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J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker may have hit theaters back in December, but the conversation around the blockbuster hasn't slowed down in the months following its release. Abrams was tasked with crafting an appropriate ending for not only the sequel trilogy but the overarching Skywalker Saga, and plenty of details about the fast paced story have been revealed after the fact. The hits keep on coming, as it turns out that Dark Rey's double sided lightsaber actually had a connection to Darth Vader.
Darth Vader is the most popular Star Wars character of all time, and has basically been the mascot for the franchise over the years. While Vader didn't physically appear throughout the runtime of The Rise of Skywalker, there were a few subtle nods to the character's tenure in the original trilogy. And now it looks like Dark Rey's double sided red lightsaber was based off of Vader's iconic weapon. Check out the concept art below for a closer look.
Yeah, this is awesome. It looks like Rey's vision of the dark Side included a super subtle nod to he OG Star Wars villain. Although given how quickly this sequence goes down during The Rise of Skywalker, most fans probably didn't notice this design detail to Dark Rey's lightsaber.
This image comes to us from the social media of concept artist Matthew Savage. About halfway through The Rise of Skywalker, Rey explores the remains of the Second Death Star. Eventually she has a vision of the Dark Side, terrifying Daisy Ridley's character. Its a sequence that mirrored Luke's vision of Darth Vader on Dagobah in Empire Strikes Back, and tempts the trilogy's hero to possibly fall to the Dark Side. After all, she had dark power and an even darker blood line.
Star Wars fans can re-watch the Skywalker Saga in it entirety on Disney+. You can use this link for a free 7-day trial to the streaming service.
Dark Rey's inclusion was teased in the earliest trailers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, as was her double sided red lightsaber. The sequence itself was quick, but was an exciting tidbit of action in the middle of the movie's adventures. We watched as Rey engaged in a lightsaber battle with a dark version of herself, who was seemingly much more powerful thanks to the Dark Side. This fight for her morality would be the crux of the movie's final battle, as Palpatine tried to get her to strike him down in anger.
As a reminder, you can check out the Dark Rey scene below. Can you make out parts of Darth Vader's lightsaber in the character's weapon?
Dark Rey's lightsaber might have had limited screen time, but clearly The Rise of Skywalker's crew took its construction seriously. The weapon certainly looked epic, and it was awesome to see Rey using the Sith version of the ancient Jedi weapon. The inclusion of Darth Vader's saber as part of the base didn't necessarily read on screen, but it likely informed the performance given by Daisy Ridley.
The Rise of Skywalker required the creation of a ton of different lightsabers. In addition to Dark Rey's weapon, Carrie Fisher's Leia also got a lightsaber of her very own. Additionally, Episode IX closed with Rey firing up a saber of her own design, with a yellow blade.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is currently available on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming on Disney+. Check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies once they reopen.
