Check Out This Newly Released Concept Art For Dark Rey's Lightsaber

Dual-bladed lightsabers have been a Star Wars fan favorite since Darth Maul famously ignited his dual-bladed lightsaber in The Phantom Menace at the start of his epic lightsaber duel with the Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi on Naboo. In the concept art for Duel of the Fates, the purported Colin Trevorrow treatment for Star Wars Episode IX that never came to fruition, Rey was going to wield a blue dual-bladed lightsaber, an idea that I really would have liked to have actually seen happen. The idea survived, somewhat, in J.J. Abrams' finished version of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. It is instead the evil "mirror vision" of herself (aka "Dark Rey") that we see wielding a red dual-bladed lightsaber, similar to, but stylistically different from, Maul's.

New concept art (see below) was recently unveiled on Instagram two days ago by concept artist, Matthew Savage, for Dark Rey's dual-bladed lightsaber. Savage discusses how the early design features were inspired by Rey's appearances in the previous two sequel trilogy films. Specifically, the emitters on both ends bear some resemblance to the ends of Rey's staff, which she brandishes in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. The grip is wrapped in cloth, similar to the garb worn by Rey in The Force Awakens. In contrast to this concept art, the finalized "Dark Rey" lightsaber actually appears to derive more inspiration from Darth Vader's lightsaber, perhaps to symbolically tie Anakin Skywalker's tragic fall to the potential of Rey giving in to the dark side herself, especially after she learns of her own family heritage as a Palpatine, and vows to destroy him.

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The style and color of lightsabers have always had major symbolic value throughout the Star Wars franchise. Sith Lord Darth Maul's red dual-bladed lightsaber in The Phantom Menace symbolized his fierce and aggressive nature and made him a fearsome opponent. The Sith Lords wielding red-bladed lightsabers while the Jedi wielded lightsabers of a variety of other colors, symbolizing the contrasting natures and philosophies of the Jedi and the Sith. The act of receiving or interacting with lightsabers is also often of significant importance throughout the Skywalker Saga.

It is Luke's receipt of his father, Anakin's, lightsaber from Obi-Wan Kenobi that leads him to take his first steps towards leaving Tatooine and learning the ways of the Force in A New Hope. Luke loses his hand and his father's lightsaber in The Empire Strikes, ironically, at the hands of his own father. Luke fulfills a traditional Jedi test by constructing his own, green, lightsaber in Return of the Jedi, which he duels Vader with, but eventually tosses it aside to demonstrate to Emperor Palpatine that he would never turn to the dark side of the Force. Years later, as featured in The Last Jedi, in a moment of weakness, he drew it against his nephew, Ben Solo, leading to the destruction of his Jedi Temple and the loss of his pupils, as well as the loss of Ben to the dark side of the Force.

In The Force Awakens, the budding Jedi protagonist Rey is mysteriously drawn to Luke and Anakin's lightsaber, discovered in Maz Kanata's castle several years later and lightyears away from where we saw it last in The Empire Strikes Back. When Rey touches the lightsaber, she is flooded by a series of memories, visions, and voices, which frighten her and cause her to flee the castle for the surrounding forest, which in turn leads to her being captured by Kylo Ren and the First Order. Finally, embracing her awakening Force abilities at the end of the film, she manages to snatch the lightsaber away from Kylo Ren's grasp and draw it to her hand, symbolizing her acceptance of her new powers.

In The Last Jedi, Luke and Anakin's lightsaber is severely damaged as Rey and Kylo fight over it, following Rey's rejection of Kylo's offer for her to join him. In The Rise of Skywalker, the lightsaber had been repaired and, at the end of the film, Rey returns to Luke's former homestead on Tatooine to symbolically "bury" the late Luke and Leia by burying their lightsabers in the sand. Also, in an apparent nod to the aforementioned concept art, Rey finally builds her own yellow-bladed lightsaber out of her staff, symbolizing her becoming a fully realized Jedi Knight.

Written by Mara Butler

Source(s): Screen Rant

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