Heritage Auctions Sells Darth Vader Lightsaber for Record $4.875M; Star Wars Auction Results!
| Screen-matched hero dueling lightsaber from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi adds to Heritage’s record-setting sales of the saga’s most iconic props, artwork and filming models |
DALLAS, Texas (Nov. 12, 2026) – The Force has reached a new high at Heritage Auctions. Darth Vader’s screen-matched hero dueling lightsaber from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) just sold for $4,875,000, establishing a world auction record for any Star Wars collectible.
The result surpasses by $1 million the previous overall record of $3,875,000, which Heritage achieved with Tom Jung’s original half-sheet key poster painting for Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope. It also establishes a new auction record for a screen-used Star Wars prop, exceeding Heritage’s $3,750,000 sale of Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber and severed hand effects rig on July 15, 2026.
Vader’s weapon is a remarkable counterpart to that Skywalker lightsaber: Both were used in the unforgettable Cloud City confrontation in The Empire Strikes Back, the duel that culminated in Vader’s revelation and changed the course of the saga. Its use in Return of the Jedi further connects the lightsaber to the original trilogy’s enduring legacy.
The sale extends Heritage’s record-setting run across the most coveted categories of Star Wars collecting. In addition to the records for a screen-used prop and original artwork, Heritage holds the auction record for a Star Wars filming miniature, set in 2023 when the screen-matched Red Leader X-wing Starfighter realized $3,135,000.
The latest milestone came during Heritage’s Nov. 12 Ultimate Star Wars Auction, featuring material spanning Episodes I through IX and subsequent films and television series. Vader’s lightsaber headlined the most expansive collection of Star Wars lightsabers ever assembled for public auction, with 27 additional examples representing many of the saga’s most celebrated Jedi and Sith.
Other Notable sales (BP included):
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (TCF, 1980), Jeremy Bulloch “Boba Fett Hero Screen-, Photo-, and Serial Number-Matched EE-3 Carbine Rifle; $375,000.00.
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (TCF, 1980), Carrie Fisher’s Personal Screen-Used Snowspeeder; $200,000.00
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (Lucasfilm, 2005), Hayden Christensen “Anakin Skywalker” Hero Lightsaber; $162,500.00
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (Lucasfilm, 1999), Ray Park “Darth Maul” Hero Bladed Dueling Lightsaber; $162,500.00
- Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (Lucasfilm, 2005), Hayden Christensen “Anakin Skywalker” Bladed Dueling Lightsaber; $106,250.00
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (Disney, 2015), Peter Mayhew/Joonas Suotamo “Chewbacca” Action Bowcaster; $35,000.00
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (TCF, 1980), Hero Rebel DH-17 Blaster Pistol; $21,250.00
- Star Wars: Ahsoka (Disney, 2023-), Arianna Greenblatt “Young Ahsoka Tano” Hero Lightsaber Hilt Used in Flashback Sequence; 15,000.00
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Disney, 2016), Hero E-11 Stormtrooper Blaster on Custom Display; $10,625.00
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (TCF, 1980), Concept Art Bible; $9,062.50
- Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (Disney, 2015), First Order Stormtrooper Action Sonn-Blas F-11D Blaster; $4,250.00
- Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (Disney, 2024), Kyriana Kratter “KB” Hero Visor; $2,750.00
- The Book of Boba Fett (Disney, 2022), Ming-Na Wen “Fennec Shand” Hero Rifle Drone; $2,750.00
For additional results; visit the Heritage Auctions, Ultimate Star Wars Auction page here.
Source/Images: Press Release
