‘Star Wars: The Acolyte”: this is the origins of the lightsaber whip that’ll debut in the Disney+ series

In the time of the High Republic—many years before ‘The Phantom Menace’— Jedi master Vernestra Rwoh modified her lightsaber and gave it a new use. In addition to functioning as a conventional lightsaber, it also transforms into a whip, giving her unique combat strategies. The Mirilian was an intelligent young woman from the beginning, as she passed the Jedi tests at 15 years of age. She took her first Padawan shortly after and lived through the great conflicts of that era, all of them told in novels and comics. In ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’, the new Disney+ series, the character debuts in live action, although at a later era, in the twilight of the High Republic. And yes, she does so with a lightsaber whip in hand.

In one of the most recent trailers for the show, you can see Vernestra using this very peculiar weapon, which has raised certain passions, criticisms, and suspicions on social networks. As might be expected, the most effusive detractors have attacked Disney, although Lucasfilm has limited itself to doing what it has been doing since its sale: incorporate elements of the Expanded Universe into the current canon. The products of the Legends label continue to nourish the saga with content, sometimes rescuing characters (for example, Grand Admiral Thrawn), locations (Mount Tantiss), or objects (whip-shaped lightsabers).

The lightsaber whip, a ‘Star Wars’ weapon that was first seen in the 80s

Vernestra Rwoh appeared for the first time in ‘A Test of Courage’, one of the first novels in the High Republic saga. In those pages it is said that after a dream, the young woman decided to modify her lightsaber to give it new functionalities. However, in Legends lore, several Force users used very similar weapons. The Sith Lumiya confronted Luke Skywalker with a lightwhip, as shown in issue 95 of the ‘Star Wars’ comic, published in a very distant February 1985.

It is a formidable weapon, although difficult to control, since the bearer could be injured at the slightest mistake. Instead of a single crystal, Legends laser whips were constructed of small crystals, producing blades that could measure several feet. In addition to Lumiya, who was the hand of Emperor Palpatine just like Mara Jade, Luke’s wife, there were other lightsaber whip wielders. Almost a millennium before the Battle of Yavin (the destruction of the first Death Star), the Sith Githany used this type of saber until her death, which occurred in the Battle of Ruusan.

During the Clone Wars, Jedi Knights such as Ona Nobis and Vianna D’Pow fought with whip sabers, while Obi-Wan Kenobi himself made one during a mission on Ord Cestus, a story that is not currently part of the official canon. Therefore, Disney didn’t invent this specific weapon, it has simply added it to the already vast lore of the saga, as was the case even in the time of George Lucas.

‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ premieres June 5 on Disney+.