Continuing their coverage of The Last Jedi in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, Vanity Fair spent some time chatting with Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo on the subject of that elegant weapon known as the lightsaber. A few key parts from the article are included below, but be sure to take the supplied source link for the full read.
On why Luke has a green-bladed lightsaber in Return of the Jedi as opposed to the blue one seen earlier in the OT:
“The intent was the lightsaber was going to be blue,” Hidalgo explains of the story that has passed into Star Wars lore. “In that universe, at that time, as far as anyone knew, lightsabers were red or they were blue.” But Luke’s weapon was changed to green so it would stand out against the bright blue sky and yellow sand, in scenes such as the Jedi’s daring rescue of Han, Leia, and the rest. “As much as we like to mythologize why it’s green and what that all signifies,” Hidalgo explains, “sometimes there are very pragmatic filmmaking reasons behind these things.”
In The Force Awakens, why did Luke’s lightsaber fly past Kylo Ren during the snowy finale and into the hands of Rey?
“In general,” Hidalgo explains, “a lightsaber belongs to the person who constructed it.” Obviously not the case here with Rey. “In The Force Awakens, Maz says that the saber is calling to Rey now. Whether or not it’s literally calling to her to become hers or it’s calling to her because she knows it will be taken back to Luke—we’ll see,” Hidalgo hints.
Speaking of that iconic blue lightsaber, who does Lucasfilm classify it’s owner is after the events of Episode VII? And will Luke’s green saber be making another on-screen appearance?
Either way, the blade is no longer considered Anakin’s lightsaber by the Lucasfilm marketing department. It has now officially been dubbed “Rey’s.” As for that green lightsaber Luke made for himself, it has yet to resurface in any of the marketing materials surrounding the current trilogy. Has Luke abandoned it along with, potentially, his faith in the Jedi way? Will we see Luke wield it again in The Last Jedi?
Hidalgo says vaguely yet reassuringly: “We take to heart the lesson that Obi-Wan tried to impart to Anakin: ‘This weapon is your life.’ We’re not ones to lose track of lightsabers.”
