How many lightsabers did Palpatine have? We see him with two in the Lawless and two in ROTS. However, the two in the Lawless don't seem to be the same as the ones in ROTS. The sabres in Lawless seem identical to the first lightsaber Palpatine used in ROTS. However, Palpatine's second lightsaber in ROTS is a black version of his first blade. This doesn't seem to jive with continuity, as the two blades in Lawless were identical. Did Palpatine have three sabres, perhaps? The two gold and silver ones as seen in Lawless and ROTS, and a black backup blade in ROTS. I suppose it's possible that Palpatine decided to paint one of his silver lightsabers black after he finish dealing with Maul and Savage, but why would he do that? Any thoughts on the many lightsabers of Darth Sidious?
The black one in the photo was a Master Replicas .45 scale Best Buy exclusive. They had multiple exclusives that were repaints of lightsabers shown in the film. They had a version for Anakin that was the same color as well. As such, it is not canon or even intended to be taken as such. The lightsabers Palpatine had in ROTS were intended to both be identical. One goes out the window when he defeats Mace (and is presumably lost, unless it was retrieved afterward), and the second appears when he fights Yoda. Again, these are likely to be different but could possibly be the same.
Well, the reason for the two Lightsabers is much simpler. Originally, Anakin chooses to join Palpatine rather than go back to the Temple. When the Jedi Posse arrive, Anakin refuses to move away from Palpatine and this results in Palpatine using Anakin's Lightsaber to fight the Jedi. The duel ends with Anakin's saber falling towards Anakin and not out the window. He then uses it against Mace. Lucas re-shot this scene and most of Act II, in order to set up the story as we know it now. Portions of the duel was altered with inserts of Palpatine's own Lightsaber in hand, rather than Anakin's, though you can still see it in a few shots. TCW kept the two sabers which is why they appear in season five to remain consistent with the one that fell out the window and the other which is dropped in the Senate rotunda.
The color issue has confused me. Perhaps Palpatine did have 3 lightsabers. To be honest, I don't think Palpatine should use lightsabers to begin with. He's above that sort of thing.
It was supposed to be blue during the duel as originally planned and filmed in 2003. The changes were made in 2004.
Darth Dnej, I humbly disagree. Sidious is not beneath using a Lightsaber. Sabers are weapons of Jedi and Sith alike. You cannot wield the Force indefinitely without exhausting the shell (body) of the user. A Lightsaber is the other part of a Force Users combat.
It's just a freaking lightsaber. Why does it matter how many he had? He could have had dozens for all we know.
Or you could just not read this thread. The question was asked because the original poster didn't notice the word exclusive on the two different prop replica stands and most likely isn't familiar with the idea of exclusive variants designed for both collectors and to draw in business for a particular store.
In regards to prop color vs blade color, I think the prop sabers are random colors and they add blade color after. Jackson's prop isn't purple after all. I could be wrong though
The prop blades are colored according to where the scenes are filmed. Because of the blue screen used for Palpatine's office, the green blades with a red tip were used so that they remain visible for rotoscoping. If they were blue, they'd disappear completely. The finished blade is whatever Lucas decides except for the Sith and the characters whose sabers carry over to the OT.
He probably had several over the years. I love the scene in TCW with his double lightsabers -- wish we saw that in ROTS.
Really now? I was under the impression that the actors were allowed to choose which hilt they liked, assuming that it would not show up in the OT
As far as we know, he was supposed to have two. One of the things I like about TCW is how it addresses certain continuity issues. I believe this scene was a direct response to two different lightsabers being used in ROTS. Not to mention why he would have two [near] identical sabers in the first place (typically, new sabers take on a noticeably different shape, like Anakin's and Obi-Wan's). This showed that they were likely made around the same time, and partially made with dual-weilding in mind. I could be wrong, but I believe one of the sabers in The Clone Wars was different. From the picture, you can see bolts on the right that aren't on the left. It's been said that the ROTS sabers are different, but only that first picture has been used as evidence (since disproven). Just like the small differences with stunt sabers and whatnot, I think the differences are negligible, and it was intended to be identical. Seagoat: for the hilts, the actors do choose. At least for the the main characters. For everyone else, I'm sure they just hand them out to whoever (hence the continuity error with Mace's lightsaber in the first movie). Also, here's Ewan McGregor choosing his:
Oh, I thought it was blade color. In terms of hilts, a box was presented to the four leads in TPM and they hand picked what they wanted. The extras had to use whatever was available. I don't know how those were distributed. Hayden had to take what was given in AOTC and Jackson had a new one made up for that film as well. He hand picked his saber for TPM, but someone later photo shopped a different saber which appeared in magazines.
I liked the idea that Sidious has a black-hilted lightsaber. It makes him seem to be above other Sith. For the same reason, I think that he should have had a unique blade color. For this reason, I don't think that Palpatine needed a saber, but rather used sabers for show or to fake weakness.
Being above it doesn't mean that he's stupid. He's powerful as we saw when he fought Maul and Savage like he did, but he's also smart enough to know that some opponents require a different approach.
I thought the beginning of that fight made it clear that the only reason he was fighting them with lightsabers is because it amused him to do so.
He laughed when he fought Yoda, as well. The only time he didn't was against Mace and the Jedi Posse.
Probably because that fight was the one that was the most important for him and the Sith Order. If Mace had somehow killed Palpatine there and then, the Grand Plan of the Sith would have been stopped. Palpatine had to live in order to turn Anakin and issue Order 66. By the time Yoda faced Sidious, the Sith had already won and the Jedi were all but extinct. As for Maul and Savage, while they were extremely powerful in their own right, they didn't really have a chance of actually beating Darth Sidious. Besides, kicking the Sith brothers around the palace was just as much fun as throwing the Senate at Yoda. If you were Palpatine, wouldn't you laugh too?
What I don't think we can infer is that he's "above" the use of a lightsaber. He's powerful with the Force, but one doesn't exclude the other.
