Lightsaber canon is not set in stone. In current, post-2016 Star Wars canon, we know that the crystals in lightsabers can bleed and change, which is a nice metaphor for lightsaber and Force canon over the years. In early drafts of The Empire Strikes Back, a magical kyber crystal was a huge part of the plot, but not directly connected to how the lightsabers worked. Luke’s green lightsaber color was only picked in post-production of Return of the Jedi, because the blue color didn’t look right with the Tatooine sand. Red wasn’t always specifically Sith-coded either; even in the prequel era, heroic Jedi like Adi Gallia had red lightsabers in the comics and in the toys. Just like the blades could be deployed and then shrink back, lightsabers have always been a malleable and dynamic part of Star Wars history. And now, with The Ninth Jedi, a new profound interpretation of lightsabers has again redefined the nature of the iconic sci-fi weapon.
Like the 2021 Star Wars: Visions short which started the concept, the series version of The Ninth Jedi (just released on Disney+ on August 5), focuses much of its plotting on the coloring — or lack of color — of lightsaber blades, and how a specific attunement to the Force can change these elegant weapons. Technically, The Ninth Jedi doesn’t assert that all lightsabers have the ability to reflect the heart of the wielder, and yet there’s a sense of truth in the series that this is how lightsabers should always have functioned. And, for Ninth Jedi creator Kenji Kamiyama, the reasons to present lightsabers as dynamic, changing objects within the narrative were both a spiritual and cultural choice.
