Lightsaber From 'Empire Strikes Back' Sells For $3.6M

Star Wars may not have the same cult like fan following that it used to have in the ’80s and ’90s (you can thank the lackluster prequel and sequel films for that), but there’s still a few die-hard fans to be had, and one just put down a wild amount of money on some OG Star Wars memorabilia.

According to Hypebeast, a rich Star Wars fan just put down a cool $3.6 million on the original Darth Vader lightsaber prop that was used to film the classic The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi films in the early ’80s. While we understand that this is a piece of pop culture and cinematic history, putting down this amount of money on a “weapon” that can’t even cut through butter is bonkers to us, but hey, to each its own, right?

Originally believed to fetch no more than 1 or 2 million when renowned memorabilia company Propstore held the auction, the lightsaber prop went on to shock everyone when 31 bids poured in and ultimately settled on a sale price of more than $3 million.

Per Hypebeast:

The lightsaber hilt, which was meticulously crafted from a Graflex camera flash handle, was wielded by actor David Prowse and stunt performer Bob Anderson in two of the most celebrated films in the Star Wars saga. It played a central role in some of cinema’s most pivotal moments, including Vader’s stunning reveal to Luke Skywalker in Cloud City and his climactic duel with the Emperor in the second Death Star’s throne room. The site of the auction read that the lightsaber was “wielded by both David Prowse and stunt performer Bob Anderson, this is the primary dueling prop created for Vader’s character in both Empire and Jedi… It saw extensive use during the filming of both movies and is one of the most memorable film props from the original trilogy.”

You have to wonder who ended up taking home this piece of movie history and what they plan on doing with it. Are they going to be taking this to Comic Con to show it off and impress the girlies, or will they simply put it in a display case to impress their guests? We have more than a few questions.

What do y’all think about someone putting down more than $3 million on a lightsaber that can’t kill anything? Let us know in the comments section below.