The most-discussed moment in the new trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the closing shot, in which a sinister-looking Rey, wearing a dark, hooded robe, lights up red, double-bladed lightsaber. This "Dark Rey" has created as much shock and intrigue as Darth Maul did in his debut in the trailer for 1999's The Phantom Menace.
It also provides the perfect opportunity for a brief history of double-bladed lightsabers and the Force users who wielded them, of which there are quite a few.
DARTH MAUL
Darth Maul is, of course, the most famous owner of a red saberstaff, which he created by following an ancient design contained in Darth Sidious' Sith holocron. His weapon is actually composed of two independent lightsabers, each powered by its own kyber crystal that can be ignited separately, depending on the needs of the battlefield.
The saberstaff's most famous victim was Qui-Gon Jinn, whom Darth Maul mortally wounded in The Phantom Menace. Obi-Wan Kenobi, his apprentice, retaliated by first cutting the weapon in two, and then cutting Darth Maul in two.
Despite Kenobi's maiming, both Maul and half of his saberstaff survived to terrorize the Galaxy and claim many more victims. Maul only lost the lightsaber after suffering defeat at the hands of his former master, Darth Sidious.
Savage Opress, Darth Maul's brother, wielded a very similar saberstaff. He was trained under Count Dooku and he was also a servant to Asajj Ventress before he fled, found Darth Maul and pledged allegiance to his brother as his apprentice.
ASAJJ VENTRESS & BARRISS OFFEE
Asajj Ventress is one of the best villains of The Clone Wars and one of the more versatile and ambiguous characters of the entire saga. Although her double-bladed S-shaped lightsaber is technically two separate weapons, they can be combined to create a lightning-fast saberstaff, or wielded individually in each hand -- a powerful ally for masters of the Jar'Kai combat form.
For a while, it was also wielded by Barriss Offee, a Jedi friend of Ahsoka Tano... until she organized the bombing of the Jedi temple and framed Tano for it. She was skilled enough in Jar'Kai to be able to pass as Assaj Ventress while wearing a costume and to hold herself against Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker.
PONG KRELL
General Pong Krell was a Besalisk Jedi Master whose four arms allowed him to wield two saberstaffs without preventing him from using the Force.
The particularity of Krell's green and blue lightsabers was that they folded at the middle, which allowed him to easily hitch them to his belt. The design is very similar to Dark Rey's, although unlike hers, Krell's don't seem to be able to ignite before being unfolded.
The other characteristic of Krell's weapons were the intense buzzing they produced, which probably helped balance out his massive size. Krell was very agile, which coupled with his Force-assisted acrobatics and deadly twin double lightsabers made him a formidable opponent. Unfortunately, he used his skills to mow down a massive number of Republic Clone troopers before being killed by trooper Dogma from the 501st Legion.
THE INQUISITORS
This double-bladed spinning lightsaber design is, simultaneously, one of the coolest and most flawed in the Galaxy. On the one hand, the design is as compact as a normal lightsaber's but it can also emit a single or a dual blade, which can rotate around the outer disc while the hilt remains stable. Some Inquisitors customized their spinning lightsabers with an additional wheel of razor blades, and on top of that, their weapons could spin like a helicopter to lift the Inquisitors off the ground and allow them to escape.
On the other hand, the rotating disc could be easily sliced through by an opponent, which completely destroyed the weapon. The ringed emitter was a very visible target and when hit it caused the weapon to severely malfunction.
A special mention goes to the lightsaber of the Seventh Sister, which marries form and function -- its circular, engraved handgrip can be separated from the ring emitter to create a throwable, razor-sharp disk.
JEDI TEMPLE GUARDS
The Jedi Temple Guards were easily recognizable for their head-to-toe white and yellow uniform, their full-face masks and their double-edged yellow lightsaber pikes. The handle is significantly thicker than other versions of dual lightsabers, and it shares many characteristics with the unused concept design for the Sith lightsaber pike (which would later filter down to the pikes of Snoke’s Praetorian guards -- more on that later).
One of the Jedi Temple Guards would join the Empire and become the Grand Inquisitor. His lightsaber pike was slightly different than the others --- like Pong Krell's and Dark Rey's, it folds in the middle and can be opened with a flick of the wrist.
SNOKE'S PRAETORIAN GUARD
Although Praetorian guards are not Jedi, Snoke selected and equipped them to be able to withstand Jedi attacks. Their armor was magnetized to deflect glancing strokes, and their weapons can block and pull in lightsabers.
The seventh Praetorian guard (and one of their colleagues) wielded a double-bladed sword that could be divided at the handle. The edges were reinforced with high-frequency vibration and with an electro-plasma filament capable of parrying a lightsaber.
BASTILA SHAN
In the Legends canon, dual-bladed lightsabers are generally associated with the Sith; their unique design, properly wielded, gives them an offensive advantage favored by Darksiders.
Bastila Shan, a Legends character from Knights of the Old Republic, shares many characteristics with Rey and she also wields a double-bladed lightsaber. After Darth Revan "dies," Bastila’s lightsaber blades become yellow, like the Jedi Temple Guards. When she became a Sith apprentice under Darth Malak, she replaced the kyber crystals so that it would become red.
SATELE SHAN
Bastila's descendant, Jedi Satele Shan, the youngest Grand Master of the Jedi Order, also wielded a blue double-edged lightsaber, and she was determined to put her dark side heritage and understanding to the service of the Republic.
She studied under Kao Cen Darach, a Korriban-based Jedi Battlemaster who shared her beliefs. In Knights of the Old Republic, she fights Vindican, a Sith Lord who also wields a double-edged lightsaber. She distinguished herself in the battlefield against the Sith Empire, but her biggest accomplishment was to rediscover Tython, the Je'daii homeworld.
DARK LORD EXAR KUN
Originally a single-bladed Jedi lightsaber, Exar Kun secretly modified his weapon to add a second blade in order to be able to train like a Sith. The blades' color remained blue.
DARTH ZANNAH
Darth Zannah's lightsaber was called Bane's Heart after the name of its crystal, which was in turn named after Darth Bane, her master. The blades were half the standard length to fit her petite body.
As a practitioner of Soresu, a defensive combat form, Zannah used quick and precise wrist movements to twirl her lightsaber as an impenetrable shield that deflected her opponent's attacks.
N-K NECROSIS
Much later, during the Galactic Civil War, N-K Necrosis, an advanced combat droid crafted from the remains of General Grievous and with an experimental droid brain would take the kyber crystal Bane's Heart from Zannah's lightsaber and modify it to power up his double-bladed lightsaber.
DARTH SIMI
We leave the darkest of the dark for last. Darth Simi was the Elizabeth Bathory of the Galaxy, a Sith priestess who, for thousands of years, sacrificed younglings to keep herself young. Like Pong Krell, she wielded twin double-bladed lightsabers, but in her case these are yellow.
Directed and co-written by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Keri Russell, Matt Smith, Anthony Daniels, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams and Carrie Fisher, with Naomi Ackie and Richard E. Grant. The film arrives on Dec. 20.