Palpatine’s lightsaber duel with Mace Windu is one of the most exciting action scenes inStar Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, though it almost saw the future Emperor armed with a different lightsaber. Upon discovering that Palpatine is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, Mace Windu – accompanied by Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto – confronts Palpatine in his office, only for the Supreme Chancellor to draw a red-bladed Sith lightsaber and battle the Jedi. The film initially had Palpatine wielding a different lightsaber in this scene, however.
Palpatine was trained inlightsaber combatby his mentor,Darth Plagueis. Like all Sith Lords, Palpatine’s training included lightsaber combat, with the aspiring Sith Lord becoming one of the galaxy’s deadliest duelists. As per Sith tradition, Palpatine would construct a red-bladed lightsaber, though he would also build several identical backup weapons in case one was lost or destroyed.
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Palpatine Was Supposed To Use Anakin’s Blue Lightsaber
As seen in behind-the-scenes footage fromRevenge of the Sith, Anakin was going to witness Palpatine’s duel with Mace Windu, andPalpatine would have wielded Anakin’s iconic blue-bladed lightsaberin the battle. Elements of this original version of the duel remain in the film’s final cut, as Palpatine can be seen wielding a red-bladed lightsaber whose hilt resembles Anakin’s rather than his own weapon. There is even someRevenge of the Sithmerchandise that depicts Palpatine with Anakin’s blue lightsaber instead of his red Sith weapon.
It was, ultimately, the right decision to omit Anakin and his lightsaber from Palpatine’s duel for several reasons.Having Anakin enter Palpatine’s office after the duel ended played into Palpatine’s schemes far betterthan having him witness Palpatine cut down three Jedi Masters and attempt to kill Windu. In a more superficial sense, it was also the right choice to give Palpatine a genuine Sith lightsaber rather than having him use Anakin’s Jedi weapon.
Fascinatingly,Revenge of the Sithwas not the first time Palpatine was depicted as wielding a blue-bladed lightsaber. In the original Legends continuity’sDark Empirecomics, by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy, the reborn Palpatine battles Luke Skywalker with a blue-bladed lightsaber that is said to have belonged to a Jedi previously. IfDark Empirewere to be made afterRevenge of the Sith, however, Palpatine would likely have been depicted as using one of his red-bladed backup weapons.
Why Palpatine So Rarely Uses A Lightsaber
Although Palpatine is one of the galaxy’s finest lightsaber combatants, he is notable for rarely using the weapons. Given Palpatine’s penchant for manipulation, political leadership positions, and many underlings, this is understandable. In the modern canon, Palpatine occasionally looks back on his weapons sometime after his resurrection, lamenting his inability to use the Sith lightsabers. He more than makes up for it with otherForce powers, of course.
In the original Legends continuity, however, Palpatine has a dismissive attitude toward lightsabers in general. As revealed in James Luceno’s 2005 novelDark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader,Palpatine insists the Sith Lords have outgrown the use of lightsabers, yet they continue to wield the weapons to humiliate the Jedi. Of course, Palpatine wields lightsabers numerous times during the Galactic Civil War, using them to kill Jedi Purge survivors, massacre Bothan Rebels, and duel Luke Skywalker during Operation Shadow Hand - showing he was not above this himself.
Palpatine’s view on lightsabers is consistent with the changes Darth Bane made to the Sith a thousand years before the Skywalker saga. Before theRule of Two, Sith fought the Jedi and oppressed worlds openly, but Bane’s dynasty prefers manipulating galactic affairs from the shadows, making lightsabers obsolete to them in certain regards. Of course, Sith Lords continued to master lightsaber combat in Bane’s dynasty, and each new generation of Sith became deadlier than the last, ending with Palpatine – who showed just how dangerous he was inStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
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