The ending of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker showed Rey (Daisy Ridley) wielding her brand new yellow lightsaber, but it could have been improved with one alteration to its design. The Rise of Skywalker ended the Skywalker saga after nine films and more than four decades of cosmic adventures and family issues of galactic scale. It took a long journey through multiple planets, the deaths of several beloved characters, the resurrection of the eminent foe Emperor Palpatine, and a battle against a massive fleet of Star Destroyers, but Rey and her friends finally achieved the eradication of an ancient evil - at the cost of the Skywalker bloodline.
After the war is over, Rey returns to where it all began. She buries Luke and Leia's lightsabers right next to Luke's hut in Tatooine before revealing the final symbolic element that sets the mark for a fresh beginning: a yellow lightsaber. This new iteration of one of the most iconic elements in all of Star Wars appears to be made with part of Rey's staff and a gear switch instead of a button to activate it, which indicates she's starting a new legacy from scratch.
The materials the new lightsaber is made out of, the color of its blade, and the moment of its first ignition are effective in symbolizing the inception of a new generation of Jedi. However, Rey's new weapon could have gone a step further. Had it been double-bladed, it would have given more weight to the concept of Dark Rey that was set up at the beginning of The Rise of Skywalker but dropped altogether for the rest of the movie. In that nightmarish vision, she wields a foldable double-bladed red lightsaber and she wears a dark robe that presages her turn to the dark side. Making her new Jedi weapon double-bladed would have mirrored that dark side version of herself, but it would also have represented the usage of yellow lightsabers from other parts of the Star Wars lore.
Always a symbol of disengagement from the duality of light and darkness, yellow lightsabers have been known to be wielded by Jedi Sentinels, the Jedi Temple Guard, and even bounty hunter and former Sith Asajj Ventress. The Jedi Temple Guards use thick, foldable, double-bladed yellow pikes, and they focus on detaching themselves from anything that prevents them from following the way of the Jedi, which is the message Rey leaves to the audience at the end of The Rise of Skywalker. The Sentinels were also particularly adamant in their goal to take advantage of old and new technology to pursue a practical and objective approach to the light side of the Force.
Rey struggled to get over her scavenger nature over the course of the sequel trilogy. Even in The Rise of Skywalker, she continued to rely on her staff-handling abilities when she could use either the Force or Luke's lightsaber. Physically and mentally, she regarded her staff as part of herself. A double-bladed lightsaber based on it would have let her evolve as a Jedi but also show that, despite an intense identity crisis caused by her Palpatine lineage, she still carries her own essence. Besides, she could keep her distinct fighting technique and get the chance to have future fight sequences similar to those of fan-favorite Darth Maul - unmistakable for his mastery of the double blade; Rey could be a Jedi counterpart to the Sith Lord.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker leaves Rey's future up to the fans' imagination. With an entire saga over, there's more freedom to explore more innovative adventures for the new Jedi Knight, whether as an unfettered warrior voyaging through the galaxy or as the leader of the new Jedi Order in Tatooine. Whatever comes next for her, it's more than likely that she will keep evolving as a Jedi and obtain more than one improvement to her yellow lightsaber's design.