Highlights
- Lightsaber colors have little meaning, according to one fan, as shown through arbitrary selections in Star Wars lore.
- Even George Lucas himself made impulsive color choices, like letting Samuel L. Jackson pick his iconic purple saber.
- Fans should enjoy lightsabers as cool weapons without overanalyzing their significance in the Star Wars franchise.
While Star Wars is arguably in a new golden age for lore-building content, one fan has some really strong words concerning one part of the franchise that was formerly steeped in lore but seems to have lost a lot of significance in more recent media.
Star Wars has been at the pinnacle of science fiction for decades, and no single item from the hi-tech galaxy far, far away embodies its appeal more so than the lightsaber. The chosen weapon of the franchise’s Force-sensitive warriors has been a massive draw for fans and a central part of the franchise’s lore, from Jedi having to build their own lightsabers to what the visuals of each saber represent about the character wielding it. The colors carried special significance, often denoting the wielder’s relation to the Force.
Since the acquisition of the Star Wars IP by Disney, there has been a widening gap between lightsaber portrayal onscreen and their expanded Star Wars universe lore, most of which was removed from official canon and committed to the Legends continuity. According to Reddit user WillNatic, however, this diversion is a non-issue, as they believe that the deep and important matter of lightsaber colors has always been entirely meaningless. Taking to r/StarWars on the site, the user uploaded a picture with the caption “Lightsaber colors have no meaning” alongside an apology for the perfectly adequate graphic design. The image highlights multiple instances of lightsaber colors being entirely arbitrary, lending credence to the claim.
The instances include Ahsoka Tano wielding green lightsabers in her early years while completely lacking the lore-stated prerequisite patience and diplomacy (traits that she never quite masters onscreen), as well as Asajj Ventress being seen wielding a yellow blade despite not even being trained as a Jedi at all. More to the point are two instances of the same arbitrary selection by George Lucas himself, someone partly famous for fans constantly digging up his Star Wars plans and musings to settle arguments. Not only did Lucas admit to changing Luke’s lightsaber color so it would contrast better with the environment in one original trilogy scene, but he also let Samuel L. Jackson pick his own iconic Purple saber color on a whim.
It is clear to any observant fan that there was never any real method to the selections of colors in Lucas’ own work, and that the traits and significance associated with the color choices are largely a byproduct of other author’s ideas. With all those works expunged from canon, the only difference that really matters is that red lightsabers are the explicit property of the Dark Side, as Lucas himself confirmed. The rest of the colors seem to simply be based on the color of the kyber crystal used in its creation and mean little else. There are other similar issues with lightsabers not being used as the powerful narrative tools they could be, such as the Inquisitors’ very unique lightsabers not having any real significance. All in all, fans would be better served simply letting the cool laser swords be cool laser swords and nothing else.
The loss of the expanded lore hasn’t been anyone’s favorite thing, but the franchise is healing with its newer projects building that up for better or worse. With Daisey Ridley back for more movies and Patty Jenkins’ Star Wars Rogue Squadron Movie potentially revived, fans might be getting a lot more lore points in the coming years.
The Star Wars franchise is currently available to stream on Disney+.
Source: WillNatic/Reddit
Leave a Reply