Star Wars' Pink Lightsaber Debate Explained - Does The Color Mean Anything?
"Star Wars: The Acolyte" Season 1, Episode 6 features a peculiar lightsaber effect. When Osha (Amandla Stenberg) uses Qimir's (Manny Jacinto) red lightsaber, it seems to have a distinctly pink color instead of its usual deeper-red hue. It remains to be seen whether the color actually responds to Osha wielding the saber or if it's just a trick of light since the scene takes place in broad daylight. Nevertheless, the moment might be enough to fuel the simmering discussion about pink lightsabers and their place in the "Star Wars" canon.
Pink lightsabers seem to be a point of some contention among the fandom. While some insist that they're very much a thing and discuss them like any other element of the franchise, others are less certain, while others still deny it completely or simply omit the color from their lightsaber discussion.
Lightsaber replica vendors have been known to state that a pink lightsaber signifies a particularly caring and complex user who prefers balance instead of a rigid devotion to either the light side or the dark side. They might also mention that notable pink lightsaber wielders include Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson), Cal Kestis of "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" and "Jedi: Survivor" video game fame, and "Star Wars: Legends" character Mara Jade Skywalker — Luke's partner whose allegiances are as complicated as her relationship with the Force.
These aren't entirely accurate statements. Mace Windu has a purple lightsaber because Jackson specifically requested one. Cal wields various blue lightsabers that can be customized to a series of colors that nevertheless don't include pink. Mara Jade, for her part, wields a magenta (reddish-purple) lightsaber that she later changes to a fully purple one. As such, this lightsaber blade color's existence and meaning remain dubious — in canon, at least.
Could pink become a canon lightsaber color?
Lightsabers are powered by special kyber crystals, which have a connection to the Force and also form one with the person who wields them. This can affect their color. While the colors you see most with the Jedi lightsabers are green and blue, several other user-specific color variations also exist. The "Star Wars: Force and Destiny" roleplaying game actually has two different source books that feature seeker crystals that produce a pink lightsaber blade, but unfortunately, this doesn't help much since the game's official canon status remains unclear.
The color of a specific kyber crystal can also be altered with special procedures. The reason Sith sabers tend to be red is a process called bleeding, which corrupts the crystal and attunes it to the user's dark side alignment. A counter-method called purification can be used to clean and "reboot" a crystal, which may result in a white lightsaber blade. Basic color mixing suggests that a partially successful bleeding or purification process might lead to a pink blade ... but then again, speculating on this too much would only further muddy the waters around the subject.
Regardless of what you make of Osha's apparent pink lightsaber effect in "The Acolyte" Season 1, Episode 6, the legend of the pink lightsaber clearly lives in people's minds. As such, there's always a chance that the color will acquire canon status before long. Luke's arc in the Skywalker Saga era of "Star Wars" means that Mara Jade and her not-quite-pink lightsaber are unlikely to debut in the live-action franchise anytime soon, so who knows? Since "The Acolyte" already has many more lightsaber colors than your average "Star Wars" project, maybe the first fully canon pink-lightsaber-wielding character will indeed rise from the series.