Princess Leia Wields Purple Lightsaber In ‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ Concept Art

Leia's weapon almost looked a little different!

Star Wars The Rise of Skywalker

Newly revealed concept art for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker shows Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia wielding a purple lightsaber in her duel with Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker saw Daisy Ridley’s Rey taking up Leia’s Jedi weapon alongside the lightsaber previously wielded by both Anakin and Luke Skywalker. Appearing as a Force ghost, Mark Hamill’s Luke tells Rey that Leia gave up the weapon as she completed her training.

A flashback sequence features a digitally de-aged Luke and Leia sparring on the last day of Leia’s training. While the film saw Leia using a blue lightsaber, this wasn’t always the plan.

Leia’s Original Lightsaber

Concept art shared on social media by Star Wars artist Adam Brockbank reveals an early imagining of the flashback scene featured Leia wielding a purple lightsaber.

The concept art also features sparring outfits that are clearly more inspired by real-world fencing gear than the designs that ended up in the final film, which hued towards more traditional Star Wars clothing designs.

It is not clear why Leia’s lightsaber color was changed for the final version of Rise of Skywalker, though it is possible that the weapon that appeared in the concept art was just a placeholder and it was never director J.J. Abrams’ intention to give Leia the rare lightsaber color.

Check out the concept art, shared by Adam Brockbank on Instagram, below:

Across the Star Wars films, only Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu has ever wielded a purple lightsaber, a distinctive weapon that came at the request of the actor.

While a few other Jedi have been seen with purple-bladed lightsabers in external media, in both Star Wars Legends continuity and Disney’s new canon – such as Revan and Ty Yorrick – the weapon remains a rare sight in the franchise.

Here is the synopsis for the film:

Lucasfilm and director J. J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is available on all formats. Be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news in Lucasfilm’s iconic franchise, including the future of John Boyega’s Finn, and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: Instagram