Skip to main content

star wars - What is the reason that lightsabers have different colors?


What is the reason (in canon) for the different colors of lightsabers? I know about purple being specially chosen by the actor Samuel L. Jackson since it's his favorite color, but is there a reason or purpose for the colors, other than "red=sith, blue/green=jedi"?



Answer



First, there is nothing that was told in the movies about the lightsaber colors, so all information on the subject came from extended universe.


The color of the lightsaber come from the crystal used in it's construction. It's a personal choice based on multiple factor like crystal availability, traditional color for a Specialization (undermentioned as class) or just a personal color preference.




Out of universe, the Blue / Red distinction was made during post-production when the lightsaber blades were being rotoscoped, as the original blades were simply white. The color choice might have been influenced by the political climax, the red color being traditionally associated with Soviets and blue with Americans, but also note than the colors reversed for blasters and spaceships. Luke's green lightsaber was added late in post-production of the Return of the Jedi in order to better stand out against the blue sky of Tatooine in outdoor scenes. So all those signification / explanation are all retcon.




I made a digest of the meaningful passages of the Lightsaber crystal entry on Wookieepedia (emphasis mine).




While the Jedi used natural crystals, the Sith often used red-hued synthetic crystals. Sith-made synthetic crystals create a slightly more powerful blade when energized by the dark side of the Force, occasionally demonstrating the ability to "break" Jedi lightsaber blades, disrupting the energy circuit and shorting out the weapon. However, this rarely happened, and as synthetic crystals demonstrated a slightly lower amount of maneuverability, this advantage was very slim.


[...]


Around 4,000 BBY, lightsaber crystals were used to indicate a Jedi's chosen class. Blue indicated a Jedi Guardian, a Jedi who used the Force on a more physical level. Green indicated a Jedi Consular, a Jedi who preferred to reflect on the mysteries of the Force and fight the dark side at its heart. Yellow indicated a Jedi Sentinel, a Jedi who honed their skills in a balance of combat and scholarly pursuits.


This distinction fell out of practice in later years when most Jedi used blue or green crystals, based on the supply on the various source worlds. Purple, yellow, and orange crystals were still used by some Jedi until the the fall of the Jedi Order, but they were exceedingly rare, and often passed down through generations.


[...]


For millennia, the Jedi Order lit lightsabers in every color and hue imaginable. However, following the Battle of Ruusan, the hues of most available crystals had been limited to either blue or green.



For the out of universe section, this quote is taken form Lightsaber Entry, Behind the scenes - Color section on Wookieepedia (emphasis mine)




Lightsabers depicted in the first two released films, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, had blades that were colored either blue (for the Jedi) or red (for the Sith). This color difference was a decision during post-production when the lightsaber blades were being rotoscoped, as the original blades were simply white. In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker's newly-constructed lightsaber was colored blue during the initial editing of the film, and appears so in both an early movie trailer and the official theatrical posters, but in the final film, it was ultimately colored green in order to better stand out against the blue sky of Tatooine in outdoor scenes. It also appeared as green in re-release posters.


Green would become another standard blade color for Jedi lightsabers in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Mace Windu's amethyst-bladed lightsaber, as first seen in Attack of the Clones, was a personal request from actor Samuel L. Jackson as a way to make his character stand out among other Jedi. Jackson's favorite color is purple and he frequently requests the characters he plays to use an item of the color.


Various blade colors appear in the Expanded Universe and in other Star Wars products. The original Kenner figure of Luke Skywalker in his Tatooine costume from Star Wars was released with a yellow-bladed lightsaber. A multitude of other colors have since been used, including orange, silver, cyan, viridian, gold, bronze, and even black.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion