General Grievous is an honored member of Star Wars villainy and the kind of instantly memorable figure that the franchise creates seemingly without effort. He first appeared in the Clone Wars animated micro-series and immediately made a splash as he hunted a squad of Jedi to extinction. A year later, he became the breakout antagonist in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, filling the absence left by Count Dooku’s death and giving the heroes a genuine menace to occupy them while the Emperor completed his plans to rule.

Yet, the specifics of his appearance also left some confusion among parts of the fan base. Though he carries and uses multiple lightsabers, they are blue and green, not red the way Sith lightsabers are. Grievous, like many Star Wars characters, has a fleshed-out backstory that breaks it down, though the specifics never made it to the screen. His appearance in The Clone Wars explained at least some of it, albeit obliquely.

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General Grievous' Blue and Green Lightsabers, Explained

General Grievous In Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Grievous is a cyborg, similar to Darth Vader, and wears a black cape typical of the Sith. He had a close relationship with Count Dooku, and the Sith Lord trained him in lightsaber dueling, which made him a dire threat. His signature battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi entails him producing multiple lightsabers -- one for each of his four arms -- and spinning them in front of him like propellors. And he certainly gives the Jedi all that they can handle, starting with his devastating attack in The Clone Wars and through multiple encounters with the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith. The natural assumption is that he’s Dooku’s apprentice, and thus a Sith himself.

If that were the case, however, he’d use a red lightsaber like the other Sith do, thus prompting the confusion. Dooku has an apprentice -- Asajj Ventress, who similarly made her debut in The Clone Wars -- but that wasn’t common knowledge in 2005 to anyone who hadn’t seen the cartoons. With no obvious method of clarifying his position, Grievous’s blue and green lightsabers take on the trappings of a continuity error.

Resolving the misconception answers the question. Grievous isn’t a Sith Lord or a Force user. While Dooku trained him to use lightsabers, he doesn’t do so with the aid of the Force. Instead, he collects lightsabers from the Jedi he has killed, then uses them to kill other Jedi. Revenge of the Sith makes subtle reference to it in his initial confrontation with Anakin and Obi-Wan, promising to add their lightsabers to his collection.

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Why General Grievous Doesn't Have Red Lightsabers

Obi-Wan faces Grievous in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

In addition to providing some variety in the villainy, Grievous neatly gets around the Sith Rule of Two since he isn’t a Force apprentice. Furthermore, the difference in lightsaber crystals -- with the red amplifying Sith Lords’ negative emotions -- isn’t necessary for him to wield them. His cybernetics presumably provide him with the right precision, meaning he can use any color he wishes without difficulty. And since the character’s hatred for the Jedi is pronounced, it only makes sense that his “trophy” lightsabers would be exclusively green and blue: he doesn't hunt Dooku or his allies.

The Star Wars movies pattern themselves after the movie serials of the 1930s and '40s, which meant they often begin in media res. That leaves a lot of details overlooked, though it has the benefit of keeping the action flowing and the story moving, which have always been hallmarks of the franchise’s success. In this case, the details about Grievous became a necessary excision, left for ancillary products like novels and comics to explain. Though it sometimes leaves questions, it also gives the character history and sense of personality that needn’t be explained. It’s the price of an engaging movie sometimes, though it hasn’t hurt Grievous’s popularity a bit.

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