Star Wars Reveals How Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber Became Green in Return of the Jedi

When Luke Skywalker first ignited his lightsaber was green in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi after having lost his father’s lightsaber in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, there weren’t initially questions about the color of the blade. Since that lightsaber’s debut, the mythology of the weapons has grown, leaving fans to speculate about why the blade was green. While there is a much more practical behind-the-scenes reason for the blade being green, the latest issue of the Star Wars comic book series has shed some insight into how Luke’s self-built lightsaber would have a green blade.

WARNING: Spoilers below for Star Wars #35

In hopes of learning more about kyber crystals, Luke meets the mysterious Dr. Cuata, who claims to be an expert on the artifacts. With Luke’s temporary lightsaber being broken, Dr. Cuata breaks down how a lightsaber is constructed and the ways in which the hilt interacts with the crystal it contains. In exchange for working on repairing Luke’s lightsaber, Dr. Cuata asks for Luke to use the Force to connect with a red kyber crystal in hopes of “healing” it. 

In a meditative state, Luke encounters a group of figures seemingly contained in the crystal, while also having visions of Darth Vader. With his efforts to heal the crystal unsuccessful, Dr. Cuata presents Luke with a clear crystal, asking him to similarly connect with the untouched item.

In this meditative state, Luke has visions of Yoda and expresses the challenges he’s been facing when it comes to connecting with the Force. As this series takes place after the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Luke clearly wants to continue his training, the Rebel Alliance’s efforts to rescue Han Solo have prevented Luke from returning to Dagobah.

When Luke exits the meditative state, the clear kyber crystal has become green. Despite his expertise in crystals, Dr. Cuata doesn’t offer any explanation for why the crystal has turned green. In the meditation, though, Yoda refers to Luke as his apprentice, and with Yoda’s lightsaber also having been green, it could be inferred that it’s this connection that the two share that impacted the color of the crystal.

As the issue concludes, Luke takes the repaired lightsaber, as well as the red and green kyber crystals, hoping he could heal the red crystal and utilize the green crystal when he ultimately builds his own lightsaber. 

While fans have waited 40 years for an in-world explanation for the green lightsaber, the actual reason for the change is much more simple. In Return of the Jedi, Luke uses his lightsaber in broad daylight on Jabba’s barge, with the bright blue sky being a similar color to the blue blade seen in previous films. The color was changed merely so audiences could see the blade better, with the change being nothing more than a practical decision to make for better visual storytelling.

Star Wars #35 is on sale now.

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