Cue the imperial march and prepare your wallets; one of cinema’s most iconic artifacts is marching onto the auction block, cape billowing and button presses echoing through the universe. Yes, the actual lightsaber wielded with all the flair of a Shakespearean villain by Darth Vader in “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” is up for grabs. The stage is being set at Propstore, one of the top auction houses renowned for dealing in entertainment memorabilia. The saber’s starting applause (or perhaps, a gentle hum) begins at an estimated $1 million, but it may need at least $3 million to call any collection its new Death Star.
Before the auction becomes the main event, this legendary piece will take an intriguing tour, waving hello to London, Los Angeles, and New York. Anticipation will rise like twin suns on Tatooine, with the excitement conveniently aligning with the 45th anniversary of “The Empire Strikes Back.” If ever there was an event to mark on a lightsaber-shaped calendar, this would be it. Calling all enthusiasts, superfans, and collectors—it’s time to scramble one’s own fleet.
The authenticity of this lightsaber is what makes it shine brighter than the smuggler’s crescent moon. According to Propstore officials, this is believed to be the only verifiable screen-used Darth Vader “hero” lightsaber from the original trilogy that’s ever been offered at public auction. Both David Prowse, Mr. Vader in the suit, and his nimble stunt double, Bob Anderson, wielded this very weapon during filming. This is, they swear by the Force, not only Hollywood memorabilia but a relic of film mythology.
Brandon Alinger, Propstore’s chief operating officer and perhaps the Star Wars collector equivalent of Yoda, has claimed that this lightsaber is everything collectors dream it to be. “It is simply a grail-level piece, worthy of the finest collections in the world,” he said, going so far as to liken it to the Ruby Slippers of “The Wizard of Oz,” which famously clicked their heels home for a whopping $32.5 million.
To get an idea of the market for Star Wars props, one only needs to look at recent sales. In 2017, Mark Hamill’s lightsaber, the elder sibling to this Vader model, went for $450,000 a saber’s length. Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen brought in six figures with their Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker lightsabers. It appears that even outside the galaxy far, far away, Star Wars memorabilia has achieved legendary status on Earth.
As Disney can likely attest ($1 billion in merchandise sales from Star Wars alone in 2024), it’s a good time to be involved in this franchise. With over $12 billion in franchise revenue last year, it’s clear that whether in plastic or platinum, the Star Wars saga is stellar business. Darth Vader himself has remained timelessly popular. As Empire magazine once declared, he ranks as the pinnacle of movie villainy, and naturally, artifacts tethered to his narrative maintain their own gravitational pull—one that buyers find quite irresistible.
For those collectors willing to duel with their bank accounts, the upcoming auction is far more than just a transaction for a prop; it’s an opportunity to clutch what may well be the central piece of cinematic history. When the gavel booms its echo at the end of this auction’s space opera, some fortunate aficionado could exit with arguably the cosmos’s most famous weapon.
As the rarelightsaber prepares for its journey into the hands of perhaps the wealthiest Star Wars fan in existence, it underscores an age-old notion: sometimes, you can indeed hold a piece of myth in your hands. And for one exceedingly lucky bidder, that mythical piece will be the battle-worn lightsaber of Darth Vader himself, whose presence leaves an indelible mark not just on film history, but in the hearts of audiences everywhere who yearn to understand the dark side—and maybe own it, too.
In a universe bound by the fiercest sagas, where light battles darkness perpetually, nothing epitomizes this duality more effectively than a Jedi’s lightsaber. In the coming auction, Darth Vader’s lightsaber—forged with duel intrigue and cinematic nostalgia—is poised to blaze a trail through auction history, proving once again that some forces are tangible, even in a galaxy far, far away.
