Star Wars’ New Lightsaber Color Breaks Canon (But It’s Worth It)

Disney and Lucasfilm have introduced a new lightsaber color into Star Wars that completely clashes with the franchise’s established lore, but it’s totally worth it. Lightsabers have gone through quite a few transformations over nearly 50 years of Star Wars movies and shows, and their colors have changed right alongside them. Now, there are nearly a dozen different lightsaber colors in Star Wars canon, ranging from the classic blue, red, and green to newer additions like black, yellow, orange, and white.

Lightsaber colors also carry a significant amount of weight in Star Wars canon. They differentiate between the Jedi and Sith, the light and dark sides of the Force, as they always have, but they’ve taken on new meaning in recent years. Thanks to new lore about bleeding a lightsaber’s kyber crystal to red and, conversely, purifying it back to white, a blade’s color can signal quite a bit about its user. Star Wars has even introduced alternatives to kyber crystals, such as the kohlen crystals that can turn a lightsaber orange.

The old Star Wars Expanded Universe also assigned more overt meanings to lightsaber colors. Yellow, for example, was used by Jedi Sentinels. Additionally, there are even real-life fun facts about lightsaber colors, such as green becoming a thing in Return of the Jedi because George Lucas wanted Luke’s lightsaber to pop against the blue sky and Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber existing because Samuel L. Jackson simply asked for it.

For all the changes Star Wars has made to lightsaber colors over the years, however, there have always been some rules attached. The Sith, for example, always wield red blades, while the Jedi get blue, green, purple, and the vast majority of other colors. A new Star Wars show, however, introduced a new lightsaber color that doesn’t conform to any of those established rules. Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi introduced a silver lightsaber, but the fact that it contradicts canon doesn’t even matter because it’s such a great narrative tool.

The Ninth Jedi’s Silver Lightsaber Breaks All The Rules Of The Jedi & The Sith

Image via Disney+

The Ninth Jedi, as part of Star Wars: Visions, isn’t part of the franchise’s main canon. It has its own continuity and its own version of the galaxy far, far away, and thus, it has lightsabers that work differently than most. Within The Ninth Jedi, lightsabers crafted by Lah Zhima attune themselves to the user, and the color they project reflects that user’s relationship to the Force. If a Sith wields one, the blade turns red. If a Jedi uses one, it turns blue, green, or purple.

Lah Zhima’s blades can, however, also turn a clear-ish silver. The Ninth Jedi‘s lightsabers will turn clear if the user “empties their heart” and finds balance between the light and dark sides of the Force. Lah Zhima, Nawaam, and Lah Kara all accomplish this state of empty balance at different points, and that clarity enhances their dueling and Force abilities. In an interview with Polygon, The Ninth Jedi‘s creators revealed that the silver blade represents the Eastern idea that mastery of something brings along a sense of nothingness and balance, and they used the perfectly calm, emotionless, and Stoic masters of samurai film history as an example of that idea.

The Ninth Jedi‘s silver lightsabers also completely ignore every rule Star Wars canon has about lightsaber colors. In canon, it’s quite difficult to change a blade’s color. Kyber crystals come with a set hue, but dark side Force wielders can bleed the crystal by imbuing it with strong negative emotions, usually just after they’ve killed someone. Light side users can also purify previously bled kyber crystals in a mysterious ritual. In short, Star Wars canon says it takes a tremendous amount of effort to change a lightsaber’s color, while The Ninth Jedi says it happens automatically depending on the user’s connection to the Force.

Of course, it’s not that big of a deal that The Ninth Jedi doesn’t coincide with established Star Wars lore. As previously mentioned, The Ninth Jedi isn’t part of Star Wars canon and instead exists in its own standalone continuity. It’s not contradicting canon because it’s not part of canon. Even if it were retconning lightsaber colors or kyber crystal bleeding and purification, however, The Ninth Jedi‘s silver lightsaber would be worth it.

The Ninth Jedi’s Exploration Of Balance Makes Silver Lightsabers Totally Worth It

Silver lightsabers are arguably the single most important part of The Ninth Jedi, and their importance to the show’s story completely justifies leaving Star Wars canon behind. The Ninth Jedi is largely a story examining the idea of balance and the lack of emotion that accompanies mastery, as previously mentioned by the show’s creators. Everything revolves around that state of nothingness, and The Ninth Jedi provides a very comprehensive examination of the Eastern idea of balance as it pertains to the morality of Star Wars.

Nawaam, The Ninth Jedi‘s central antagonist, uses his nothingness to wreak havoc on the galaxy in the name of bringing order to chaos. Lah Zhima uses it only after being forced to kill his secretly evil master and closing himself off emotionally. Lah Kara uses it after she’s tempted by the dark side, as she wants to refrain from unnecessary killing. Eventually, they learn that nothingness is unsustainable; Nawaam falls to the dark side, while Kara returns to the light.

Having a visual representation and in-depth exploration of what is essentially the popular fan idea of a “Gray Jedi” is well worth toying with the lightsaber colors available. The Ninth Jedi is one of the most in-depth looks at the light and dark sides of the Force as well as the very notion of balance that Star Wars has produced in ages. It presents an entirely different framework to look at the Force through, as Star Wars has been dominated by Western voices since it began, and it gives every viewer a deeper understanding of the franchise.

Those benefits from a story perspective more than justify introducing a new lightsaber and ignoring kyber crystal bleeding. On top of it all, a silver lightsaber just looks cool. It’s unexpected and unusual for Star Wars, and it works tremendously well in animation. In short, Star Wars is better off for The Ninth Jedi, and that show wouldn’t be the deeply philosophical and introspective meditation on balance and morality that it is without silver lightsabers.

Release Date

2026 – 2026-00-00

Network

Hulu, Disney+

Directors

Shunsuke Tada, Kenichi Matsuzawa, Kazuma Ogasawara

Cast

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  Chinatsu Akasaki

  Lah Kara (voice)

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  Hiromu Mineta

  Ethan (voice)

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