The Star Wars Universe and its iconic, space-faring heroes, otherwise known as the Jedi, are known far and wide across the Star Wars galaxy and to its denizens for using lightsabers when they go into battle, as well as employing them as ways to extend their force-fueled abilities.
Lightsabers are arguably one of the most recognizable creations that have come from the many different stories told in the Star Wars Universe’s feature-length movies and its extended universe of books, TV shows, and other multimedia spin-offs.
Now, the lightsaber is enjoying its latest moment in the spotlight, with its most recent appearance in Disney+’s Netflix live-action series The Mandalorian showing it off in a mysterious and rarely-seen black color.
This intriguing variant of the lightsaber, otherwise more commonly known these days as the “Darksaber”, is a weapon that first appears toward the tail-end of The Mandalorian’s first segment, specifically during chapter 8 of its first season.
The Darksaber’s current wielder and owner as chapter 8 in Season 1, the relentless and imposing Imperial authority Moff Gideon, was seen carrying the ancient weapon of cultural and historical significance to the Mandalorian race.
The Darksaber dates back to a time much older than Gideon himself, as well as the cast of characters in The Mandalorian, including main character Din Djarrin. The Darksaber comes from a now-lost age where the height and might of the Mandalorian culture in the Star Wars Galaxy were on full display and indicative of a race that thrived on martial warfare and prowess.
But before we dive into the Darksaber’s appearance and significance in The Mandalorian, let’s first take a closer look at the history of the Darksaber, its origins, and original purpose, and why it was so significant to the previous golden age on Mandalore, home of the Mandalorians, before it wound up in the hands of those who would put its power toward evil causes.
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An Abridged History of the Darksaber
The Darksaber’s recent surge in publicity and popularity due to its appearance in The Mandalorian may take relatively new Star Wars fans by surprise, since the weapon does not make any appearances in the official Star Wars movies.
But this unique variant of lightsaber actually made its debut over 10 years ago, when it appeared in the well-known animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series, and has also made recurring appearances in the Star Wars: Rebels TV show as well as other works that are part of the extended universe.
Since its appearance in The Clone Wars and Rebels, the Darksaber has become nearly as synonymous with the Star Wars universe’s Mandalorian culture as the helmet and visor worn by the series’ popular Mandalorian bounty hunters, Boba and Jango Fett. Indeed, it has become a symbol of the mighty resolve that the Mandalorian race is notorious across the galaxy for holding onto even during times of bitter warfare and strife, as seen in the Mandalorian Civil War in Star Wars: Rebels.
And most recently, of course, the Darksaber has come to make its head-turning return in The Mandalorian TV show, where it’s now viewed by many fans, both old and new alike, as an intriguing artifact that represents a piece of deep, in-universe lore and significance. To begin talking about the long and often complex history of the Darksaber, as well as the many hands it’s fallen into since its inception, it’s important to quickly look at its first owner and wielder: the esteemed Mandalorian Jedi warrior, Tarre Vizsla.
Design of the Darksaber
Like all other lightsabers found in the Star Wars universe, the darksaber needs a Kyber crystal to stay energized with light. Kyber crystals are highly unique and sensitive artifacts that respond to their user’s disposition and emotion, and are essential to the complete construction of a functioning lightsaber.
Powerful Jedi who use Kyber crystals to construct their lightsabers impart so much of their personality during this process, that they permanently change the color of their lightsaber. This irreversible effect bonds the crystal with its wielder, much the same as must have occurred with the darksaber.
The true origin of the darksaber’s color is shrouded in mystery. What is known of the very unusual blade, however, is that it was first intended not to be a lightsaber, but rather a more primitive type of in-universe weapon: a vibro-blade.
In time, the darksaber’s original design would be altered by none other than Geroge Lucas himself, who urged the ultimate darksaber’s design toward a weapon that would emit a void-like, black beam. The darksaber as fans know it now may contain a one-of-a-kind Kyber crystal; still other possibilities exist as to how the darksaber retains its distinct, opaque appearance.
An altered lightsaber hilt that perhaps bends light inward, rather than up and back down? A light emitter that somehow inverts the traditionally bright and colorful design of a lightsaber? The complete history of the darksaber’s design remains to be told.
Tarre Vizsla
An unimaginably old and one-of-a-kind lightsaber model, the venerable and powerful Darksaber was originally wielded in the hands of the first-ever Mandalorian Jedi warrior: Tarre Vizsla, who would use the Darksaber as a unique symbol of the first-ever Mandalorian to be knighted as a force-using member of the Jedi order.
Known for his strong and intuitive use of the force and its powers, Tarre Vizsla was brought under the ancient fold of the Jedi Order as a young boy, and afterward would go on to become the greatest champion in all of Mandalore’s history at the time by leading his people with the iconic and significant Darksabser.
As his reputation as a formidable Jedi continued to spread, due in no small part to the authority exuded by Tarre’s powerful weapon, the Darksaber eventually came to be known as one and the same as the symbol for Tarre Vizsla’s entire clan house: House Vizsla of the planet Mandalore.
