6 Facts About Lightsabers to Know Before Seeing Rogue One

With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story less than a month away from its worldwide premiere, we can expect quite a few announcements to be made in the next month. Along with some newly released content, the international trailer for #RogueOne just aired some footage of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) having possession of a Kyber crystal. The Kyber crystals are very important artifacts within the Star Wars mythos and appear to play a pivotal role in the upcoming Rogue One film.

Within the Star Wars mythos, the Kyber crystals originate from the planet Jedha. The planet Jedha hasn't been featured in a Star Wars film yet, but Jedha will definitely be one of the planets depicted in Rogue One. The Kyber crystals are quite important to the universe as a whole since the Kyber crystals are the internal power source of Lightsabers.

Considering that Jyn Erso has been seen with a Kyber crystal around her neck as a simple pendant, it appears as if she doesn't know what she has. But, in the scenario of someone exposing what the crystal really is, Jyn Erso might seek to use the Kyber crystal given to her to create a lightsaber of her own (purely speculative at the moment).

Beyond speculating any more, here are a few facts about Kyber crystals and Lightsabers you probably want to know before seeing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

1. The Kyber Crystals Also Power the Death Star

The planet-destroying weapon known as the Death Star draws its energy from a massive store of Kyber crystals. Within the mythos of Star Wars, it's said that a sect of Ancient Sith cultivated weapons using Kyber crystals and those designs inevitably resulted in the Empire revamping the layouts for Ancient Sith weapons and created the Death Star laser.

2. Why Do Kyber Crystals Bleed?

The Kyber crystals are mined as raw materials and are then placed within lightsaber hilts. Jedi are the only ones capable of successfully manipulating Kyber crystals into lightsaber hilts. When Sith attempt the process, the Kyber crystals reject the Force of the Sith. Once the rejection becomes known, a Sith would force the crystal into the lightsaber hilt, regardless of the resistance being shown. As a result, the raw Kyber crystals begin to bleed.

3. Why Are Sith Lightsabers Red?

By forcing a Kyber crystal into a lightsaber hilt, it begins to bleed and results in the red color. When a Jedi correctly assembles a lightsaber, the color of the lightsaber can vary but when the Kyber crystal is forced into a hilt, it bleeds and turns the lightsaber red — the color of a Sith blade. In turn, the Kyber crystal becomes tainted like its user.

4. Can A Kyber Crystal Be Returned To Its Original State?

Once a Kyber crystal has been forced to bleed and has been tainted it's quite difficult to purify the crystal. However, a recent instance of a Kyber crystal being purified has taken place on the animated Star Wars: Rebels series.

Ahsoka Tano, the padawan to Anakin Skywalker prior to his becoming Darth Vader, purified two Kyber Crystals and began using them in lightsabers herself. Previously belonging to Sixth Brother, the Kyber crystals were forced into lightsabers but Ahsoka Tano was able to purify them and utilize the crystals herself.

5. Kyber Crystals Can Be Used To Create A Variety Of Weapons

Most recently, the Kyber crystals have been used to create a unique weapon for Ezra, on the #StarWarsRebels animated series. Ezra's lightsaber isn't your everyday lightsaber, it doubles as a blaster.

Ezra's lightsaber isn't the only new variation of lightsaber to become canon within the Star Wars universe. Several other variations of lightsaber hilts have come to be, and they all utilize the Kyber crystals in a similar fashion.

6. Crossguard Lightsaber Hilt Explained By Kyber Crystal

The crossguard lightsaber hilt was made infamous after its debut in Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens. Kylo Ren bearing the unique crossguard lightsaber, has lit the way for several other variations of lightsabers to be constructed as well.

Most lightsabers protrude their plasma blades in one directions, but the crossguard lightsaber is a bit different. When a Kyber crystal is manipulated into a lightsaber hilt, sometimes the crystal cracks. As a result, the broken Kyber crystal begins exerting an excess output of energy. To counteract this reaction from the crystal, it's placed in a crossguard hilt to release the excess energy through the sides. The crossguard lightsabers are quite unstable but still very deadly when considering how the output of energy exerted by the Kyber crystal continually expands and decreases at unknown intervals.