Owning one of Darth Vader’s lightsabers isn’t just owning a coveted piece of Star Wars history, it’s owning a piece of significant cinema history as well. Since his debut in Star Wars: A New Hope, Darth Vader is widely considered to be one of the most memorable movie villains of all time. Therefore, we weren’t surprised to learn that one of the lightsabers the Sith Lord used in the original trilogy was sold for a whopping seven-figure number recently at an auction hosted by Propstore LA. According to Deadline, Vader’s lightsaber made history as the highest-valued product ever put on sale from the hit franchise.
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So how much did Vader’s iconic red lightsaber fetch at auction? The prop sold for a total $3.6 million, broken down into a $2.9 million price tag for the piece and a $700k premium to Propstore. A jaw-dropping number indeed, especially when you consider the fact that the first Star Wars movie only cost $11m to make (including a $3m overspend on the original budget). For more creative context, James Earl Jones was paid just $7000 for voicing Vader in that same movie – or $37,000 in today’s money – meaning the lightsaber cost almost 100 times what he was paid.
In comparison, a lost Star Wars script found in Han Solo actor Harrison Ford’s London apartment only went for a measly $13,600 in comparison to the lightsaber’s cost. The million-dollar lightsaber in question was used by Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, along with Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and thus, reportedly handled by actor David Prowse, who played the Sith Lord in the original trilogy, in addition to his stunt double Bob Anderson.
The Price of Vader’s Lightsaber is a Testament to His Pop Culture Impact
With the first Star Wars film, A New Hope, nearing its 50th anniversary, we expect that more and more memorabilia from the franchise will sell for millions. The multi-million dollar sale of a single lightsaber is a staggering testament to both Star Wars and Vader’s impact on pop culture. Darth Vader was originally introduced as a villain to young Jedi Luke Skywalker in A New Hope. However, in one of the best plot twists of all time, the Sith Lord revealed that he was in fact the protagonist’s father during a climactic battle in The Empire Strikes Back, with his signature heavy, ventilated breathing and unforgettable deep, dooming voice brought to life by the late, great actor James Earl Jones. That one confession changed Vader from being a one-dimensional villain to a tragic figure and made him one of the most fascinating and complex characters in modern cinema.
Star Wars creator George Lucas delved more into Darth Vader’s background in his prequel trilogy of films, which were released from 1999 through 2005. Over the course of the three films, audiences learned about Anakin Skywalker’s origin and how exactly he went from a prodigious Jedi knight to a feared Sith Lord during the collapse of the Galactic Republic. Actors Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen portrayed Anakin in live action throughout the prequel trilogy, with Christensen recently reprising the role in the Disney+ series Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi and Star Wars: Ahsoka, much to fans’ delight. And we can only imagine the winning bidder and recipient of Vader’s lightsaber is quite delighted, too, at their acquisition.
Would you pay millions for an original lightsaber from the set of Star Wars? Let us know in the comments!
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