Before his passing and commitment to the annals of nearly-forgotten history, Tarre Vizsla would come to reach the preeminent status of Mand’alor, which was the single leading authority over the entirety of the Mandalorian people. Tarre’s legacy of leading his people with the preeminent title of Mand’alor would cement the Darksaber’s inextricable relationship with Mandalorian authority exercised and maintained through visual, physical strength.
The Darksaber is Stolen
During Tarre Vizsla’s ultimate and unopposed reign as Mand’alor over the Mandalorians, he eventually would come to return the Darksaber to Mandalore, where it would peacefully remain on his person until the Jedi master eventually passed away, leaving behind a legacy of prestige and eminence. However, his legacy would also leave the lasting impression of the Darksaber as a symbol of primal and rightful Mandalorian might.
The Jedi on the planet of Mandalore made it a point to safeguard the fabled lightsaber in their own Jedi temple to prevent its misuse from those they would deem unworthy and unfit to lead the Mandalorian people.
Unfortunately, vengeful members of the Vizsla clan, who were now the closest remaining representatives of House Vizsla still alive, would not allow the Jedi to keep it for long. During the fall of the Old Republic, members of Clan Vizsla successfully stole the Darksaber from the Jedi temple on Mandalore, and were able to secure it for many generations as their own status symbol, an uncontested relic of a time now past.
Interestingly enough, the descendants of Tarre Vizsla would not pass the Darksaber down, generation after generation, as a tool of warfare, destruction, or power. At least, not initially: rather, Tarre Vizsla’s descendants would instead hold onto the weapon as a means of embodying the pacifist ideals embodied by the New Mandalorians, who were responsible for doing away with and replacing the older, more primal warrior natures of Mandalore.
Rather than emphasize strength as a means to assert authority and control over other Mandalorians, the New Mandalorians used the Darksaber as a way to signal their virtues related to neutrality and tranquility, instead of the raw brutality and martial potency of the older breed of Mandalorians.
Unfortunately for the political faction of Clan Vizsla and its bickering members, the Darksaber proved to be too valuable to the vengeful and competing Vizsla clan members. The Darksaber would eventually fall into the hands of many a competing rival over the course of multiple centuries, until the Darksaber finally fell into the hands of the infamous Sith Lord, Darth Maul.
Darth Maul and the Death Watch
After the dawn of the Clone Wars, the Sith Lord known to both Star Wars fans as well as the denizens of the Star Wars universe, Darth Maul, came into contact with the Darksaber. Although the Darksaber had changed many hands over the course of countless centuries, Darth Maul would be the first “owner” of the Darksaber to use the weapon for an extended period of time, using it to attack the modern Mandalorian government.
These militarist forces and a splinter group of notoriously brutal and merciless Mandalorian warriors, known as the Death Watch, were under Darth Maul’s control, bolstered by the ancient weapon in their leader’s hands. Of course, Darth Maul did not just come upon the Darksaber by chance. Rather, he would contest its use by first challenging its rightful owner: the rightful leader and heir to Clan Vizsla, Pre Vizsla.
Initially, Darth Maul sought to forge an alliance with House Vizsla and the Mandalorian people, under the pretext of merging their power to unify the Mandalorians and restore peace to Mandalore. Once Pre Vizsla and his splinter group managed to wrest control of Mandalore, however, Maul formally challenged the descendant of Tarre Vizsla for ultimate control of the Darksaber and, subsequently, control of the Mandalorians themselves.
In the end, the Sith Lord would prove to be too powerful for the courageous Pre Vizsla; Maul murdered him in a fight to the death for ownership of the Darksaber. The Darksaber would remain in the possession of Lord Maul, until Sabine Wren in the Star Wars Rebels TV series finally comes into contact with it after Maul’s defeat at the hands of Darth Sidious.
Sabine Wren and the Darksaber During the Age of the Empire
By the time the Galactic Empire led by Emperor Palpatine came to be the dominant force in the galaxy, the Darksaber would fall into the possession of Sabine Wren, when she came upon the weapon in the heart of Darth Maul’s lair on the planet Dathomir.
Sabine, along with allies Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus, would leave the planet Dathomir with the Darksaber securely in their possession. Over time, Sabine’s allies, namely Kanan Jarrus in particular, would come to learn of the ancient history of the Darksaber and the significance it played in uniting the clan members of House Vizsla, many generations ago. This knowledge would eventually lead to Sabine Wren learning how to properly wield the Darksaber in order to solicit support from Clan Wren’s members on the planet Krownest, in order to bolster their attempts to lead the rebellion on Mandalore.
After becoming the new rightful ruler of the Darksaber, Sabine’s actions would culminate in her spearheading a dangerous mission to her homeworld, in order to liberate her father from the hands of the Empire.
Sabine bravely led the charge with Darksaber in hand, but would ultimately offer up the weapon to Bo-Katan Kryze, although Bo-Katan would reject the offer due to having already had the chance to act as ruler of Mandalore as the previous owner of the Darksaber. However, Sabine was finally able to convince Bo-Katan to take up the Darksaber after successfully rescuing Sabine’s father and leading the read on the Imperial prison on Mandalore. Now again in the possession of the Darksaber, Bo-Katan Kryze would eventually lose the Darksaber during the Empire’s conflict with the Mandalorians, otherwise known as the Great Purge.
