Star Wars: Rey’s Lightsaber Color in The Rise of Skywalker Revealed

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is officially in theaters this weekend, and it’s providing some closure – as well as a whole lot of unanswered questions – regarding the Skywalker Saga. Over the sequel trilogy of films, fans have gotten to see the journey of Rey (Daisy Ridley), which included wielding quite a lot of lightsabers. Throughout the tumultuous events of The Rise of Skywalker, audiences saw Rey getting her own — and its color proved to be pretty meaningful. Spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker below! Only look if you want to know!

Throughout the film, Rey came to understand her connection to the Jedi order, as well as her own family legacy. At the opening of the film, Rey questioned if she was fit to use the lightsaber of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), but was later reassured by Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) that she was. Through a chain of events, Rey was also led to Leia’s own lightsaber, and she used both in the ensuing fight against Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). In the film’s final sequence, Rey visited the Skywalker family home on Tattooine and buried Luke and Leia’s sabers in the ground below. Shortly after, she ignited her own saber, which had a yellow blade.

To an extent, yellow lightsabers are sort of uncommon in the Star Wars universe, but they bare a surprising amount of significance. The saber color is frequently associated with the Jedi Sentinel, the group of the Jedi Order that combined the diplomacy of the Consulars and fighting skills of the Guardians. Many of the Sentinels also sought out to have practical skills outside of The Force, as they knew they couldn’t rely on their power for every single problem. Many of the Sentinels served as the Jedi Temple Guards, a role that required them to wield a double-bladed yellow lightsaber.

Outside of that, yellow lightsabers have also been linked to Asajj Ventress, the Sith assassin who first debuted in Clone Wars. Ahsoka Tano also wields a greenish-yellow second lightsaber in later seasons of The Clone Wars.

Given Rey’s skills outside of the Force, there is something fitting about having her wield a yellow lightsaber. The color also somewhat alludes to the dichotomies within the Force that Rey exists between – her connection to the Light Side and her family history with the Dark Side. It might not be the “Grey Jedi” reveal that fans were hoping for, but it provides a unique distillation of the journey we’ve seen Rey go on.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is in theaters now.