Star Wars: New Jedi Order will continue Rey’s story 15 years after the Star Wars sequel trilogy, meaning the movie will face an important lightsaber challenge. Although New Jedi Order is technically a standalone film, its premise will cause audiences to view it as Episode X in everything but name, which puts pressure on the movie to deliver everything the Skywalker Saga did. This includes finding new and creative ways to incorporate the iconic Jedi lightsaber, and this may be more difficult than expected.

A New Jedi Order offers the chance to feature several new Jedi with their own unique lightsabers, especially ones that haven’t been seen before. However, not all types of lightsabers in Star Wars canon have been well-received, with the new designs featured in the sequel trilogy being criticized by some as impractical or overly flashy. Rey’s New Jedi Order movie will have to strike a balance between practicality and visual appeal, all while continuing a 41-year lightsaber trend.

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Every Star Wars Movie Advances Lightsabers In New Ways

While lightsabers serve the same purpose in every Star Wars movie, each release finds creative ways to make new variants feel unique. A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back only had red and blue lightsabers, making it a pleasant surprise when Luke Skywalker ignited his green lightsaber in Return of the Jedi, especially since it was blue in the trailers and on the poster. New lightsaber designs became prevalent in the prequel trilogy with Darth Maul’s double-bladed red lightsaber, Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber, Count Dooku’s curved hilt lightsaber, and General Grievous wielding four lightsabers at once.

The sequel trilogy didn’t put as much focus on new lightsaber variants, returning to the more traditional approach of the originals, but there were a few notable exceptions. Kylo Ren’s red lightsaber featured a crossguard with a more unstable and electric-sounding blade. Star Wars: The Last Jedi featured no new lightsabers but did feature a variety of energy weapons for the Praetorian Guards that were more than a match for a lightsaber. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker gave Rey two new lightsabers: a double-bladed red lightsaber in her vision and a yellow lightsaber in the final scene.

How Can Rey’s New Star Wars Movie Follow This Trend?

Rey will finally have a chance to wield her new yellow lightsaber in her New Jedi Order movie, but the film will be hard-pressed to find new lightsaber designs that haven’t been done already. Aside from the lightsabers featured in the Skywalker Saga, there are countless variants across the TV shows, video games, books, and comics. Ahsoka Tano wielded two white lightsabers in animation and live-action, Baylan Skoll used an orange blade in Ahsoka season 1, and Pong Krell even wielded two double-bladed lightsabers at once in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Despite how lightsabers have already been explored across Star Wars, Rey’s New Jedi Order movie still has a few places to start. Before he stepped down as director of Episode IX, Colin Trevorrow’s Duel of the Fates would have had Rey forge a double-bladed lightsaber from the broken pieces of Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber. As for her Jedi students, several colors haven’t been seen in the movies or TV shows, and a plethora of real-world weapons can be adapted into lightsabers. The challenge of continuing the Star Wars movie lightsaber trend may inspire some of the franchise’s coolest variants to date.