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With that here’s a dumb movie question for you. This is one that has always been in the back of my head. I don’t know I’m weird like that but I’m also huge Star Wars nerd.
“Why does Mace Windu have a purple lightsaber?”
Think about it for a second throughout all the movies we’ve only seen Jedi’s carry blue or green lightsabers and Sith’s carry red ones. Yet when it comes to Mace Windu in Episode II Attack of the Clones when he first draws his lightsaber he’s got a purple one for some reason. I remember seeing that for the first time and going “Whoa! Wait a second?! Did someone from special effects F-up!?” Now don’t get me wrong it’s pretty badass, but it still makes me wonder. So let’s try and answer that question, shall we!
Our answer can actually be found in one of the spin off comic books Star Wars Tales #13 published by Dark Horse Comics in September 2002. In it one of the stories titled “Stones” tells how a young Mace Windu when he was still just a Jedi Padawan in training is sent to planet Hurikane (I know that name is pretty funny). He was sent there on a mission by himself to negotiate with the native beings of Hurikane, who are these living talking rock/crystal like creatures, to get some special lightsaber crystals. However when he got there he ended up being chased by the natives. However as they were pursuing Mace one of them fell into a canyon and shattered itself. Mace instead of continuing to run he turned back and went to help. He painstakingly put the Hurikane creature back together using the Force and saved him. (Yay!) As a reward they gave Mace Windu one of the very crystals he came to get. Turns out the crystals were violet in color and he would go on to build his new lightsaber with it, which is what gives it that purple blade.
Now we know how he got his purple lightsaber! The real-life answer which is just as interesting if not more so is simply that Samuel L. Jackson asked George Lucas for one. He wanted a way to stand out from all the other Jedi in the middle of the big battle that takes place at the end of Attack of the Clones. So he asked for a purple one and when Samuel L. Jackson asks for something you give it to him even if you’re the man that created Star Wars! Now that is one badass mother F-er!
One last thing I wanted to mention was that I wonder if there is anymore meaning behind the color purple. If you think about it the Light Side uses blue and the Dark Side uses red and when you mix blue and red together you get purple! Does that maybe represent that there is some of both in him and he’s more split down the middle than most Jedis. Who knows!? Something for you to meditate on.
If you have a dumb question you want me to look up let us know in the comments!
- Author: Kei
I heard at one point that it does have something to do with a balance in the force and that he can dip between dark and light (although i literally have no source for that and it sounds ridiculous). But it always bugged me that one lightsaber in all the movies was a different colour. Seems like Lucas caved in when Sam Jackson asked for it, not realising what it means for the larger Star Wars universe. Great post! 🙂
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Thanks, yeah it’d actually make a lot of sense since the mix of red and blue is purple. I never minded it too much but honestly I wish they’d throw in more colors. Thanks for the comment!
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