The weapon of the Jedi and the Sith in Star Wars, the lightsaber is the franchise’s most recognizable weapon, yet one that still has many secrets after almost five decades. Viewers are given the most important information about a lightsaber: it is the weapon of a Jedi, a blade of pure energy, and it can be used to block lasers and cut through objects. The original Star Wars Expanded Universe, now branded as “Legends,” explored the lightsaber in detail through stories, reference guides, and more, and the new canon under Disney has continued this trend by introducing new concepts.
However, certain questions about lightsabers in Star Wars canon have not yet been answered, and some secrets have never been revealed at all. With so many upcoming Star Wars movies, one that will explore the origin of the Jedi Order, there are plenty of opportunities for Disney and Lucasfilm to reveal more about the lightsaber. These stories can create entirely new explanations for the lightsaber, or certain aspects of the weapon could carry over from Legends. Either way, 7 Star Wars secrets still surround the lightsaber after 47 years.
Despite the importance of the lightsaber in Jedi history, the official Star Wars canon has never revealed who created the first lightsaber. Was it built by a member of the Jedi Order or thought of by another group of Force users? How different was the first lightsaber from the one the Jedi would come to use as the guardians of peace and justice? What crisis or insight led the creator of the first lightsaber to invent such a powerful weapon? It would be fascinating if James Mangold’s upcoming Dawn of the Jedi movie explored this character.
While Star Wars canon has not answered this question, other official releases have provided possible explanations in the past. The Legends comic series Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema had the ancient Je’Daii Order of Tython acquire the technology from the Rakatan Infinite Empire, who had created a similar weapon called a Forcesaber that channeled dark-side energy. LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures attributed the first lightsaber to Jedi Master Baird Kantoo, but while this show was released under Disney, it has never been considered canon.
The lightsaber is not only the weapon of a Jedi, but the symbol of the Order. This is a curious decision because while the lightsaber is a powerful tool, it seems odd that the Jedi would choose to make it their symbol. After all, Jedi Master Yoda told Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back that a true Jedi “…uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.” Even though a lightsaber can defend others, it’s still a weapon that will be used for violence, so it’s strange that the Jedi wouldn’t choose a symbol to represent the Force.
One possible explanation comes from the Prime Jedi mural on Ahch-To in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, representing how the original Jedi sought a more literal balance between light and dark, rather than embracing the light side. A group of Jedi that didn’t completely reject the dark side probably wouldn’t take issue with a lightsaber being the symbol of their Order, especially in a more lawless age when the Republic had just been founded. As the centuries went on, the Jedi would have kept the symbol out of tradition, though the Dawn of the Jedi movie could shed more insight.
In both Star Wars canon and Legends, lightsaber colors have always had some meaning or explanation. Blue, green, and purple are the natural and most common hues for kyber crystals, hence why most Jedi lightsaber blades have cool colors. Red lightsabers are made when a Sith Lord “bleeds” a kyber crystal by pouring their anger and hatred into it through the Force, causing the blade to turn a shade of crimson. Yellow lightsabers are used by Jedi Temple Guards, while Ahsoka Tano’s white lightsabers represent how she fights for the light side without being a Jedi.
Orange lightsabers, meanwhile, have no definitive explanation in Star Wars canon. Cal Kestis is the only Jedi to use an orange lightsaber in canon, but this is due to the player’s choice in the Star Wars: Jedi games, making it unclear if it’s an acceptable Jedi color. In Star Wars Legends, orange lightsabers were sometimes associated with Gray Jedi, who attempted to balance the light and dark sides without committing to either. Since Ahsoka‘s Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati are neither Jedi nor Sith, orange blades may signify that someone leans towards the dark side without fully embracing it.
When Anakin Skywalker loses his lightsaber in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Obi-Wan Kenobi reminds him not to lose it again because “This weapon is your life.” Anakin references this line in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 1, episode 22 “Hostage Crisis,” giving his lightsaber to Padmé Amidala to convey how much he loves her. He even uses it to make fun of Obi-Wan in the video game Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Republic Heroes, noting that Obi-Wan of all people should remember his own advice and not lose his lightsaber.
These examples suggest that Obi-Wan’s words are a Jedi saying, or that he believes in them strongly enough to teach them to his apprentice. However, focusing on a weapon seems contrary to Jedi philosophy, which stresses that the Force is supposed to be a Jedi’s greatest ally. This could imply that Obi-Wan forgot what it means to be a Jedi, which would align with the Jedi Order’s fall during the Clone Wars. Telling Anakin not to lose his lightsaber is still good advice, but it would be interesting to know if this is a Jedi phrase or simply Obi-Wan’s perspective.
As a blade of pure plasma energy, lightsabers have been shown to cut through almost anything across the Star Wars franchise. The first thing Obi-Wan Kenobi used his lightsaber for in A New Hope was to block a laser bolt and cut off the arm of his attacker, something that would become a recurring pattern in subsequent movies. The movies and TV shows have repeatedly shown that even the most state-of-the-art battle droids can be sliced like butter with a lightsaber, and Qui-Gon Jinn caused multiple blast doors to overheat and melt just by stabbing his blade through them.
This makes it surprising whenever a lightsaber can’t cut through something, and there’s not always a clear explanation why. Lightsabers can’t penetrate force fields, or cut through pure beskar, and even certain creatures like the Zillo Beast have hides that are impervious to lightsabers. The simple explanation for these examples is that the writers need Jedi to fight enemies who don’t wield lightsabers, and not being able to cut through everything creates a challenge. Even so, Star Wars doesn’t always provide a detailed explanation, leading to some inconsistencies in how strong a lightsaber is.
The Jedi and the Sith have always had a monopoly on lightsabers in Star Wars, and there are a few good reasons why. As the guardians of peace and justice in the Republic, the Jedi were given exclusive access to the kyber crystals that form the heart of a lightsaber. Even if a non-Force sensitive managed to acquire a kyber crystal, the blade would be much more difficult to wield for someone who doesn’t have the Force. For this reason, the Jedi would keep their kyber crystal research and the exact specs for constructing a lightsaber a closely guarded secret.
However, this doesn’t explain why other groups haven’t produced a proper facsimile of a lightsaber, one powered by something other than kyber crystals. General Grievous’ MagnaGuards, the First Order’s Praetorian Guards, and the Knights of Ren all had special weapons that could deflect a lightsaber, and some of them had their own energy beam. If these groups could come that close to creating an energy weapon, why not go one step further and produce their own plasma blades? Finding lightsabers on the black market to repurpose or reverse engineer probably wouldn’t have been hard following the Jedi Purge.
First introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and featured prominently in Star Wars Rebels, the Darksaber has become increasingly important to Star Wars thanks to The Mandalorian. Created by Tarre Viszla, the first Mandalorian Jedi, the Darksaber was one of a kind, which can be seen immediately when activated. Not only is the blade black with a white outline, but it’s shaped like a traditional sword, rather than a saber. Despite Star Wars revealing more about its history and significance to the Mandalorians, very little is known about what makes the blade so unique.
The most glaring mystery is how Vizsla created a black lightsaber with swirling white energy, as it’s unlikely that any kyber crystal would come in that color. It’s also fascinating how Vizsla could change the shape of the blade since most Jedi lightsabers can only change the size and height. Finally, any Mandalorian can wield the Darksaber as long as they can forge a connection, a departure from Force-sensitive being the only one who can wield a lightsaber properly. The Darksaber is simply the latest in a long line of lightsaber secrets that Star Wars still hasn’t answered.