Can the Darksaber Deflect Blaster Bolts?

If you’re new to the Star Wars franchise or you’ve just now watched recent episodes of The Mandalorian, you may be confused as to the function and lore of the darksaber. Notice, we say the darksaber, because there’s only one. 

The darksaber is a single weapon forged from the highest quality of Beskar on Mandalore, a quality that Din Djarin says he’s never encountered before. Functionally, it acts the same as a lightsaber in almost every way.

Since lightsabers can cut through almost anything, the darksaber can also cut through almost anything. Strangely enough, it can’t cut through a lightsaber and vice versa.

But, can the darksaber deflect blaster bolts? Since it acts like a lightsaber, can it even deflect objects like one?

The answer is yes. The darksaber can deflect blaster bolts just like a lightsaber does, assuming the wielder is skilled enough to deflect them.

If you want to know more about the darksaber or how it works, keep reading to see all the details.

About Blaster Bolts

Blasters in Star Wars are often referred to as guns and function by shooting plasma or particle beams at opponents. Many think of blasters as lazer guns, and that’s not too far off.

While lightsabers are the main weapon of the Jedi order, the rest of the universe relies on blasters. As Han Solo famously said to Luke Skywalker, “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”

Blasters can shoot in varying power degrees, aiming to kill, injure, or stun enemies. They also come in different forms, like blaster pistols, rifles, cannons, etc.

Since blasters shoot particle beam energy, few objects can deflect them. They’re not like regular bullets. However, some weapons that wield a similar energy can resist their power.

One of these objects is a lightsaber. There’s countless scenes of Jedi deflecting blaster bolts, like this one where Luke tries it for the first time.

Another one of these objects is the darksaber. Though we don’t see it as much in the films and Star Wars canon as we see lightsabers, it does essentially the same job.

Read on for more details on the darksaber.

Can The Darksaber Deflect Blaster Bolts?

Contrary to popular belief, the darksaber appears in Star Wars canon even before The Mandalorian. We see it in The Clone Wars animated series, like in this scene involving a battle with Obi Wan, or this one involving Darth Maul.

In The Mandalorian, we see Din Djarin win the darksaber in a duel against Moff Gideon. As we see later, the darksaber has to be won in combat. It can’t be simply bought or traded.

Given that the darksaber acts like a lightsaber, we can assume it deflects blaster bolts. In fact, we see the darksaber deflect many things in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. In this video, Din Djarin uses the darksaber much like a Jedi would use a lightsaber.

Since the darksaber can deflect against beskar, force fields, and lightsabers, it shouldn’t have any problem deflecting blasters.

Can a Lightsaber Deflect Blaster Bolts?

Yes. There are plenty of moments where Jedi use their lightsabers to deflect blaster bolts in battle. For example, in this scene from The Phantom Menace, Qui Gon and Obi Wan use their lightsabers to fend off several destroyer droids.

Deflecting blaster bolts is a crucial part of the Jedi fighting style. Without it, they have to dodge every attack. Remember, most of the universe uses blasters, not lightsabers.

In a battle, deflecting blaster bolts can make the difference between life and death. For example, in this scene we see Mace Windu emerge victorious when fighting Jango Fett because of his skill deflecting blaster bolts.

Aside from wielding the force and fighting the sith, deflecting blasters is one of the most crucial skills a Jedi can learn that require a lightsaber.

Can the Darksaber Deflect Bullets?

This answer is hard to say, since we don’t see any actual bullets in Star Wars. All blasters in the Star Wars canon shoot particle beams, not lead bullets made with gunpowder. However, given what we know about the darksaber, we can make some assumptions.

Since the darksaber can deflect beskar, which is a form of metal, it seems safe to say that it could easily deflect any earthly metal. That includes lead.

If anything, the Earth metals like lead may be too soft for the darksaber. This could mean that the dark saber could cut through them, like it can cut through other objects in the Star Wars universe.

Assuming the person wielding the darksaber was very skilled, they should be able to deflect or cut through any approaching bullets, given that they are just traditional metal bullets. It should have no problem with a tiny bullet if it can cut through a steel door.

Conclusion

The Star Wars universe can be a largely speculative and confusing world, but it’s also magical and compelling. Mystical objects like the darksaber can be intimidating at first, but the more we research it, the more we want to know more about it.

The darksaber can deflect blasters (and bullets) just like a real lightsaber despite being entirely different materials. It can also face a lightsaber in combat and win if the person wielding it is more skilled than a Jedi.

Since the darksaber is so interesting and so little is known about it in the Star Wars canon, we can only wait and see what the writers show us next. Hopefully in The Mandalorian season 3 we get a closer look at this mystical weapon.

Mitchell Layton

Mitchell Layton is a freelance writer and touring musician living in Philadelphia. When he’s not playing guitar or writing for clients, he enjoys rewatching cult classics like Star Wars, Twin Peaks, The X-Files, and more. Mitchell has been published by sites like HM Magazine, Glassworks Literary Magazine, GameRevolution, Pif Magazine, and others.