Rey Skywalker's unique lightsaber may hint at a major change in the Jedi Order as the Star Wars saga continues. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ends with Rey accepting her place in the galaxy as a Jedi, taking on a new name, and showcasing the lightsaber she’s built for herself since defeating Emperor Palpatine once and for all. It’s a new dawn for the Jedi, a chance to build a fresh legacy, and Rey’s unusually sentimental lightsaber might indicate the biggest and most impactful change she will try to implement on behalf of any future Jedi she may be training.
Since The Rise of Skywalker’s release, a lot has been said about the yellow color of Rey’s lightsaber blade and what it might represent. Yellow lightsabers are a rarity in Star Wars canon, most prominently carried by the Jedi Temple Guard in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Some believe that yellow signifies Rey having finally brought balance to the Force. She is not only the living embodiment of all the Jedi, after all, but she carries the Sith legacy within her as well due to her heritage. And yet, the color of Rey’s lightsaber isn’t the only unique aspect of her weapon. Her lightsaber hilt might be equally significant.
Rey's Lightsaber Is Very Unusual For A Jedi
Most of the Jedi lightsabers seen throughout the Star Wars franchise are very traditional. While unique to each wielder, there is a certain sense of conformity between them. Many were made with some sort of steel or silver-colored metal, often adorned with basic color accents like black, white, bronze, or gold. Function above form, at all times. Though there have been more innovative lightsaber hilts throughout the Skywalker saga era, like the Wookiee Jedi Padawan Gungi’s primarily wooden construction, or Ezra Bridger’s first dual-purpose lightsaber (he was also able to shoot energy blasts from it), both of those were still made from new and unfamiliar components. Rey’s lightsaber is a different story entirely.
Rey opted to forge her lightsaber from her old quarterstaff. The shape is very recognizable, and the black color of the primary material makes it unique among previous Jedi lightsabers. This includes the cloth wrapping, which is reminiscent of many of Rey’s outfits throughout the Star Wars sequel trilogy. It incorporates Rey’s scavenger past and her technological savvy as well – while most lightsabers are activated by the press of a button, Rey’s is activated when she slides a circular gear around the hilt. It’s also a retractable mechanism, something not seen with other Jedi lightsabers before.
What Does Rey's New Lightsaber Represent?
What Rey’s lightsaber represents, above all, is an acknowledgment of her past. Instead of trying to forget where she came from, trying to leave the pain of her time on Jakku and the darkness of her family line behind, she embraces it as part of who she is. The quarterstaff served her well in defense of herself, and it will continue to do so in the future, just in a new form. She doesn’t need an entirely clean slate. She can be attached to an object without compromising her integrity or her affiliation with the light side. The future is hers to claim.
This is quite a contrast from whom the Jedi used to be. Force-sensitives were identified from a young age, most unable to remember where they came from. The idea was that an attachment to their previous family or the concept of another home would affect their Jedi training, and there are examples where this came to be true – Anakin Skywalker being inducted into the Jedi Order at 10 years old being the most prominent, of course. Rey’s lightsaber, on the other hand, symbolizes an acceptance of her personal history, an ethos she may well take with her as she builds a new Jedi Order. Abandoning the past entirely didn’t always work for the Jedi in Star Wars, but perhaps embracing it can.