I just realized something dumb. Or rather I feel dumb for not noticing it before. In A New Hope, Vader’s lightsaber is red to show just how evil he is (red on black is one of those evil contrasts) while Luke’s is blue-green. However, when it comes to spaceships X-Wings and the Falcon fire red lasers while TIEs fire green ones.
I noticed that. I didn’t think of it as a huge matter, and I compared it with small arms in the series. In the original trilogy, don’t all handheld blasters fire red?
Not really looking for an in-universe explanation or similar fanwank, more of a reason why Lucas chose to do it this way.
I think so, yes. Well, except for the ones very early in ANH when they stun Leia, then the stormtroopers fire blue circles at her instead.
Which makes it all the more curious that Empire spaceships (up to and including the Death Star) all fire green. I guess it makes the space dogfights easier to follow, but then why not also do it for the confusing Hoth battle where red lasers are shooting every which way ?
It was yellow on the toys for SW and ESB, (and the first run of Jedi Luke for ROTJ had a blue one instead of green) but it wasn’t that color in the actual movie, in any run. It’s one of those things that changed between supplying licensees with material and the actual movie. Like how Biggs got cut out of most of the movie but still showed up in the storybook, or how Red Squadron was Blue Squadron in the novelizations/comics, but got changed for the actual movie when they suddenly realized “oh crap, this blue on the helmet is gonna mess up the blue screen effects!”
Forgive me if I implied that the movie (in any run) featured a yellow lightsaber. That wasn’t my intention. I was merely trying to say that the Luke figure from the first run of toys featured a yellow saber.
Shows you the power of observation. I recall the original figure with they yellow lightsaber. I do not recall the movie showing it bluish, and yet there it is. Touche.
I started reading that link, but it is way too long. The original movies have no explanation for the laser colors or lightsaber colors.