Demand among Star Wars memorabilia collectors for screen-matched lightsabres has surged, with a series of high-profile auction sales.
In September of last year, the lightsabre from the original 1977 Star Wars film sold for $3.6 million with Propstore in Los Angeles, setting a record for a prop from the franchise. That record was broken earlier this summer by Luke Skywalker's lightsabre, still held in the prosthetic hand Darth Vader cut off in The Empire Strikes Back, which sold for almost $3.8 million with Dallas-based Heritage Auctions.
Now Darth Vader's weapon from The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) is headlining Heritage Auctions' The Ultimate Star Wars Auction on 12 November. The starting bid, including the 25% buyer's premium, is $1 million. The prop leads a line of lightsabres spanning various sequels and spin-offs, along with Boba Fett's carbine blaster (starting bid $125,000) and other props, scripts, drawings, toys and posters.
The spate of sales reflects collecting film memorabilia becoming serious business. The broader market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% to 2030, from $3.1 billion in 2024 to $4.4 billion, according to a report last year from Strategic Market Research. At the end of August, Propstore featured several Star Wars items in its Entertainment Memorabilia sale, and last spring it sold C-3PO's head from The Empire Strikes Back for just over $1 million, including the buyer's premium.
Last month, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened in Los Angeles. It cost a reported $1 billion and took 15 years to build, according to The Economist.