How Did Luke Get His Green Lightsaber

Because Kyber crystals don't grow on trees.

I listen to a lot of podcasts, and one of my favorite podcast networks has to be the GOLiverse. Starting with Geek Out Loud (become information technology–G.O.50.?), Steve Glosson has expanded over the years from offering a safe place to geek out to shows nearly Star Wars Rebels, rock and roll, a chronological history of the Disney films, a professional wrestling show, and more than. He'southward an amazing podcaster–the type that tin can get you lot interested in listening to him talk near anything.

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Cracking. Really! And then what'due south all this have to exercise with Luke Skywalker?

So, I was listening to his show Insubordinate Yell, and he proffered a very interesting theory virtually the origin of Luke'south green lightsaber from Return of the Jedi.

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For those who don't recall, Obi-Wan Kenobi gave Luke his father's lightsaber in Star Wars, one with a blue blade, which was lost when Darth Vader cut Luke's sword-manus off in The Empire Strikes Back. In Jedi, Luke has a new lightsaber—seemingly out of nowhere–with a green blade. It has one mention in the entire film (Vader: "I see you take constructed a new lightsaber."), but no further information was every given.

Now, lightsabers require Kyber crystals, and those aren't found merely anywhere. By Jedi, almost all of the known locations of rare crystals were known to the Empire and none of them were known to Luke (and so far every bit we know).

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Steve theorizes that the new greenish lightsaber crystal comes from a old saber. One that hadn't been used for a long fourth dimension…a long fourth dimension.

…

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The lightsaber of Qui-Gon Jinn!

But, how tin this be? Qui-Gon died over twoscore years before Return of the Jedi! Consider:

Qui-Gon died in a duel with Darth Maul. Following the decisive blow, Obi-Wan used his master'southward saber to cut Maul in two.

So, where did the old master's saber get after that? Information technology wasn't burned with him. The likeliest possibility is that Obi-Wan kept it in award of Qui-Gon. It was in that chest on Tatooine, right next to Anakin'due south lightsaber, in Star Wars. So, when Luke returned to the desert planet in Return of the Jedi, information technology would yet exist in that location, belongings a Kyber crystal for the taking to construct his new lightsaber.

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I can just promise the new Star Wars comic series eventually gets to tell this story!

This would besides be an interesting piece of connective tissue between The Phantom Menace and Return of the Jedi. Band theory, anyone? It seems like a item Lucas would have considered.

The one flaw in the story: in Episode III, all of Obi-Wan'due south possessions would likely be at the Jedi Temple, which was sacked by the 501st. The simply reason he has Anakin'southward lightsaber is because he took it from Mustafar, and then promptly went into hiding. Unless Kenobi grabbed Qui-Gon's saber when he reprogrammed the distress message at the temple or had it subconscious somewhere off of Coruscant, I can't see how he got information technology to Tatooine. So, it is all entirely plausible, just non airtight.

I hope it'south Qui-Gon'due south lightsaber crystal. I think Luke and Qui-Gon would've gotten forth really well.

-JT

Joseph Tavano is the possessor and editor in chief of RetroZap. Born just months before Luke establish out who his male parent was, he has been fortunate to have had Star Wars in his life equally long as he tin can remember. Growing up just outside of Boston, Massachusetts, he can remember substituting sticks for lightsabers and BMX bikes for speeders. He loves comics, retro games, vintage sci-fi paperbacks, and maps. Though an accomplished drummer, he doesn't crave chance (as much) any more, and prefers his old haunts in Salem, Massachusetts, where he resides with his family. Buy him a glass of whiskey and he'll return it in kind.