DALLAS — Darth Vader’s screen-matched hero dueling lightsaber from “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” sold for $4.875 million at Heritage Auctions on Thursday, a world auction record for any Star Wars collectible, the auction house said.
The price includes the buyer’s premium. It passed the previous overall record of $3.875 million, set by Tom Jung’s original poster painting for “Star Wars,” and the $3.75 million paid in July for Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber and severed hand rig from the same film, Heritage said.
Heritage identifies the piece as the original hero dueling lightsaber wielded by David Prowse and by Olympic fencer and stunt performer Bob Anderson as Vader. It served as Vader’s primary dueling weapon in both films, including the Cloud City duel where Vader tells Luke, “I am your father.”
Its hilt started life as a 1950s British M.P.P. Microflash camera flash attachment, strengthened so it could take interchangeable wooden blades. Heritage said the prop can be matched to a production still from “The Empire Strikes Back” thanks to a distinctive curve in the D-ring on the back of its shroud. It comes with no blade, and, according to the auction house, no original prop blades are known to exist in private collections. It measures 12.5 inches.
Propstore had already sold this same lightsaber in September 2025, for $3,654,000. That was then a record for a screen-used Star Wars prop. Luke’s lightsaber then took the record in July, at $3.75 million. Thursday’s result put Vader’s weapon back on top — up about a third in 14 months.
Heritage made the lightsaber the centerpiece of its Ultimate Star Wars Auction on Nov. 12, a sale spanning Episodes I through IX and later films and series, with 27 other lightsabers on offer. Heritage had estimated the prop would sell for more than $1 million.