This is an original “Obi-Wan Kenobi” Ewan McGregor lightsaber as used in training for the film Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace. It has a solid cast resin handle that measures in at 11 inches, with a 38.5 inch long “blade” that’s actually an aluminum rod with CG-green paint.
It’s due to be auctioned by Bonhams on the 6th of June with a price guide of $6,000 USD – $8,000 USD. As you can see in the image above, these aluminum lightsabers were used during filming, with the glowing lightsaber blade and other special effects all added in post-production.
This is one of the training lightsabers used by Ewan McGregor (playing Obi-Wan Kenobi) in “Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace.” It measures in at 48.5 inches long with a 38.5 inch long aluminum “blade” and an 11 inch solid-cast resin handle.
In Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, the galaxy is embroiled in a period of political upheaval. The Galactic Republic, led by Chancellor Valorum, is facing increasing tensions from a separatist movement. In this backdrop, two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), are sent to resolve a trade dispute between the Trade Federation and the planet Naboo.
Upon arrival, the Jedi find themselves caught in a devious trap set by the dark Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who secretly controls the Trade Federation. The Federation launches an invasion of Naboo, prompting Queen Padmé Amidala and her loyal advisors to escape the planet in search of help.
In order to find out how it ends you’ll need to watch it, as I can’t spoil it here. It was the first new Star Wars film released in 16 years, after the theatrical release of Return of the Jedi in 1983 – anticipation was such that people were queueing outside cinemas in some locations for over a week before its release.
This lightsaber is signed by Stunt Coordinator Nick Gillard who worked on the films Episode 1 – Phantom Menace, Episode II – Attack of the Clones, and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. He worked closely with stars like Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, and Ray Park (Darth Maul).
Above Video: This is the original trailer for Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace, one of the most hotly anticipated films of the 1990s.
The training lightsabers needed to be used in actual full-contact, blade-to-blade fight scenes and so they were built tough enough for repeated use over the weeks and months of filming. The overall length of this lightsaber is 48.5 inches and it’s said to be exhibiting age, production wear, and some rubbing to the hilt paint, battle-scarring to the saber blade.
If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here on Bonhams.
Images courtesy of Bonhams
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
