A lightsaber wielded onscreen by Darth Vader fetched $4,875,000 at Heritage Auctions in Dallas on Thursday, setting a world auction record for any Star Wars collectible.
The prop was used by actor David Prowse and stunt performer Bob Anderson as the Sith lord in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Specifically, it was carried during the Cloud City duel where Vader tells Luke Skywalker, “I am your father.”
James Earl Jones provided the voice for the character in the films, while Mark Hamill portrayed Luke Skywalker.
The weapon was also used during the confrontation between Vader and Skywalker in Emperor Palpatine’s throne room in Return of the Jedi.
Before the event, auction organizers anticipated the item would achieve over $1 million, ultimately quadrupling that initial estimate.
“It’s the one on the set,” said Brian Chanes, the senior director of Hollywood and entertainment at Heritage Auctions, adding that it is from the most iconic sequence of the entire franchise.
Chanes also said that memorabilia connects people back to the memories of experiencing the initial release of the franchise.
The final price surpassed the auction house’s previous record for a screen-used Star Wars prop.
That previous record was set in July when Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber and severed hand-effects rig from The Empire Strikes Back sold for $3.75 million.
That earlier prop included a special prosthetic hand cast from Mark Hamill by makeup artist Stuart Freeborn.
Heritage previously set a collectible record with Tom Jung's original half-sheet key poster painting for Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, which reached $3,875,000.
The Thursday sale featured 27 other lightsabers, including dueling props from Revenge of the Sith used by Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen.
The event formed part of the Ultimate Star Wars Auction, which included about 200 items and artifacts connected to series like Star Wars and The Mandalorian, spanning Episodes I through IX.
Additional auction highlights included Boba Fett’s rifle from The Empire Strikes Back, which sold for $375,000.
A small filming model of a Snowspeeder previously owned by actress Carrie Fisher fetched $200,000.
Lightsabers used by Ray Park and Hayden Christensen each realized $162,500.
Other sales in franchise history include a filming miniature of the Red Leader X-Wing Starfighter, which commanded over $3.13 million in 2023, and a complete R2-D2 robot unit that achieved $2.75 million in 2017.