New Star Wars comic reveals Luke Skywalker's yellow lightsaber

(Image credit: LucasFilm)

Yes, the Skywalker saga may have ended with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but Luke Skywalker's story continues thanks to a new set of comic books. The newest – Star Wars #6, by writer Charles Soule and artist Jesus Saiz – sees the Jedi Knight wield a previously unseen yellow lightsaber.

Ever since Luke lost an arm at the end of Empire Strikes Back, fans have wondered what happened to the Tatooine native's blue lightsaber. In Star Wars #1, we see a mysterious hooded figure pick up the blade as it tumbles through cloud city – though how it eventually comes into Maz Kanata's possession remains a mystery.

The cover Star Wars #6 – which reaches store shelves later this year – reveals that Luke obtained a yellow lightsaber before the green blade seen in Return of the Jedi. You can see the full cover image for the comic below which gives us our first look at the new lightsaber.

Already, Star Wars fans are speculating where the yellow weapon came from. One leading theory posits that Luke likely fashioned the lightsaber from one of the double-ended weapons used by the Jedi Temple Guards on Coruscant (as seen in Star Wars: Rebels). Not only are Guards' blades yellow, but they also have a very similar hilt to the one seen on the Star Wars #6 cover.

Star Wars fans who have seen The Rise of Skywalker will also have immediately drawn a comparison between Rey's yellow lightsaber and Luke's. Could she have found Luke's old blade, as seen in the comics? While the two hilts are certainly different, she may have used the same yellow Kyber crystal to create a new blade.

Star Wars #6 author Charles Soule has already weighed in on the reveal, saying that the yellow lightsaber is a homage to the Kenner's line of Star Wars figures, which featured a figure of Luke Skywalker holding a retractable yellow blade.

While some might have enjoyed learning this in the issue, hey, Christmas came early this year. Why will Luke Skywalker have a yellowlightsaber 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/j4L92qZ0A8February 18, 2020

The Star Wars comics have been making headlines in recent weeks. Recently, the apparent appearance of Padmé – who, it turns out, may not have died in Revenge of the Sith – caused some controversy online. We deep-dived into how the formerly dead Princess may still be kicking around that galaxy far, far away.

Fancy rewatching the Star Wars movies? Here's how to watch the Star Wars movies in order and here's the Star Wars timeline to help you out.

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.