Current Significance Of The Darksaber
Currently, the Darksaber continues to exert a significant influence over the culture and history of the Mandalorians. A seen in the third episode of Star Wars: Rebels, which traced the history and events of the Mandalorian civil war, Sabine Wren briefly comes into contact with the Darksaber, and later uses it as a symbol of power to ascend fellow Mandalorian Bo-Katan to the position of preeminent leader over the entire Mandalorian race.
More than just this gesture of authority by simply using the Darksaber, though, fans also get a glimpse at the weapon’s significance to the Mandalorian race when Darth Maul himself obtains it and uses it to proclaim himself the rightful ruler of Mandalore.
To that end, Sabine’s choice to bequeath the Darksaber to a fellow Mandalorian demonstrates the Darksaber’s importance as a treasured and powerful artifact to the Mandalorians. That’s why when we see Moff Gideon finally in possession of the weapon, it’s all the more haunting to think of how many Mandalorians perished as their civilization collapsed, and how none were left to stop their treasured artifact from falling into the hands of someone sinister.
The Darksaber in the Hands of Moff Gideon
The fact that the Darksaber is seen in the hands of Moff Gideon at the very end of The Mandalorians season 2 bodes poorly for its previous, albeit brief owner, Bo-Katan Kryze.
For one, since we now know how culturally and historically significant the Darksaber is to the Mandalorians, it’s a safe (and gruesome) assumption that she died fighting to keep it. Her presumed murder would be, of course, none other than Moff Gideon himself.
What is known beyond the shadow of a doubt when it comes to the Darksaber, as we see firsthand during the fight between Darth Maul and Pre Vizsla, is that the Darksaber does not simply get passed down peacefully: its owner relinquishes the weapon only when they are decisively and publically defeated in a bloody duel to the death.
In a moment of somber symbolism, viewers of the Mandalorian come to accept that Moff Gideon wielding the fabled Darksaber represents more than just the passing of the weapon to its new and rightful owner: it represents the entire defeat and collapse of the Mandalorian empire at the hands of civil war.
More than that, though, the Darksaber represents a seemingly infinite struggle between powerful figures, heroes and villains, and Jedi and Sith, all vying for possession of the weapon that seems unable to be held on to. After all, much like we can discern from the following excerpt of dialogue between Sabine Wren and her mother, Ursa Wren during Star Wars: Rebels, the Darksaber is something that doesn’t seem to be meant to be held onto for very long:
Don’t you understand? Coming back here has put you in danger. As much danger as holding that blade. Where did you get it?”
Sabine: “From Maul.”
Ursa: “You won it from him in combat?”
Sabine: “Uh, not exactly, I-”
Ursa: “Then you have no claim to it.”
Sabine: “Well, I’m holding it. That’s a pretty good claim.”
Ursa: “Anyone can hold the darksaber. The trick is keeping it, along with your head. Do you even know how to wield that blade?”
Sabine: “You’d be surprised.”
The Darksaber in Season 2 of The Mandalorian
As we know by now, might over right dictates who will become the new owner of the Darksaber. A trial by combat is the only way to know for certain who can lay claim to the deadly weapon with a bloody history that is the Darksaber. Having bested Moff Gideon in combat, then, this can only mean that the titular main character of the Mandalorian, Din Djarin, can rightfully lay down his claim of being the new owner of the Darksaber
This situation makes for tricky circumstances for Bo-Katan Kryze, the former owner of the Darksaber, who is interested above all else in helping the rest of her clan secure the planet of Mandalore for their own. That’s because, even if Din Djarin successfully helps Bo-Katan reclaim their homeworld and rest it from the ravages of war and in-fighting, the Darksaber can only change hands if Din Djarin is bested in a duel.
However, as we saw firsthand during the fight between Moff Gideon and Din Djarin, the duel that decides the new owner of the Darksaber does not need to end in the loss of a combatant’s life. This means, then, that Bo-Katan could in theory spare Din’s life out of honor and respect, if the two do eventually go toe-to-toe for ownership of the Darksaber.
Fans of the Mandalorian should, therefore, not lose out on all hope that Din and Bo-Katan will need to face off as enemies in order to put Din Djarin out of the precarious position of being on the path to reclaiming his adopted homeworld. This is a goal that fans know, after all, Din Djarin has no interest in pursuing. His motivations are much simpler: rescue Grogu (the “Baby Yoda” figure that’s recently made waves in popular culture and its media) and reunite him with the rest of his people.
In fact, a precedent has already been set for peacefully transferring the Darksaber from one owner to another, all without the need for combat or death. Sabe Wren previously convinced Bo-Katan to wield the Darksaber in order to lead the Mandalorians in reclaiming their homeland and rescuing it from endless war and suffering. In light of this, perhaps there is still the chance that the Darksaber makes its transition from Din Djarin to Bo-Katan in a peaceful way. Time will tell how this situation is resolved, as The Mandalorian promises to flesh out a huge universe in the upcoming seasons 3 and 4.