Darth Vader Used Purple Lightsabers Once & Only Real Star Wars Fans Know Why

The lightsaber from "Star Wars" is one of the most iconic movie props of all time. The weapon has even developed its own mythology, with red lightsabers representing the dark side of the Force while blue and green ones are often used by Jedi. Of course, there are numerous other colors that hint at all the various shades of gray one can exist in with the Force. 

One of the most intriguing is the purple lightsaber. It's most often affiliated with Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), and diehard "Star Wars" fans know the story of how Jackson specifically asked George Lucas if his blade could be purple. However, Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) also sported purple lightsabers in a very obscure piece of "Star Wars" lore. 

Boris Vallejo made some posters for "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980 that were cross-promotional with Coca-Cola. One has Darth Vader ominously standing above the rest of the cast wielding two purple lightsabers. On the other, Luke has a purple blade while on Dagobah. It goes without saying a Coca-Cola poster isn't canon to "Star Wars," and the color change was likely an error. However, it's not the only saber mistake to transpire in a galaxy far, far away. 

Mishaps and goofs are bound to happen in any massive franchise that spans movies, comic books, and video games. Still, it seems like a pretty big misfire that a Luke Skywalker action figure wouldn't have the correct color lightsaber he has in the movie. The YouTube channel RetroBlasting details how the Kenner Luke Skywalker toy had a yellow lightsaber, which doesn't make any sense because he has a blue one in the first two films of the original "Star Wars" trilogy and a green one in "Return of the Jedi." But as with most things related to "Star Wars," any inconsistencies will receive a canon explanation sooner or later.

While Luke's yellow lightsaber was likely an error like the purple blades on the Coca-Cola posters, it's now confirmed Luke had a yellow one during his journey in the original trilogy. He acquires this new weapon in the 2020 comic book, "The Destiny Path: Part VI." It takes place between the events of "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," after Luke lost his blue lightsaber during his duel with Darth Vader. He needs a new weapon if he's going to face the Sith Lord again, so he travels to Tempes, where he constructs a new lightsaber with a yellow kyber crystal. Therefore, the yellow lightsaber is what Luke Skywalker has between the blue and green ones. 

With so many moving parts to any "Star Wars" project, it makes sense mistakes get made every now and then. And even if an error occurs, you can bet someone will show up decades down the line to justify why that mistake was canon all along.