New 'Star Wars' Comic May Reveal More About Luke's Lost Lightsaber After 'The Empire Strikes Back'

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the lightsaber handed down to Luke Skywalker by Obi-Wan Kenobi from his former apprentice Anakin Skywalker makes a surprising appearance. But many fans were wondering just how it came to be in the hands of Maz Kanata when Rey stumbles upon it in the basement of her castle. Han Solo even asks the question for us, but the only answer we get from Maz is that it's a good question "for another time." Well, it seems like that time may have come.

A new Star Wars comic set shortly after the events of The Empire Strikes Back will explore what happened to Luke Skywalker's lightsaber after Darth Vader famously cut off his right hand while it was still clutching the weapon in question. The hand and lightsaber fell down into the depths of Cloud City, never to be seen again. But this new comic will have Luke Skywalker returning to Cloud City with Princess Leia and Lando Calrissian in order to find it.

Here's the official synopsis and cover art from the comic solicitation for the upcoming Star Wars #3:

The end of the war and the final defeat of the Rebel Alliance are inevitable as the cunning Imperial Commander Zahra unleashes her fury against the splintered and scattered survivors. But where have the Rebellion's greatest heroes gone when their cause needs them the most? Luke Skywalker's only hope at becoming a Jedi Knight was lost during his battle with Darth Vader ...and so he, Princess Leia and Lando Calrissian must return to Cloud City to find it! But Leia has her own covert mission to accomplish there...and Lando's mysterious reason for returning could very well ruin their only chance at success!

The question is whether or not Luke Skywalker actually finds it, or if someone else entirely ends up making away with it.  After all, we know that there was an idea at one time to have Luke's lightsaber, with his hand still attached to it, end up in space. One of the alternate opening scenes for The Force Awakens would have shown the lightsaber falling to the surface of Jakku, the hand burning up in the atmosphere as it fell. When it landed there, an alien hand would pick it up and take it away, though it was not confirmed whether or not that hand belonged to Maz Kanata.

In the end, there was clearly a big change in the script that altered the trajectory of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, and it was probably easier to have it end up in the hands of a character that our heroes trusted instead of just being randomly found elsewhere. Even so, Maz Kanata's explanation isn't satisfying enough, and we hope that this comic provides further insight. If not, there still be more story to tell even after this comic arrives on shelves in February 2020.