaber to fight back against Kylo Ren.

After dispatching Finn, Ren attempted to summon the lightsaber to him, regarding it as his own property due to its history. However, much to the surprise of both of them, it instead flew past him and into Rey's outstretched hand, the girl having instinctively used her powers to call it to her. Armed with the legendary lightsaber, Rey dueled and overpowered Ren with the help of the Force. Rey and Finn were then rescued by Chewbacca aboard the Millennium Falcon. After discovering the planet where Luke Skywalker was hiding, Rey, accompanied by Chewbacca and R2-D2, ventured to the planet aboard the Millennium Falcon, eventually finding Luke and presenting him with his father's lightsaber.[5] Luke took the weapon from Rey and examined it for a moment, then discarded it with an offhand throw over his shoulder. The lightsaber was examined by some curious porgs, avians native to Ahch-To, and came dangerously close to switching it on but Rey shooed them away and retrieved it before they could and kept it with her for the duration of her stay on Ahch-To. She briefly used it to train and hone her skills while she was with Skywalker,[3] with a porg even snatching it and attempting to escape with into the ocean with it before Rey used the Force to pull the fleeing bird back to her and retrieve the weapon.[53] Her attacks became faster and more aggressive until she sliced apart a rock pillar with it. The pillar then rolled down the hill and smashed a wheelbarrow being pushed by native Lanai Caretakers, who were quite miffed.[3]

Aboard the Supremacy and destruction

"I'll take that. It belongs to me."
"Strange, then, that it called to me at the castle… And not to you."
―Kylo Ren and Rey, referring to the Skywalker lightsaber[src]
Mine mine mine

Rey and Kylo Ren engaged in a tug of war over the saber

Discouraged by Skywalker's lack of action, Rey took the weapon with her as she departed Ahch-To with Chewbacca aboard the Falcon. She allowed herself to be captured by Kylo Ren and was taken before Supreme Leader Snoke, who placed the lightsaber on the arm of his throne while he confronted and tortured her. Rey attempted to summon the saber with the Force, but Snoke pulled it back, hitting Rey in the head before it flew back to his hand. The Supreme Leader ordered Ren to kill Rey, though the apprentice manipulated Rey's lightsaber to point at Snoke, leading him to believe Ren was preparing to slaughter Rey with his own lightsaber. This deception allowed Ren to ignite his grandfather's lightsaber, burning through Snoke's body before Ren called it Rey's hand, bisecting the Supreme Leader.[3]

Snoke's Elite Praetorian Guard attacked Snoke's killers, forcing Rey to defend herself with her blade. Rey dispatched several guards during the skirmish and threw the lightsaber to Ren in order for him to kill the final guard by igniting it through his face-plate.[3]

Broken saber

The broken saber

After the battle, Ren offered Rey a place at his side as the new Supreme Leader of the First Order, which she refused and attempted to take her lightsaber back by way of the Force. The two simultaneously pulled at the weapon, trapping it between them as they expended powerful Force energy to reclaim it. The strain cracked the weapon's hilt in two and released a surge of energy that knocked the two combatants back, rendering Ren unconscious. Rey escaped with the pieces of the more than fifty-year-old relic and took them with her when she joined the Battle of Crait. During the battle, Luke Skywalker stepped onto the battlefield, appearing to wield his father's lightsaber against Kylo Ren, though this was actually an illusion brought about by a Force projection sent by Skywalker from Ahch-To through the power of the Force. The shards of the actual lightsaber remained on the Falcon with Rey. After Leia spoke with Rey telling her that "They had all they needed", this inspired her as the last of the Jedi to repair the lightsaber.[3]

Reconstruction

Eventually, Rey was able to repair the lightsaber of the Skywalker family sometime after the Battle of Crait and went to use it against a TIE starfighter on a desert planet.[4]

Behind the scenes

Graflex

A Graflex flash similar to the one used for the lightsaber in the movies

Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith was machined to look like Luke Skywalker's lightsaber from Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back as they are canonically one and the same.

