For decades, kids (and honestly, adults) dreamed of wielding their own lightsaber and whooshing it around a room making electromagnetic slicing sounds.
Now, though, since the rise and popularity of The Mandalorian, the ultra-cool, one-of-a-kind Darksaber has risen in prominence. Even as it has existed in other Star Wars canon and mediums prior, not many fans were aware of it until recently. The sheer amount of eyes that The Mandalorian has attracted made even the casual fan want to know more about this shimmering black saber with a glowing white hue surrounding it.
In The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, we learn that Bo-Katan once had the Darksaber and wants to wield it again by defeating Moff Gideon. It is also revealed that the Darksaber’s owner was once Sabine Wren.
The Darksaber itself has a long, storied history, as does much to do with the Star Wars mythos. In bringing up to the current story and aforementioned show, and bleeding into spinoff show The Book of Boba Fett as well, we’ll go back only through a few wielders of the Darksaber, including how Sabine Wren came to lose the Darksaber.
How did Sabine Wren get the Darksaber?
The most well-known character (in the visual medium) to wield the Darksaber was Sabine Wren during the Star Wars animated series, Rebels, with the history of the Darksaber also told through The Clone Wars. The mythical blade was created by an ancient Mandalorian named Tar Vizsla and belongs to the Mandalorian House Vizsla. The former Darth Maul defeats Viszla in combat and claims the Darksaber, but eventually he abandons it in the Nightsister Lair because, most likely, the saber itself is rejecting him as the owner and becoming heavy and unwieldy.
In the Nightsister Lair, Ezra Bridger, a Jedi rebel, and Sith Maul come together in the ruins of the lair where the Nightsisters were defeated. During their time there, Maul gathers objects to try and lure Ezra to the dark side, including the Darksaber. Long story short, eventually Ezra battles the spirits that have taken over his friends — Kanan Jarrus and Sabine Wren. Ezra is able to defeat the Nightsister spirits and free his friends by using both his own green lightsaber and the Darksaber, but he does not keep it. Thus, Wren comes into the saber by retrieving it from the lair and is the rightful possessor of it. Even though Wren did not win the saber in combat, since it was lacking a rightful owner, she is able to claim it because her tribe, Clan Wren, is part of House Vizsla.
She initially hands it over to Kanan Jarrus for safekeeping, but reluctantly takes it back when he offers it to her. Wren goes through training with the Darksaber, similar to one Din Djarin will go through, because, as she says in an episode of Rebels via Esquire:
“Energy constantly flows through the crystal. You’re not fighting with a simple blade as much as you are directing a current of power. Your thoughts, your actions, they become energy. They flow through the crystal as well—and become a part of the blade.”
And how did Sabine Wren lose the Darksaber?
The one who wields the Darksaber is slated to be the rightful ruler of Mandalore as well. However, Wren eventually feels that another, Bo-Katan, would be a great leader for the people of Mandalore, and gives it over. Thus, Bo-Katan came into possession as Wren willingly lost the Darksaber.
Yet, as Moff Gideon explains during The Mandalorian and as is echoed by The Armorer in The Book of Boba Fett, the Darksaber cannot be transferred from one owner to another by virtue of just handing it over or gifting it; it must be won in combat. Gideon would know this story well since he was part of the Siege of Mandalore as an Imperial Officer, and it seems to be implied that he defeated Bo-Katan in battle to take possession of it (or he doesn’t care about the legend or the fate of Mandalore and just took it).
The Armorer tells Din Djarin that Bo-Katan is the cautionary tale of this, as she was not considered the rightful owner of the Darksaber, and her rule of Mandalore ended in tragedy as it was largely destroyed and fell in battle during the Night of a Thousand Tears.
Who wields the Darksaber now?
Din Djarin won the right to the Darksaber, and thus the throne of Mandalore, by defeating Moff Gideon in combat during the end of The Mandalorian season two. Djarin does not want to rule, so when he comes into contact with Bo-Katan, who has been hunting down Gideon in an effort to defeat him and rightfully claim the Darksaber again, he tries to give it to her. This is when Gideon explains that she cannot accept it and can only claim it by defeating whomever wields it in combat, setting up tension between the two Mandalorians: Djarin and Bo-Katan.
Going forward, Mando learns more about why this is the case and the consequences at hand through the aforementioned encounter with The Armorer in The Book of Boba Fett. He also learns this is why he is having such a hard time using it as a weapon — we see him singe his own leg with the Darksaber during combat in The Book of Boba Fett — because he is fighting with the saber instead of learning to channel it, as Wren referenced in the quote above.
Paz Viszla, who is with The Armorer, challenges Mando to a combat to try and rightfully win back the Darksaber, as he is a descendent of its creator. However, Mando wins the fight and maintains control of the Darksaber.
What’s to come now, though, with season three of The Mandalorian swiftly approaching? By the end of The Book of Boba Fett, Mando still wields the Darksaber, yet he is on the outs with his tribe because he willingly took off his helmet and revealed his face, which is forbidden by his tribe. Other Mandalorians, such as Bo-Katan, do not follow this creed and willingly expose their faces all the time. So whether Mando wants to keep the Darksaber and take the throne or not, it seems there will be more than one issue to settle, both with his tribe and with Bo-Katan to ensure tragedy doesn’t come to Mandalore once more.
Surely, Gideon will have a say in the matter once more at some point in season three.
