Star Wars Sets Up A Ferocious New Lightsaber Form – & It Could Appear In Live-Action In Just 3 Months

Star Wars has just set up a whole new lightsaber form, one that could appear in live-action in less than three months. Although the lightsaber is believed to be older than the Jedi, this mystical kyber-powered weapon has become associated with both the Jedi and the Sith. Every lightsaber blade is unique, not least because the wielder bonds with the kyber crystal within it. Using a lightsaber is more like channeling a live current than swinging a blade.

Over the last 25,000 years, Jedi and Sith have pioneered no less than seven lightsaber forms – different sequences and styles that allow a combatant to cater to their own strengths and weaknesses. Obi-Wan Kenobi, for example, was an almost unmatched master of Form III (Soresu), while Mace Windu was the only known practioner of Form VIII (Vaapad). Many Jedi would customize their lightsabers, creating whole new lightsaber types that are perfectly suited to their respective form. Now, Star Wars has introduced what seems to be an eighth form – one that could soon appear on-screen.

Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh Created A Very Different Kind Of Lightsaber… The Lightwhip

Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh was something of a prodigy among the Jedi of the High Republic Era, some centuries before the events of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Unusually sensitive to the guidance of the Force, Vernestra was prompted to recreate a lightsaber type traditionally associated with the dark side – the lightwhip. Vernestra can activate a trigger, causing the energy field surrounding her lightsaber to dissipate – essentially transforming her blade into a long, shimmering lightwhip.

Vernestra’s lightsaber whip proved invaluable when the Jedi clashed with carnivorous plant creatures called the Drengir. The Drengir are ancient Sith allies, even capable of manipulating nearby plantlife and vines as weapons, and Vern’s lightwhip had the flexibility to defend against attacks from multiple directions. But Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland’s latest Star Wars novel, Defy the Storm, reveals Vernestra’s skill with the lightwhip has improved with time and practice.

Vernestra Rwoh Has Become Proficient With The Lightwhip… Creating A Whole New Combat Form

Defy the Storm is part of Star Wars: The High Republic Phase III, which is set a year after a tragedy befell the Jedi – the destruction of Starlight Beacon, and the death of Vernestra Rwoh’s master Stellan Gios. Vernestra has spent the last year in seclusion, striving to regain her sense of inner balance, and she has also been training a great deal with the lightwhip. Accoring to Defy the Storm, she’s essentially mastered it, figuring out whole new sequences and moves to take advantage of its strengths.

“Vernestra had spent her time on Ibbe perfecting the use of her lightwhip. She’d always been enamored of a more defensive style of flow and dynamics, but she’d learned to channel her fierce desire to protect those she cared about into a more aggressive form. As she spun the whip around her body, deftly controlling the flexible plasma blade with the Force, Vernestra realized that she was better than she’d ever been.”

Vernestra has created a whole new lightsaber form. Like many more advanced forms, it is notable for its dependence on the Force itself; she uses it to control the blade with precision and skill. Vernestra may not have realized, though, but she is undoubtedly very close to the dark side here. A Jedi uses the Force to defend, never to attack, and yet her form is depending on the Force in a more aggressive manner. It’s even possible Vernestra’s new lightsaber form will eventually evolve into Mace Windu’s Vaapad, an unusual form that channeled his own inner darkness.

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Vernestra Rwoh’s Lightsaber Form Could Appear In The Acolyte

Surprisingly, it may not be long before viewers get a chance to see Vernestra Rwoh’s new lightsaber form in live-action. The next live-action Star Wars TV show, The Acolyte, is set towards the tail end of the High Republic Era. Rebecca Henderson has already been confirmed as the live-action Vernestra Rwoh, playing an older and more seasoned Jedi Master. Lucasfilm has teased an abundance of lightsaber combat, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Vernestra use her lightwhip.

Lucasfilm is yet to officially confirm The Acolyte‘s release date, but there have been strong reports that the show will kick off on June 5, 2024. If that is indeed the case, viewers could potentially get to see a whole new lightsaber style within the next three months. Defy the Storm feels almost like a first taste of the Star Wars stories yet to come.