In July, a lightsaber featuring Luke Skywalker’s severed hand from the film “The Empire Strikes Back” was sold at auction for $3.75 million, setting a record for the highest price ever paid for a prop used in a “Star Wars” movie. Now, another iconic lightsaber is up for grabs.
A Darth Vader lightsaber, famously used in the dramatic duel in Cloud City where he reveals to Skywalker, “I am your father,” will be a highlight at the upcoming Ultimate Star Wars Auction hosted by Heritage Auctions on Nov. 12. This lightsaber, also seen in “Return of the Jedi,” is anticipated to fetch a minimum of $1 million. It is part of a collection of over two dozen lightsaber props that will be available for bidding, spanning across the “Star Wars” franchise from Episodes I to IX, as well as other productions from the universe created by George Lucas.
Among the items up for auction are the lightsabers wielded by Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker in “Revenge of the Sith,” each expected to sell for at least $10,000. Additionally, an EE-3 carbine blaster used by Boba Fett in “The Empire Strikes Back” is projected to garner over $100,000.
The auction will also feature a Yoda puppet hand operated by Frank Oz in the character’s debut in “The Empire Strikes Back,” Anthony Daniels’ signed personal third-draft screenplay for the original 1977 “Star Wars,” and a TIE Fighter pilot helmet from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”