You know that scene, Mace Windu storming into Palpatine’s office, the Chancellor playing the “I’m just a weak old man” card, then BAM, he pulls out a red lightsaber and the duel begins. Classic. Except… that wasn’t always the plan.
Turns out, in the original drafts and early shots of Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine actually used a blue lightsaber during that fight. Yep, not his own red one. Some behind-the-scenes details and eagle-eyed fans have spotted moments where he’s clearly holding a saber that looks suspiciously like Anakin’s. And it wasn’t just a random mistake—this was an actual thing during production.
George Lucas Originally Planned for Palpatine to Use Anakin’s Lightsaber
Back when Revenge of the Sith was still being shaped during production, George Lucas had a different vision for how Palpatine’s confrontation with Mace Windu would unfold. According to The Turn: A History of the Evolution of Anakin’s Downfall, Palpatine didn’t originally pull out a hidden red lightsaber from his sleeve. Instead, when the Jedi Masters stormed into his office to arrest him, Palpatine reached for Anakin’s lightsaber, the blue one, and used that to duel the Jedi.
In this early version, Anakin was already standing beside Palpatine when Mace Windu and the others arrived. Mace even tries to pull him away, saying, “Anakin, get behind me,” but Anakin doesn’t budge. He’s visibly torn, but clearly leaning toward Palpatine.
And here’s where it gets wild: instead of Palpatine drawing a red saber from his sleeve like in the final film, the original script has him “borrow” Anakin’s saber using the Force, and that’s how the duel kicks off, with a Sith Lord swinging a Jedi’s blue blade. Directly from the script: “When the Jedi ignite their lightsabers to arrest him, Palpatine uses the Force to retrieve Anakin’s lightsaber and the fight begins.”
It even made it to the filmed version at one point. If you look closely at some early shots from the final cut, you can actually see Palpatine holding a saber with Anakin’s lightsaber hilt, a little trace of this original idea that slipped through.
What’s even funnier is that this original idea wasn’t just in the script, it actually made its way into merchandising. In 2005, Hasbro released a Palpatine action figure that came with a blue lightsaber, not a red one. It was part of the Revenge of the Sith toy line, specifically the #35 “Palpatine” figure, and it showed him in full Sith robes… swinging a blue blade.
This confused a ton of fans at the time. People were wondering if it was a factory error or some kind of weird canon twist. But now we know—it wasn’t a mistake. It was based on an earlier version of the script and footage before Lucas made the final decision to stick with Palpatine’s iconic red lightsaber.
So yeah, there was a brief moment in Star Wars history where the Dark Lord of the Sith fought Jedi Masters using a Jedi weapon—and Hasbro was right there to capture it before the change.
Why Lucas Ditched the Blue Lightsaber for Something More Sinister
So now we know why Palpatine had a blue lightsaber in the original script — but that detail was eventually cut, and not because of visuals. The real reason had more to do with Anakin’s turn. After reviewing a rough cut in 2004, George Lucas realized something wasn’t working: audiences didn’t fully buy Anakin’s fall to the dark side.
Lucas got feedback that people were confused about Anakin’s motivation. As he put it, “Some people were having a hard time with the reason Anakin goes bad.” In the earlier version, Anakin was already standing beside Palpatine when Mace Windu and the other Jedi entered. That made it feel like he had already chosen the dark side, like he turned evil just by being there.
To fix this, Lucas went back and restructured the emotional core of the film. He rewrote and reshot the scene to have Anakin arrive later, forced to make a split-second decision. This change made his fall feel more tragic, a desperate act driven by fear of losing Padmé, rather than some cold political alignment.
Cutting the blue lightsaber went hand-in-hand with that change. Giving Palpatine his own red blade reinforced his identity as a Sith and made the Jedi’s reaction more justified. It also helped visually: red meant Sith, blue meant Jedi — simple and clear. Having Palpatine use Anakin’s saber would’ve symbolized Anakin’s submission too early, before his real turning point.