Summary

  • Lightsabers in Star Wars started with just blue and red but have expanded to include purple, white, orange, yellow, and more.
  • Alan Dean Foster, not George Lucas, used the name lightsaber to address the weapon's function.
  • Foster chose lightsaber over laser sword for clarity, and his impact on Star Wars world-building cannot be understated.

While George Lucas is undoubtedly the brilliant mind behind many of Star Wars movies and TV shows.

Now, Star Wars movies and shows have introduced purple, white, orange, and yellow, in addition to The Acolyte's trailer depicting multiple yellow lightsabers. Despite this now expansive history, though, lightsabers began as a brand-new concept in A New Hope and therefore required explanation. Evidently, part of that explanation came in the form of the name 'lightsaber' itself, yet the source of that name wasn't Star Wars creator George Lucas.

Rey Skywalker yellow lightsaber
Related
Five Years After Rise Of Skywalker, Star Wars Is Finally Explaining What Rey's Yellow Lightsaber Means

It's taken five years, but Star Wars is finally revealing the meaning of a yellow lightsaber - and explaining Rey's new blade in Rise of Skywalker.

The Name "Lightsaber" Was Created By Alan Dean Foster, Not George Lucas

Charles Lippincott, who was previously the Vice President of Advertising, Publicity, Promotion, and Merchandising for Lucasfilm, released interview transcripts in 2015 that dated back to the 1970s. In a conversation from 1976 between George Lucas and ghostwriter of A New Hope's novelization, Alan Dean Foster, Foster explained that the name stemmed from a desire to address why the lightsabers were the length they were and how they worked. Foster stated, "That's why I didn't call them laser swords, I call them lightsabers." The wording of Foster's explanation suggests that it was Foster himself who chose the name lightsabers.

Purchase the novelization of A New Hope, Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker

Foster preferred the name lightsaber over laser sword, which was the name used in original drafts of A New Hope. In fact, even in various interviews dating back to Star Wars' earliest days, Lucas consistently referred to them in that way. Interestingly, the name laser sword does appear in later Star Wars movies and shows. The term was first used on-screen by Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Since then, Din Djarin has used the term laser sword in The Mandalorian, and even Luke Skywalker used the name in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Din Djarin has used the term laser sword in The Mandalorian, and even Luke Skywalker used the name in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Just as interestingly, the term lightsaber is only used once in A New Hope when Obi-Wan describes the weapon to Luke. While Foster was the ghostwriter for the novelization of A New Hope, he also assisted George Lucas with the script for A New Hope, suggesting that he had a direct impact on the name. His rationale for the change also s the fact that it was his decision to use the name lightsaber for the Jedi's iconic weapon.

Why Alan Dean Foster Called Them Lightsabers, Not Laser Swords

Luke Skywalker and Yoda wielding blue and green lightsabers.

Foster had quite a good reason for preferring the name lightsaber. In the same explanation, Foster said, "The main question I've got to ask is why are the laser swords four feet long, and how they work." From Foster's point-of-view, the term lightsaber was much clearer than laser sword. Specifically, Foster wanted to avoid questions regarding how the lightsabers functioned, and, arguably, he was correct that the name lightsaber better explained the plasma blade. Since then, lightsabers have been defined even further, with Foster himself later identifying the facts about Kyber crystals.

Of course, the naming of lightsabers, along with much of the other world-building in A New Hope, was surely a team effort. The sheer amount of creativity and background that the Star Wars franchise required (and continues to require) can't really be attributed to just one person. Even so, it is fascinating that the term lightsabers came not from Star Wars creator George Lucas but rather from writer Alan Dean Foster.

Source: Charles Lippincott

ALL STAR WARS MOVIES AND TV SHOWS ARE AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON DISNEY+