New Star Wars book reveals the hidden details of Leia’s lightsaber

(Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney)

For such an iconic weapon, you never really hear too much about lightsabers. Rey’s own lightsaber was created off-screen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Rogue One only poked around at the edges of the weapon’s Kyber crystal origins. Now, a new Star Wars book is revealing the history of practically every lightsaber in Star Wars canon.

Described as “the definitive lightsaber guide,” Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection is set for release this October and details all of the iconic lightsabers wielded in the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies, as well as in comics and video games.

It’s Leia’s lightsaber, properly introduced in Episode 9, that gets the preview treatment here thanks to io9.

As well as outlining the path the lightsaber took – from creation to leaving it with Luke on Ahch-To – the passage also reveals its design secrets, which perhaps tell us more about Leia than we knew before.

“Leia’s lightsaber is a work of art defined by elegant symmetry and silver and gold hues that evoke Leia’s royal upbringing on Alderaan. Curved metal grips are spaced around the midsection surrounding a crystal heart that projects a blue blade. The narrow neck and ringed emitter of the saber bear similarities to those on Luke’s green-bladed lightsaber.”

All that from just a lightsaber? You betcha. Not only does it show just how dear Leia holds her upbringing with its colour choice, but also how much she respects her brother Luke by aping his lightsaber design.

We actually saw Leia use her trusty lightsaber during the events of Rise of Skywalker thanks to cut footage from Return of the Jedi. Here, we get the more complete picture of the secret story behind Leia’s lightsaber.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.