Iconic 'Star Wars' lightsabers coming up for auction

"Hello there!" Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) stands up to General Grievous in Revenge of the Sith. (20th Century Fox)

Lightsabers wielded by Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen in 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith are expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds at auction.

The lightsabers, along with a Stormtrooper costume, blasters and a droid from the blockbuster film series will go under the hammer in the Prop Store’s Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction on 1-2 December, 2020.

Over 110 Star Wars lots including props, costumes and production ephemera will be sold as part of the auction, featuring over 900 lots from more than 350 different films and TV shows.

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The handheld lightsaber props come from the collection of Star Wars stunt coordinator Nick Gillard, the man who taught the Jedi, including Ewan McGregor, how to duel in battle in George Lucas’ prequel trilogy.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's (Ewan McGregor) Hero Lightsaber from Revenge of the Sith (2005). Estimate £80,000 - £120,000. (Prop Store)

Ewan McGregor’s ‘hero’ lightsaber – used in close ups – has an estimate price of £80,000-£120,000, while one used by Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker and then Darth Vader in the final prequel film, could go for £40,000-£80,000.

Other lightsabers coming up for auction include Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor’s ‘fighting’ props from 1999’s The Phantom Menace.

Darth Vader's (Hayden Christensen) Hero Lightsaber from Revenge of the Sith (2005). Estimate £40,000 - £80,000 (Prop Store)

Talking about creating a fighting style for the Jedi in the prequels, Gillard told Propstore: “We hadn’t seen Jedi, young Jedi in their prime, fighting before. So George [Lucas] said, “Can you come up with a style that’s going to work for this?” He wanted everything in Star Wars – not just the fighting, but also props, costumes, things like that – to have a familiarity to it.

“So you have to base it on something people know. If it’s a gun, he’d reject some super-smooth space-gun for something with a bit of a flintlock thing on it. There had to be something you recognise. So I based the fighting style on kendo, but I also tried to use every cool sword style that there was, and tried to marry them all together.”

Nick Gillard attends Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con 2012. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images)

The stunt coordinator, whose credits also include James Bond, Indiana Jones and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, also paid tribute to the actors who trained incredibly hard for their duels.

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“It was the most demanding thing they did on those films. They would normally come for six-to-eight weeks prior to shooting and rehearse for at least four hours a day – although Hayden [Christensen] would often do eight hours every day!

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) in Revenge of the Sith (20th Century Fox)

“Ewan [McGregor] also put in a lot of time on all three films. He’s fabulous to work with: brave, smart, a natural athlete, and he wants to get it right.”

Prop Store’s Live Auction will feature:

• Obi-Wan Kenobi's (Ewan McGregor) Hero Lightsaber from STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005). Estimate £80,000 - £120,000 ($105,600 - $158,400)

• Stormtrooper Blaster from STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983). Estimate £50,000 - £70,000 ($66,000 - $92,400)

• Darth Vader's (Hayden Christensen) Hero Lightsaber from STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005). Estimate £40,000 - £80,000 ($52,800 - $105,600)

• Light-Up Remote-control R2-S8 Droid from STAR WARS: SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018). Estimate £40,000 - £60,000 ($52,800 - $79,200)

• Screen-matched Obi-Wan Kenobi's (Alec Guinness) Home and Moisture Vaporator Model Miniatures from STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE - SPECIAL EDITION (1997). Estimate £25,000 - £35,000 ($33,000 - $46,200)

• Hoth Rebel Trooper A295 Blaster Rifle from STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980). Estimate £20,000 - £30,000 ($26,400 - $39,600)

• Obi Wan Kenobi's (Ewan McGregor) Fighting Lightsaber with Blade from STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999). Estimate £40,000 - £60,000 ($52,800 - $79,200)

• Stormtrooper Suit from THE MANDALORIAN (TV SERIES, 2019-). Estimate £8,000 - £12,000 ($10,560 - $15,840)

• Full-size Dewback Head from STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977). Estimate £20,000 - £30,000 ($26,400 - $39,600)

• Qui-Gon Jinn's (Liam Neeson) Fighting Lightsaber from STAR WARS: THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999). Estimate £10,000 - £15,000 ($13,200 - $19,800)

Prop Store is holding virtual preview exhibition events via social media in the lead up to the auction, with opportunities to see props from the auction up close and ask questions of the specialists. Registration is open here.

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