Kylo Ren’s redemption in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker could come thanks to Luke Skywalker’s green lightsaber. The Skywalker Saga is nearing its end with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the third entry in Disney’s Star Wars trilogy, bringing together the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies. The saga began in 1977 with the film now known as Star Wars: A New Hope, and has been expanding ever since not only in film but also television, literature, and more.
Disney’s sequel trilogy began in 2015 with Star Wars: The Force Awakens and introduced fans to a new generation of heroes and villains, among those Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Supreme Leader Snoke, and Kylo Ren. This last one has been a connecting link between the original and sequel trilogy, as he’s Leia and Han Solo’s son, as well as Luke’s former Padawan who turned to the dark side – just like his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, did.
The sequels have included various references to the original and prequel films, along with objects that have become symbols of the Star Wars universe. Among those is Luke’s green lightsaber, which has been one of the notable absences in the sequel trilogy. The lightsaber was seen once in a flashback scene in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and its current location is unknown. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the last chance to explain where it is and, hopefully, bring it back into the story – and what better than as part of Kylo Ren’s redemption.
Luke’s Green Lightsaber Is A Big Sequel Trilogy Mystery
The green lightsaber was Luke’s second lightsaber and was created by him to replace his father’s blue lightsaber, as it was lost after their encounter in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Luke used the weapon while rescuing Han Solo and also during the Battle of Endor. When battling his father in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and almost killing him, Luke realized what he was becoming and threw the lightsaber away, declaring himself a Jedi. Following the Emperor’s “death” at the hands of Darth Vader, Luke recovered the lightsaber.
Luke was almost completely absent in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and only appeared briefly in visions and at the very end of the film, so the green lightsaber had no place in it. As mentioned above, the only time viewers have seen the lightsaber in the sequels was in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, in a flashback scene that showed when Luke sensed the darkness in Ben Solo/Kylo Ren and approached him with the lightsaber activated in order to defend himself. After that, and given that Kylo Ren destroyed the Jedi temple after seeing his master ready to attack him while he slept, it’s unknown what happened to the green lightsaber.
It seems odd that Luke’s second lightsaber hasn’t appeared yet, more so after the blue one showed up in The Force Awakens and has been used by Rey since. The Rise of Skywalker is the last chance to solve the mystery of the green lightsaber and make it part of the story, further connecting the original and sequel trilogies, while also adding more nostalgic elements to this final film.
Where Luke’s Green Lightsaber Could Be In the Rise of Skywalker
Like with every other mystery in the Star Wars sequels, fans have come up with theories on where the green lightsaber could be and what happened to it. Among the most popular theories is one that says R2-D2 has been hiding the green lightsaber. This is supported by R2-D2 showing in Return of the Jedi that it has a storage compartment where it kept the lightsaber. R2-D2 was with Luke in the Jedi Temple when Kylo Ren destroyed it, so the theory says that R2-D2 grabbed the lightsaber at some point during the chaos and has been hiding it in its compartment ever since. Perhaps R2-D2 is waiting for the right moment and person to make use of the green lightsaber, and that person could be Kylo Ren as part of his redemption journey.
Speaking of Kylo Ren, there’s another theory that connects the lightsaber with his signature red, crossguard weapon. This one suggests that Kylo took the green lightsaber and used the kyber crystal in it to build his lightsaber. Because the Sith can’t connect with kyber crystals like the Jedi do, the process to use them in their weapons is completely different and is called “bleeding”. This method consists on pouring all their hate, fear, and other negative emotions into the crystal, causing it to “bleed” and turn red. It’s confirmed that the kyber in Kylo’s lightsaber is cracked, hence why the blades have that unstable and serrated appearance. “Bleeding” the kyber in Luke’s lightsaber to use it in his own would make Kylo’s weapon even more significant and would also represent his relationship with his uncle and former master, along with the hate that drove him to the dark side. On the other hand, it’s also possible that Kylo “bled” the kyber in his blue lightsaber.
However, in The Last Jedi novelization, it’s mentioned that the Caretakers on Ach-To took Luke’s “weapon, his star compass, and his strange other gear to the repository”. Of course, the lack of specificity on the “weapon” makes it possible for it to not be the green lightsaber and instead be something completely different that Luke used as weapon when living in Ach-To (to defend himself from... porgs?) or something the Caretakers believe to be a weapon.
How Luke’s Lightsaber Could Redeem Kylo Ren
The flashback in The Last Jedi showed what happened between Luke and Kylo Ren during his Jedi training and what prompted Kylo to fully turn to the dark side – and the green lightsaber played a very important role. When approaching Kylo while he slept, Luke activated the lightsaber out of instinct, but Kylo woke up and thought his master was about to attack him. Kylo then destroyed the temple and killed the students that refused to join him. The lightsaber, activated in the hands of Luke, was the push he needed to turn to the dark side, and it can also be what brings him back.
Supposing it wasn’t destroyed (and the kyber wasn’t used for the crossguard lightsaber), the green lightsaber would be the perfect way to represent Kylo’s redemption and return to the light side, especially if he can get a hold of it like he expected to with the blue lightsaber in The Force Awakens. Even if many fans believe Kylo Ren can't be redeemed, Star Wars has a history with conversions in final films. Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, and Darth Vader was redeemed and went back to being Anakin in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (which is why his Force Ghost appears at the end as Anakin). With that in mind, there’s no reason to believe Kylo Ren can’t get his redemption moment in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and if Luke’s green lightsaber can play a part in it, it’s almost guaranteed to be a very emotional moment for fans of the saga – and it would further help bring the sequels, original films, and prequels together. Who knows, he might even use it to kill Palpatine, making the weapon even more important in the Star Wars universe.