The original hilt carried by Mark Hamill in A New Hope was made from the flash attachment of a Graflex 3 cell flash unit, a flash tube attachment used on forties-era press cameras, with the ridged grips made by gluing portions of hard plastic T-track used for cabinet sliding doors (often mistaken for wiper blades) onto the bare cylinder, and the switch plate fashioned from the LED display of an Exactra 19 or 20 calculator. A D-ring assembly was also added to the bottom.[54] The lightsaber used in The Empire Strikes Back was again based on a Graflex, but the 'T' tracks were instead screwed on and were only 6 instead of 7, the switch plate was replaced with part of a circuit board, the Graflex logo was covered with mylar tape, and part of a Kobold camera flash was used to create the D-ring assembly.[55]

For Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, genuine Graflex flash units were used to make the lightsaber props. They were based on a hybrid of the A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back versions, as they feature the "glass eye" and "beer tab" top half parts from A New Hope, and circuit boards and 'T' tracks attached via screws bottom half from The Empire Strikes Back. To hide the Graflex logo, a "wrap" was created that covers most of the flash unit's clamp. The clamp appears more golden colored in The Force Awakens.

In the original script for The Force Awakens, it was originally intended to begin the film with the lightsaber falling through space, tracing the history of where the lightsaber had been and explained how Maz Kanata acquired it, but director J.J. Abrams discarded the idea, teasing that it was a story which could be told later on.[56]

Appearances

Non-canon appearances

Sources

Notes and references

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
  2. 2.0 2.1 Star Wars: The Clone Wars film
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi
  4. 4.0 4.1 SWYTlogo Star Wars: Episode IX – Teaser on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 StarWars-DatabankII Kyber Crystal (Lightsaber Crystal) in the Databank (backup link) ("At the heart of every Jedi lightsaber is a kyber crystal...")
  8. 8.0 8.1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Star Wars 1: Skywalker Strikes
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 StarWars-DatabankII Anakin, Luke, and Rey's Lightsaber in the Databank (backup link)
  12. 12.0 12.1 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
  13. Star Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide
  14. TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Dooku Captured"
  15. TCW mini logo Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Gungan General"
  16. Rebels-mini-logo Star Wars Rebels — "Shroud of Darkness"
  17. Star Wars 2: Skywalker Strikes, Part II
  18. Star Wars 3: Skywalker Strikes, Part III
  19. Star Wars 5: Skywalker Strikes, Part V
  20. Star Wars 6: Skywalker Strikes, Part VI
  21. Star Wars 8: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part I
  22. Star Wars 9: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part II
  23. Star Wars 10: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part III
  24. Star Wars 11: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part IV
  25. Star Wars 12: Showdown on the Smuggler's Moon, Part V
  26. Vader Down, Part I
  27. Darth Vader 13: Vader Down, Part II
  28. Star Wars 13: Vader Down, Part III
  29. Star Wars 22: The Last Flight of the Harbinger, Part II
  30. Star Wars 24: The Last Flight of the Harbinger, Part IV
  31. Star Wars 25: The Last Flight of the Harbinger, Part V
  32. Star Wars 26: Yoda's Secret War, Part I
  33. Star Wars 29: Yoda's Secret War, Part IV
  34. Star Wars 30: Yoda's Secret War, Part V
  35. The Screaming Citadel, Part I
  36. Star Wars 31: The Screaming Citadel, Part II
  37. 37.0 37.1 Doctor Aphra 7: The Screaming Citadel, Part III
  38. Star Wars 32: The Screaming Citadel, Part IV
  39. Doctor Aphra 8: The Screaming Citadel, Part V
  40. Star Wars 33: Rebels in the Wild
  41. Star Wars 38: The Ashes of Jedha, Part I
  42. Star Wars 39: The Ashes of Jedha, Part II
  43. Star Wars 40: The Ashes of Jedha, Part III
  44. Star Wars 41: The Ashes of Jedha, Part IV
  45. Star Wars 42: The Ashes of Jedha, Part V
  46. Star Wars 43: The Ashes of Jedha, Part VI
  47. Star Wars 44: Mutiny at Mon Cala, Part I
  48. Star Wars 45: Mutiny at Mon Cala, Part II
  49. Star Wars 46: Mutiny at Mon Cala, Part III
  50. Star Wars 47: Mutiny at Mon Cala, Part IV
  51. Star Wars: The Last Jedi – The Storms of Crait 1
  52. Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
  53. ForcesOfDestinyLogo-Dplus Star Wars Forces of Destiny — "Porg Problems"
  54. "ANH Skywalker Lightsaber" on The Parts of Star Wars
  55. "ESB Skywalker Lightsaber" on The Parts of Star Wars
  56. Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens Director J.J. Abrams commentary

External links