When we talk about Darth Sidious and his surprise visit to Mandalore in The Clone Wars, the duel with Maul and Savage always comes up. The scene is fast, sharp, and full of details that make people wonder about the two lightsabers he brings with him. This question opens the door to some interesting lore, both on-screen and in the books.
Sidious Built a Pair of Lightsabers Early in His Training
Sidious having two lightsabers is not a retcon. He built a matching pair during his apprenticeship under Darth Plagueis. Canon and Legends both agree on this. The Secrets of the Sith describe them directly:
“Before I was confined to this imperfect form, I possessed a pair of exquisite lightsabers, constructed from the rare metals phrik and aurodium.”
These weapons were high-end Sith craftsmanship, built when he still trained under Plagueis and was learning every part of Sith combat. This part of his past gives context to why he later carried more than one.
One of these sabers spent decades hidden inside a statue, which leads right into the next key point.
One Lightsaber Stayed Hidden Inside the Sistros Statue
The Darth Plagueis novel gives a clear explanation for why Sidious created a second saber. His first one wasn’t on him during his rise to power because he sealed it inside a neuranium-and-bronzium statue on purpose:
“The neuranium-and-bronzium statue of Sistros—which still concealed the lightsaber he had constructed early in his apprenticeship—shared space with antiquities that had been procured from remote worlds.”
That lightsaber stayed locked away for decades. He didn’t move it, and he didn’t reveal it to anyone. Because of that, he relied on a backup saber whenever he needed a weapon. This explains why he always kept another one with him, and why he used it during the Clone Wars and during his confrontation with the Jedi late in the war.
This hidden-saber detail is a major part of why Sidious carried two sabers once he stepped fully into open conflict during the Clone Wars.
The Mandalore Fight Was One of the Only Times Sidious Used Both Blades
When Sidious traveled to Mandalore to confront Maul and Savage, the threat level was high enough for him to bring his full weapon set. Maul knew Sidious’s methods and had grown far stronger since their time on Naboo. Savage had his own dark-side training and brought raw power that pushed most opponents back.
There is no need to treat this as a special move or unusual tactic. He simply arrived prepared. He had two trained opponents in a large throne room with room to move, and he was focused on ending their rise before it disrupted the rest of his plans.
The moment gives us a rare look at Sidious when he is not hiding anything and is using everything he has.
This fits his behavior during the Clone Wars. When he acts directly, he does not leave uncertainty behind.
The Second Lightsaber Helps Explain a Film Detail From Revenge of the Sith
There is also a production-side reason that connects directly to the films. In Revenge of the Sith, Sidious loses his lightsaber during the duel with Mace Windu. After Windu kicks him, the saber falls out of the office window. Later, during his duel with Yoda in the Senate chamber, he uses another red lightsaber.
The Clone Wars took the chance to make the second lightsaber fully visible on screen. The StarWars.com Trivia Gallery for “The Lawless” states:
“That Darth Sidious fights with two lightsabers is evident in Episode III — he has two lightsabers in Revenge of the Sith, though he never has an opportunity to wield them simultaneously since he loses one in his fight with Mace Windu before dueling Yoda.”
This confirms the intention behind the Mandalore scene: showing both sabers makes the film sequence clearer.
The story on Mandalore helps fill that gap and shows the exact pair he owned.
The Visual Style of the Mandalore Duel Shows Sidious at Full Strength
Fans tend to focus on Sidious’s Force abilities, but on Mandalore, his blade work becomes a major part of how the scene plays out. The speed of his movements, the precision of his strikes, and the way he pushes both Maul and Savage away shows what he trained for during his apprenticeship. The Clone Wars animators used two weapons to highlight how practiced he was with them.
The show also uses this moment to reveal aspects of his combat style that the films only give hints of. The Mandalore fight lines up with the descriptions of his fighting skill from novels and guides. It is fast, controlled, and efficient.
The two-saber approach is presented as a natural extension of his training and his goal for the mission.