Rey carries a yellow lightsaber at the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but what does the new saber color mean for the character?

The end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker reveals that Rey (Daisy Ridley) now carries a yellow lightsaber, but what does this mean for the character? The closing scenes of the movie take the final chapter of the Skywalker saga back to where it all started, Tatooine, and shows Rey formally taking "Skywalker" as her family name, and burying the lightsabers of Anakin and Leia. Afterward, Rey walks away with her own lightsaber, revealed to have a yellow blade.

The ninth Star Wars movie brings an end to the Skywalker saga as the new Star Wars sequel trio, Chewbacca, and the droids get caught up in a conflict with the main antagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy back at the center of it all: Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). Also in the mix is the villainous Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who is determined to bring Rey over to the dark side. After a heated battle between Rey and Kylo, followed by a vision of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from Kylo's memory, he a change of heart and switches sides. He joins forces with Rey against Palpatine, but it isn't enough. Rey, however, is finally able to defeat Palpatine after being encouraged by the voices of fallen Jedi.

By the end of the film, Palpatine, Leia, and Kylo Ren are all dead, leaving Rey as the last known surviving Jedi. The movie ends without giving a proper explanation for where Rey and the others will go from here, but the film's final act does provide closure to their stories, and a hint of what's to come for Rey with the reveal of her new lightsaber. Here's what you need to know about Rey's yellow lightsaber, other characters who have wielded them, and what it could mean for Rey's future.

Yellow Lightsabers In Star Wars Canon

Most characters in Star Wars movies typically use red, blue, or green lightsabers, but they're not the only options for Jedi. There are also orange, purple, yellow, and even black lightsabers. Of these, only purple is relevant to the movies, thanks to Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu. As for the others, they only appear outside of the films. Yellow lightsabers can be found in video games like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order where they can be the weapon of choice for the player character, numerous books in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and cartoons such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels.

In The Clone Wars, yellow lightsabers are wielded by the Jedi Temple Guard, though these were different from Rey's. The weapons used by the Jedi Temple Guard were double-bladed light pikes. As their titles suggest, the Jedi Temple Guard were part of an ancient order whose sole purpose was to defend the Jedi Temple on Coruscant from invaders.

Since yellow lightsabers are so rare in the Star Wars universe, there aren't any extremely well-known characters who have used them. A major, now non-canon Knights of the Old Republic character, Bastila Shan, fought with a yellow lightsaber. Plo Koon, one of the Jedi from Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith used a blue lightsaber in the movies but has fought with a yellow lightsaber in some of his non-canon appearances. Another character who has used one in the past is the Star Wars: The Clone Wars character, Assajj Ventress, but this happened in a tie-in book, and not the actual animated series. Suffice to say, Rey is now the most famous Star Wars character to craft a yellow lightsaber.

What Yellow Lightsabers Mean In Star Wars

In the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video games, players can choose between three Jedi classes, the Guardian, the Sentinel, and the Consular. Each one has a default lightsaber color, with the Sentinel's weapon being yellow. The game describes Sentinels as Jedi who "ferret out deceit and injustice". They "strike a balance between the physical and mental disciplines of the Jedi Order", which means that they're as adept with the Force as they are with their lightsaber. As this description indicates, the Sentinel acts as the game's balanced or well-rounded character, whereas the Jedi Guardian with their blue lightsabers focus their training on their combat skills, and the Jedi Consulars with their green lightsabers spend most of their time improving their connection to the Force.

While the game, and the lore surrounding lightsaber color, is no longer canon, the sentiment behind it might not be entirely absent. There may also be meaning to be found in the fact that the Jedi Temple Guard always carried them. In fact, whatever lightsaber they used before was traded for a yellow double-bladed lightsaber, but why did it have to be that color? It clearly holds some degree of significance to the Jedi Order. It's possible that it symbolizes the Jedi Temple Guard's unwavering devotion to their duty of protecting the Temple at any costs.

What A Yellow Lightsaber Means For Rey's Star Wars Future

Why does it matter that Rey now wields a yellow lightsaber? Based on what it's been known to represent in Knights of the Old Republic and The Clone Wars, it could shed some light on what Rey will do with the rest of her life. The movie leaves her future open to the interpretation of the audience, so one of the only clues is the lightsaber she chose to build. Her choice of color could tie in to both explanations for the yellow lightsaber's meaning. In a sense, Rey may now be a Jedi Sentinel, a warrior who possesses that required balance between physical combat and the Force. This makes sense, considering what's been shown of her training and fighting abilities. Also like the Sentinel, Rey possesses a number of skills that have nothing to do with the Force, such as her talents as a pilot and a mechanic.

In a way, Rey's reasons for using a yellow lightsaber are also in line with the purpose of the Jedi Temple Guard. The Jedi Temple Guard had a duty to protecting everything that the Jedi held dear, and this could reflect Rey's plans for her future. After all, Rey is now the last Jedi, which means that she has been shouldered with a huge responsibility. She is the only thing standing in the way of the Jedi ending for good. To protect what the Jedi represents to the world, Rey must protect their history and ensure that its knowledge is passed on. This is the only way the Jedi can persevere.

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