A piece of movie memorabilia is headed to the auction block, and will cost a pretty penny to own.
That’s because the prop itself is beyond iconic: the red lightsaber Darth Vader used to defeat Luke Skywalker in “The Empire Strikes Back,” one of the most legendary scenes in cinematic history.
A Legendary Lightsaber
According to a report from the Associated Press, the “Star Wars” villain’s lightsaber is going up for auction.
Back in July, Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber (still clutched in his severed hand) sold for a staggering $3.7 million — the most ever paid for a “Star Wars” prop.
Vader’s lightsaber appeared in that same scene, in which the black-helmeted villain famously tells Luke that “I am your father.”
Given how much the other lightsaber was purchased for, Vader’s lightsaber is expected to fetch in excess of $1 million.
A ‘Star Wars’ Auction
As AP reports, the lightsaber is one of more than two dozen props that will be up for sale at the auction, held by Heritage Auctions and set to take place November 12.
The collection spans “Star Wars” Episodes I through IX, in addition to various other films and TV series under George Lucas’s LucasFilm banner.
Among the items up for bid are the dueling lightsabers used by Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker in “Revenge of the Sith.” Those are expected to fetch a minimum of $10,000 apiece.
“An EE-3 carbine blaster wielded by Boba Fett throughout “The Empire Strikes Back” is estimated to bring in more than $100,000,” reports AP, while adding, “Also included are a Yoda puppet hand used by Frank Oz in the character’s original appearance in ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels’ signed, personal third-draft screenplay for the original 1977 ‘Star Wars’ and a TIE Fighter pilot helmet from ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.'”
Mark Hamill Kept the Secret
While Vader’s revelation that he’s Luke’s father is now seen as the most crucial scene in the “Star Wars” franchise, it was a secret that star Mark Hamill was forced to keep from his co-stars.
In a 2020 tweet, Hamill wrote, “The cast & crew first learned of it when they saw the finished film. When we shot it, Vader’s line was “You don’t know the truth, Obi-Wan killed your father.” Only Irvin Kershner, George Lucas & I knew what would be dubbed in later. Agony keeping that secret for over a year!”
Several fans who hadn’t known about this particular piece of “Star Wars” trivia were shook.
That included actress Melissa Fumero, best known for her role as Amy Santiago on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” “WHOA! I did not know that. Amazing!” she wrote in response.
“This might be my favorite movie trivia fact every, so great!” another fan added.
A Spectacular Twist
Hamill previously revealed he’d kept that secret during a 2017 appearance on “The Graham Norton Show.”
“By the second film, that’s when the scrutiny became more intense, and there was a wonderful substitute revelation in the scene,” Hamill explained.
“The idea of Alec Guinness being the real villain, I thought ‘Wow, what a spectacular twist!'” he continued.
“The director, Irvin Kershner, took me aside, he came to my dressing room actually, and he said, ‘I’m gonna tell you something. I know it. George Lucas knows it, and when I tell you, you’ll know it. But if it leaks, we’ll know it was you,'” Hamill recalled. “So I said, ‘What? What?’ and he handed me the piece of paper that said, ‘I am your father.'”
Added Hamill: “I was shocked. I said, ‘Is that true?’ and he said, ‘Well, you search your feelings, and we’re gonna play it like yeah, it is true!’ I said, ‘Oh my gosh, Dad Vader!'”
Hamill then recalled Harrison Ford’s hilarious reaction when he saw the scene at an early screening of the movie.
“So at the screening, when that happened, Harrison turned to me and said, ‘Hey kid, you didn’t [expletive] tell me that!'” Hamill recalled with a laugh.
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Darth Vader’s Lightsaber Is Heading to Auction — and the Price Is Expected to be Astronomical