One of Darth Vader’s most recognizable weapons from the Star Wars franchise is heading to auction with an expected price of at least $1 million.
Heritage Auctions will offer the lightsaber during its Ultimate Star Wars Auction on November 12. The prop appeared in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Darth Vader’s Empire Strikes Back lightsaber heads to auction with a $1 million minimum estimate
The Darth Vader lightsaber appeared during the famous Cloud City showdown between Vader and Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back.
As per ABC News, that sequence included Vader’s “I am your father” revelation and ended with Luke losing his hand during their confrontation.
Heritage Auctions expects the prop to sell for at least $1 million.
Its appearance at auction follows another major Star Wars memorabilia sale earlier in the year. In July, a lightsaber prop depicting Luke Skywalker’s severed hand from The Empire Strikes Back sold for $3.75 million.
According to the supplied source, that sale set a record for the highest price ever paid for a prop used in a Star Wars movie.
The upcoming Star Wars auction will include more than two dozen lightsaber props spanning Episodes I through IX, along with memorabilia from other productions in the franchise.
Collectors will also have the chance to bid on lightsabers used by Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. Auction estimates place each of those props at no less than $10,000.
Another major item comes from Boba Fett. His EE-3 carbine blaster from The Empire Strikes Back carries an estimate exceeding $100,000.
Other lots include a Yoda puppet hand that Frank Oz used during the character’s original Empire Strikes Back appearance.
The auction will also feature Anthony Daniels’ signed personal third-draft screenplay for the original 1977 Star Wars and a TIE Fighter pilot helmet from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
The Empire Strikes Back lightsaber remains one of the event’s highest-profile pieces as collectors prepare for the November sale.
