Who said we'd seen it all in Star Wars? Every time we think the distant galaxy can't surprise us anymore, a new detail appears that breaks the mold. And this time we're not talking about an unexpected cameo or an epic return, but something much more striking: for the first time in the history of the saga, a Star Wars villain will wield a purple lightsaber.
The announcement came thanks to the trailer and poster for LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy – Pieces of the Past , a direct continuation of the special we saw on Disney+ in 2024. It features Solitus, a mysterious antagonist with a special connection to the Jedi... and with a weapon that no one expected: a double-ended purple lightsaber, connected by a chain. Yes, as if Darth Maul had stopped by the LEGO workshop and come out with an even more peculiar model.
Solitus, the new villain who breaks the mold in Star Wars
What makes Solitus unique isn't just his design or the fact that he's a LEGO villain, but his backstory. He's played by Dan Stevens and has a direct connection to the beloved Jedi Bob (voiced by Bobby Moynihan). It turns out Solitus was his former Jedi Master, which opens the door to all sorts of speculation. Is his purple lightsaber a reflection of his bright past combined with his fall into darkness? All signs point to yes.
The weapon itself deserves a special mention. It's not a simple purple lightsaber like Mace Windu's, but a hybrid composed of two blades connected by a chain. Imagine a cross between a lightsaber and a Japanese kusarigama, with all the visual and combat potential that this can offer on screen.
And if that weren't enough, Pieces of the Past will also bring back a beloved character for video game fans: Darth Revan. This legendary Knights of the Old Republic villain will make his first television appearance... and also with a purple lightsaber in hand! It seems that, suddenly, this color has stopped being exclusive to atypical heroes and Jedi and has become the new dark trend.
Why do Star Wars villains always use red lightsabers?
To understand why this debut is so important, it's worth remembering the lore. In the Star Wars universe, red lightsabers became synonymous with the Sith and other villains. This isn't a design quirk, but rather the result of a very specific process: the Kyber crystals that power each saber are "corrupted" when a Dark Side user manipulates them, causing them to "bleed" and acquire that characteristic crimson color.
That's why virtually all of the antagonists we've seen in the main saga— Darth Vader , Darth Sidious, Kylo Ren, and even Darth Maul himself—wield red lightsabers. It's a clear symbol of their power and their break with the Jedi. The appearance of a villain with a purple lightsaber now breaks with that tradition and gives a new dimension to the eternal conflict between light and darkness.
Other Star Wars villains with different lightsabers
Although red has always been the official color of evil, there have been notable exceptions that raised more than a few eyebrows among fans.
- Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati (in Ahsoka): they surprised with their striking orange lightsabers, which reflected their ambiguous position, neither completely Jedi nor fully Sith.
- General Grievous: the ultimate collector. Not being Force-sensitive, he simply collected the lightsabers of fallen Jedi, allowing him to sport weapons of various colors.
- Pong Krell (in The Clone Wars): This fearsome fallen Jedi Master wielded a pair of double-bladed lightsabers, one blue and one green, making him even more lethal.
These examples prove that, even though red is the norm, Star Wars always finds ways to experiment with the saga's most iconic weapons.
The meaning of purple in Star Wars
The color purple holds a special significance in the franchise. It was Samuel L. Jackson who personally requested that his character, Mace Windu , have a lightsaber of this color, so that he could distinguish himself on screen during the Battle of Geonosis. George Lucas agreed, and ever since, purple has been associated with characters with a strong connection to the Force, but who do not follow the Jedi path in an orthodox manner.
In Solitus's case, that purple could symbolize his dual nature: an ancient Jedi Master who, in embracing the darkness, never entirely lost touch with the light. His lightsaber literally connects two extremes, as if representing the constant clash between past and present, between balance and destruction.
A premiere full of surprises
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy – Pieces of the Past is coming to Disney+ on September 19 , and it promises to be a real treat for fans. Not only because of the appearance of Solitus and Darth Revan, but because the trailer hints at unexpected cameos, such as the presence of a LEGO version of Grogu himself. The saga has always known how to laugh at itself in this format, and it seems that the new installment will maintain that spirit of madness and fun.
In short, we're witnessing a historic moment: the first Star Wars villain on screen with a purple lightsaber, something that expands the saga's visual and narrative possibilities. Because if this galaxy far, far away has proven anything, it's that there's always room to surprise us with a new twist, a new character... or a new color that changes the rules of the game.