Star Wars auction: Vader’s original lightsaber could fetch $1M, Boba Fett blaster up for sale

Family reunions are always awkward. This one has a price tag.

Darth Vader’s lightsaber, the one he swung in the Cloud City showdown that cost Luke Skywalker a hand and gave cinema its most famous paternity reveal, is going under the hammer, according to the Associated Press. Heritage Auctions will offer it at its Ultimate Star Wars Auction on November 12, with an estimate starting at $1 million.

Father and son, both at auction

The timing is almost poetic. In July, Luke’s lightsaber sold for $3.75 million, and it came with the severed prop hand still attached. The auction house called that the highest price ever paid for a prop from a Star Wars film. So the son’s saber has already found a buyer, and now the father’s is up for grabs. Somewhere, a collector is wondering whether to complete the set.

Vader’s saber also has a second credit: it appeared in “Return of the Jedi” as well. That makes it a two-film veteran, which in the props world is a bit like a sword that fought in two wars.

A whole armory of lightsabers

If $1 million is more than you budgeted for laser swords, there are options. The sale includes more than two dozen lightsaber props from all nine saga episodes, plus other films and TV shows set in George Lucas’s galaxy.

The bargain-bin pick, relatively speaking, is the matching pair from the volcanic duel in “Revenge of the Sith.” The sabres Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen used as Obi-Wan and Anakin are each expected to sell for $10,000 or more. That’s roughly a hundredth of Vader’s estimate, which says something about prequel inflation, or the lack of it.

Beyond the glowing sticks

For buyers who prefer their weapons to fire bolts, Boba Fett’s EE-3 carbine blaster from “The Empire Strikes Back” is projected to pass $100,000. The bounty hunter barely said a word in that film, but his gear still commands attention.

The rest of the catalog reads like a museum gift shop with no price ceiling:

• A Yoda puppet hand that Frank Oz operated in the little green master’s debut, also in “Empire.” Luke’s hand, Yoda’s hand: this franchise has a theme.

• Anthony Daniels’ own third-draft screenplay of the 1977 original, signed by the man inside C-3PO. It’s an early look at the story before it became legend.

• A TIE Fighter pilot helmet from “Rogue One,” for anyone who wants to cosplay the Empire’s most expendable workforce.

Bidding opens November 12. May the Force, and a healthy credit limit, be with you.

With inputs from Associated Press