Marvel Gave Luke Skywalker A New Lightsaber Color, And ‘Star Wars’ Fan Reactions Are Mixed

After losing his hand in a climactic duel with Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker didn’t seem to miss a step when he stormed Jabba the Hutt’s Palace wielding a new, green lightsaber to close out the original Star Wars trilogy in Return of the Jedi. But in a very on-brand move — we’re talking about a franchise that explained how Han Solo got his last name — the latest Star Wars series from Marvel Comics will explore how the young Jedi coped with the loss of his blue lightsaber, what happened to it in the aftermath of his first fight with Vader, and in the biggest surprise of them all, what he used in the interim before building his now iconic green blade.

In "Star Wars" #6, he ignites a new one: https://t.co/MQ1FbJBeDC pic.twitter.com/3358FvRsuz

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) February 18, 2020

Having Luke wield a yellow lightsaber ties the character even more closely to Rey, who not only took on his family name at the end of The Rise of Skywalker, but fired up a yellow saber of her own just before the credits rolled. However, this connection has angered some Star Wars fans who aren’t exactly thrilled that Rey may have become even more derivative of Luke and that by having her mimic his choice in lightsaber color, again, Rey is reduced to “Luke Skywalker 2.0.” Those are only a few examples.

— Jenny Nicholson don't talk to me about Sonic (@JennyENicholson) February 19, 2020

IX took her agency from her, and basically just made her luke skywalker 2.0. that yellow saber at the end was one of the only things about her arc that wasn’t something that luke had done first. so finding out that “actually, luke had a yellow saber too!” is really aggravating.

— arabs for kylo ren (@xoxoreyloxoxo) February 19, 2020

Not everyone agrees, as other tweets reveal.

— Patrick (@the_prime_jedi) February 19, 2020

Just to clarify. It doesn’t matter that the JS had yellow lightsabers.

It doesn’t matter that Ventress and Bastila had yellow lightsabers.

What matters is that Luke had a yellow lightsaber before Rey.

She’s just a relic of an extinct family. https://t.co/SLYKaX2uMq

— Strega Perenne (@realjeangenie) February 19, 2020

luke has a yellow lightsaber because he’s a ray of sunshine and the force knows it

— thrawn lays eggs | 229 (@skywalkerthrawn) February 20, 2020

Guys rey didn’t invent having a yellow lightsaber please watch other Star Wars media then the sequels pic.twitter.com/ETGeFIcryv

— clone wars comes back tomorrow (@rebclstano) February 20, 2020

Eagle-eyed fans know that yellow lightsabers have a rich history in Star Wars lore stretching all the way back to the Knights of the Old Republic video game. The yellow saber also made frequent appearances in the fan-favorite Clone Wars and Rebels animated series where they were often wielded by Jedi Temple Guards (both good and bad).

But at the end of the day, Marvel Comics writer Charles Soule had a simple explanation for the color choice, and it’s a very clever deep cut that any child of the ’80s will instantly recognize.

Why will Luke Skywalker have a yellow

lightsaber in the Star Wars run I’m writing, set between Empire and Jedi Well, many reasons, but here’s a big one. https://t.co/31hZtpDsIg pic.twitter.com/j4L92qZ0A8

— Charles Soule (@CharlesSoule) February 18, 2020

Hopefully, this one won’t get lost in the couch.