The lightsaber Darth Vader wielded during the climactic Cloud City duel in The Empire Strikes Back is heading to auction, with Heritage Auctions expecting the prop to sell for at least $1 million. The Darth Vader lightsaber auction is part of the Ultimate Star Wars Auction, scheduled for Nov. 12, according to The Associated Press.
The prop was used in the sequence where Vader tells Luke Skywalker “I am your father” during their duel in Cloud City, according to the AP. The same lightsaber also appeared in Return of the Jedi.
Darth Vader Lightsaber Auction
Heritage Auctions is running the Ultimate Star Wars Auction, which will offer more than two dozen lightsaber props spanning Episodes I through IX along with other films and television projects, the AP reported. The Darth Vader lightsaber carries the highest pre-sale expectation among the pieces detailed so far, with Heritage projecting a price of at least $1 million.
The auction house set that estimate months after a different Star Wars lightsaber broke records. A lightsaber paired with Luke Skywalker’s severed hand prop from The Empire Strikes Back sold in July for $3.75 million, a record price for a Star Wars film prop, according to the AP.
What It Means For Collectors
The Vader lightsaber’s connection to one of the most quoted scenes in the Star Wars franchise gives it a built-in appeal among collectors who track original trilogy props tied to pivotal plot moments. The July sale of the Skywalker lightsaber and severed hand showed buyers are willing to pay well above seven figures for props from that same film, and Heritage’s $1 million floor for the Vader piece suggests the auction house expects similar demand.
Other lightsabers in the sale carry far more modest estimates by comparison. Lightsabers used by Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith are each expected to sell for at least $10,000, according to the AP.
Background And Context
The Ultimate Star Wars Auction will include a wide range of items beyond lightsabers. An EE-3 carbine blaster carried by Boba Fett throughout The Empire Strikes Back is estimated to bring in more than $100,000, the AP reported. The sale also includes a Yoda puppet hand used by puppeteer Frank Oz during the character’s original appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, a TIE Fighter pilot helmet from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and a signed, personal third-draft screenplay for the original 1977 Star Wars belonging to C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels.
The breadth of the catalog, spanning props from the original trilogy through the prequels and into modern Star Wars film and television projects, reflects the growing market for franchise memorabilia that has produced increasingly large sale prices in recent years.
What’s Next
Heritage Auctions will hold the Ultimate Star Wars Auction on Nov. 12. Bidders will have the chance to compete for the Darth Vader lightsaber along with the rest of the more than two dozen lightsaber props and other memorabilia included in the event, according to the AP.
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
