The original Darth Vader lightsaber from the films "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" has been put up for auction again. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
When the auction will take place
The auction will be held on November 12, 2026, at Heritage Auctions. This is the very lightsaber used during the filming of Darth Vader's duel scenes with Luke Skywalker. In the films, the character was played by David Prowse, while stuntman Bob Anderson took part in the combat scenes.
What it sold for last time
This same prop was already sold in September 2025 at a Propstore auction. At that time, it was bought for $3.654 million (1.66 billion tenge). Now the lightsaber has been put up for auction again, but the name of the previous buyer is not disclosed. Heritage Auctions also did not say why the prop was decided to be sold a second time.
Description of the lot
The lot description notes that this lightsaber differed from the prop used in scenes without duels. Its hilt was reinforced with aluminum cylinders and steel mounts so that interchangeable wooden blades could be attached to it.
During the filming of "The Empire Strikes Back," they were first coated with a reflective material and later simply painted white. This helped add the effect of a glowing blade during the film's post-processing stage. The blade itself has not survived to this day and is not included in the lot.
Starting bid and commission
A buyer's commission of 25% will be added to the starting bid. If the lightsaber sells for $1 million (about 454 million tenge), the buyer will have to pay $1.25 million (about 567 million tenge).
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle wrote that George Lucas opened the Narrative Art Museum in Los Angeles, which he worked on for about 17 years.