Star Wars’ New Lightsabers Break 3 George Lucas Era Rules

Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi introduces brand new lightsabers that break three major rules from the Lucas era. They may not be canon, but the Visions stories are easily some of the best Star Wars stories we’ve had in the Disney era. Until now, each episode was an opportunity for a new animation house to play in George Lucas’ sandbox. We’ve had the epic artistry of El Guiri Studios’ “Sith,” Kamikaze Douga’s incredible story “The Duel,” and even an episode by Wallace and Gromit creators Aardman Animations.

The Ninth Jedi is something new, though. This eight-episode series spins out of Visions, with Production I.G. telling an incredible story of what comes after the Jedi and the Sith. This is a creative retelling of Star Wars, and it plays all the classic tropes; we have Chosen One analogues, hero princesses, superweapons more dangerous than the Death Star, and riffs on so many iconic story points. And yet, the story also features lightsabers that break three Lucas-era rules… in the best possible way.

The Ninth Jedi’s Lightsabers Change Color Based On Your Emotions

We were introduced to this distant future timeline back in Visions Season 1 (in an episode now released online to celebrate the new show). The star is Lah Kara, daughter of a celebrated sabersmith called Lah Zhima. He’s figured out how to recreate the legendary lightsabers of Jedi and Sith, but it turns out his sabers are different; they actually change color. At first, Kara and her fellow would-be Jedi believe the color denotes your orientation in the Force, with the Jedi claiming traditional lightsaber colors of blue, green, and yellow; the last of the Sith wind up with red blades, of course.

But The Ninth Jedi shifts this, revealing the lightsaber color doesn’t reflect orientation at all. Rather, the kyber crystals inside these lightsabers are bonded to the wielder’s emotions. They tell you what the wielder is feeling; when they turn red, it simply reflects anger, hatred, or fear. Jedi do not tend to wield red, simply because they have chosen not to be mastered by their emotions, instead mastering them. Jedi serenity naturally shifts away from the red you’d associate with the Sith.

The Ninth Jedi Introduces a New Lightsaber Color

Modern Star Wars viewers are used to the idea lightsabers can be pretty much any color under the sun; Ahsoka, for example, introduced orange lightsabers (and never saw the need to explain them). Looking back, though, Lucas was originally rather conservative over the range of colors you could have. All that changed when Samuel L. Jackson appealed to him for a purple lightsaber, and Lucas eventually caved in. Since then, we’ve had an ever-expanding number of lightsaber colors, and most of them have been pretty spectacular.

The Ninth Jedi adds a new color to the mix: silver. This time, there’s a story purpose behind it; it’s a result of Lah Zhima’s new approach, because his crystals are bonded to their wielders on an emotional level. Silver is the color of nothingness, and the color was first seen when Lah Zhima killed his own master. The Ninth Jedi‘s villain Nawaam has dedicated his life to recreating the silver lightsaber, viewing emotional numbness as the highest form of enlightenment. By the end of the show, several characters have successfully mastered the silver blade – and even moved beyond them.

Star Wars Brings Back a Forbidden Lightsaber Form

Finally, The Ninth Jedi brings back a forbidden lightsaber form. Previously established in the old Expanded Universe, and seen in canon in The Acolyte, Trakata is one of the most unusual, unique techniques: a practitioner actually switches their lightsaber on and off during combat, tricking their opponent. It’s typically used to achieve a quiet, lethal victory, because the practitioner feints a strike, causes their opponent to over-commit, and then strikes them down when they reactivate the blade. The Ninth Jedi uses it as a very different way, as the pinnacle of Jedi combat.

In The Ninth Jedi, a true master can use Trakata to overwhelm an opponent. Rather than use it to strike a quick, lethal blow, such a practitioner deactivates their blade at the moment it’s about to kill, and then reactivates it a second later. The opponent becomes shockingly aware they have been outclassed in every way, because they’re unable to defend themselves from a succession of blows. In The Ninth Jedi, Trakata is possible only to true masters.

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