Star Wars reveals why Luke built new lightsaber for Return of the Jedi

A new comic reveals why he never retrieved his first lightsaber from Cloud City

Mark Hamill in a black outfit holding a green lightsaber as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.

Lucasfilm

Published: Monday, 23 March 2020 at 1:45 pm

A new Star Wars comic has shed light on why Luke Skywalker built a new lightsaber between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as how his first weapon ended up with the mysterious Maz Kanata.

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Marvel Comics is currently publishing a canon Star Wars series that takes place shortly after the events of Episode V, in which Luke, Leia and Lando return to Cloud City to retrieve the lightsaber lost in battle against Darth Vader.

Their search takes them to Smelting Core D-52, where all of the floating city's rubbish collects, but Luke realises what is truly important when Leia is taken hostage and frozen in carbonite.

Dropping everything in a desperate bid to rescue her, he tells Lando: "A Jedi isn't his lightsaber. A lightsaber is just a tool. A Jedi is someone who uses the Force to bring light to the galaxy. To protect people and push back the darkness.

"That particular lightsaber… the one I lost… I don't need it. It was my father's… but I'm not sure how I feel about that anymore. I'm going to be a Jedi. Even if I never see that lightsaber again."

Shortly after, we see an ugnaught alien looking truly shocked as they stumble upon the lost weapon in the trash heap.

According to The Rise of Skywalker's visual dictionary, a mining corporation picked up the lightsaber on cloud city, so it seems a fair assumption that this scavenger could be an employee of some kind.

The exact circumstances of how Maz Kanata acquired the item are yet to be revealed, although it seems we are inching closer to getting answers...

Notably, the same comic also sees Luke experiencing visions of a mysterious female jedi whose identity has so far been kept under wraps.

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Given that Clone Wars favourite Ashoka Tano was recently revealed to be making her live-action debut in season two of The Mandalorian, it could well be that she is the one calling Luke to "follow his destiny."

Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of David Craig, smiling against a lime green background.

David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.

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