What Happened to Obi-Wan’s Lightsaber After He Died?
If there’s one thing that we know about the Jedi, it’s that it isn’t unlikely for them to have owned multiple lightsabers because they can lose their lightsabers anytime in battle, especially when up against powerful opponents. That was the case for Obi-Wan, who owned three lightsabers during his entire lifetime because he had no choice but to make new lightsabers every time he lost his old one due to certain circumstances. But Kenobi’s third lightsaber was the final one he used until his death. So, what happened to Obi-Wan’s lightsaber after he died?
It is possible that Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber fell out of canon and was destroyed alongside the Death Star when Luke Skywalker blew it up in ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.’ That’s because Vader had Kenobi’s lightsaber after killing him. But we never saw him carrying the lightsaber after Obi-Wan’s death.
The fact that Kenobi’s lightsaber was most likely destroyed is a shame because Obi-Wan Kenobi was always such a great character who deserved so much more. There should have been something that should have served as a remembrance of him. Of course, George Lucas probably never considered how symbolic a lightsaber was when he wrote off Kenobi’s lightsaber. That said, let’s look at what happened to Obi-Wan’s weapon.
Who had Obi-Wan’s lightsaber after he died?
Introduced in ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope’ as a wise old hermit calling himself Old Ben Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a powerful Jedi Master that taught Luke Skywalker the basics of the Force and lightsaber combat. He was the one that allowed Luke to learn that he was a Jedi and the son of a powerful Jedi that he claimed to have been killed by Darth Vader himself.
In that regard, Obi-Wan was an important character in Luke’s life and was one of the most prominent figures in Star Wars history due to his connection to Anakin Skywalker.
Of course, we saw Obi-Wan allowing Luke to wave Anakin’s lightsaber around when Luke visited him in his house. He called this “an elegant weapon of a more civilized age.” That was the first time we saw a lightsaber in the Star Wars continuity. And Kenobi also used his lightsaber later on in the cantina on Tatooine when he used it to slice a crook’s hand off.
In that regard, Kenobi had a lightsaber that he knew how to use masterfully. And this was the same lightsaber he used 19 years ago when he defeated Anakin Skywalker on Mustafar and nine years ago when he defeated Darth Vader on an unknown moon.
Obi-Wan used the same lightsaber in his final duel with Darth Vader on the Death Star when Luke and the others went to save Leia from the Empire. In the hopes of distracting his former apprentice, Kenobi needed to confront Vader one last time so that he could allow Luke and the others to escape with Leia. And that was when he finally gave his life up to the Force when Darth Vader was about to strike him down with his own lightsaber.
A confused Darth Vader saw Obi-Wan’s robe and lightsaber falling to the ground. This momentary distraction allowed Luke and the others to escape from the Death Star with Leia Organa. But we never saw Kenobi’s lightsaber again.
It is possible that Darth Vader relished the thought that he had finally killed his old master. As such, he might have taken Obi-Wan’s lightsaber as a souvenir to commemorate the moment that he killed a rival that he could never truly defeat in the past. And he probably took the saber and hid it in his personal chambers in the Death Star.
What happened to Obi-Wan’s original lightsaber?
Like many different Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi had multiple lightsabers in the past. The earliest storyline of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the movies and shows was ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,’ where we saw him as a Padawan under Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. He already had a lightsaber at that time. Although that was a blue lightsaber, we know that this wasn’t the same lightsaber he lost to Darth Vader in the Death Star.
Kenobi used this lightsaber throughout the entire events of ‘The Phantom Menace.’ However, Kenobi lost this lightsaber during the duel with Darth Maul after the Sith Lord killed Qui-Gon Jinn. Maul disarmed him and kicked the lightsaber into a pit inside the Theed power generator on Naboo.
As such, Kenobi lost this blade but defeated Darth Maul after using the Force to grab Qui-Gon Jinn’s green lightsaber.
What happened to Obi-Wan’s second lightsaber?
After losing his first and original lightsaber, Obi-Wan Kenobi crafted a new one that resembled his first lightsaber. This was the lightsaber that he held on for around nine years while he was training Anakin Skywalker as his Padawan. And he used this saber throughout the events of ‘Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.’
Obi-Wan followed Jango Fett from Kamino to Geonosis, where he saw that the leader of the Separatists was none other than Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master. While trying to send out a message to the Jedi Order regarding Dooku and the Separatists, Kenobi got himself captured by the Geonosians.
We can only assume that the Separatists confiscated and hid his second lightsaber, as we never saw it ever again.
After losing this lightsaber, Kenobi replaced it with a new one he created. He used this saber during the events of the Clone Wars. While he was disarmed a few times during the Clone Wars, he always found a way to recover this lightsaber. This third and final lightsaber was the one that he held on to for 22 years until Darth Vader killed him on the Death Star on 0 BBY.
What did Vader do with Kenobi’s lightsaber?
It is possible that Darth Vader merely kept Kenobi’s lightsaber as a reminder of the fact that he had finally killed his master and had cut off one of the ties between him and his past as Anakin Skywalker. But we never really saw him doing anything with the lightsaber.
During the Battle of Yavin, Darth Vader boarded his TIE Fighter to intercept the Rebel pilots trying to destroy the Death Star. As such, he probably didn’t think that the Rebels would be successful in destroying this massive structure, as he likely left Kenobi’s lightsaber in his personal chambers in the Death Star
Of course, Luke Skywalker successfully destroyed the Death Star after Kenobi’s voice guided him to use the Force to know where exactly he needed to shoot the torpedoes. The destruction of the Death Star must have also led to the destruction of Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, which was most likely still in the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin.
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