We now know that the final episode of the Skywalker Saga will take its name from the family who inspired it, but the biggest clue to what will happen may be in the color of its title.
During Friday’s Episode IX panel at Star Wars Celebration, we got to see the first teaser for the ninth Star Wars movie, which was absolutely mindblowing, and of course, we’ve got a lot of questions. One of our biggest questions is what does that purple title font mean for the epic last installment of this massive franchise?
This may seem like a stretch, but the title colors for the new trilogy have all done a relatively good job at hinting what the films will thematically address and narratively challenge. If you don’t believe us, then buckle up. Welcome to what we call The Star Wars Color Theory!
The Force Awakens – Yellow
For the reintroduction of the Star Wars franchise, it made a lot of sense to harness the classic, iconic yellow, which is instantly recognizable and sparks an immediate wave of nostalgia. It revealed a lot about what could be expected from the new film: the same sense of rip-roaring adventure; a story that would likely deal with legacy, triumph, struggle between the dark side and the light. It suggests a thematic journey which would echo that of the original film which ignited the series.
In the end, this was exactly the case. It got to the point that the similarities between A New Hope and The Force Awakens would become a sticking point for a certain segment of fandom.
The Last Jedi – Red
Red has always meant one thing and one thing only in the galaxy far, far away: the Dark Side! It’s impossible not to connect the two due to the synthetic, corrupted, and “bleeding” red Kyber crystals that power their lightsabers, giving them their iconic red hue. When The Last Jedi logo was revealed, the scarlet letters made it clear that the film would focus on the dark side of the Force and the struggles that it presented for our characters.
This was obviously reflected in both Kylo and Rey’s arcs as they grappled with the Force and the epic battle for balance or domination of the mystical power. The importance of red was also quite literally represented in the epic Snoke throne room battle.
The Rise of Skywalker – Purple / Violet / Indigo
So what does all of this mean for the newest Star Wars logo? Purple is not a color that has much prominence in the marketing or history of Star Wars, save for Mace Windu’s lightsaber. According to Lucasfilm creative executive Pablo Hidalgo, Mace Windu’s unusual lightsaber color had to do with Jackson’s attempts to shape the character, rather than a historical relevance, so it’s unlikely that choice influenced The Rise of Skywalker‘s title color. However, we can glean some lightsaber-centric stuff from the lovely hue.
In Star Wars there are many different colors of lightsabers, but there are two in particular which have come to represent the dark side (red) and the light side (blue). When you bring those colors together, what do you get? Purple. The title and trailer already have fans theorizing that we might see Rey and Kylo team up to bring balance to the Force and perhaps even take down surprise returning villain Emperor Palpatine. The color choice hints that this may be the case, and if Rey’s blue saber represents the light and Kylo’s Red represents the dark, then perhaps the purple hue of the title indicates some kind of reckoning and eventual equilibrium between the two, skewing more towards to the blue/light side?
Of course, this is all speculative, but we do love this theory. If you’re willing to look even deeper than just the logos, the greater thematic importance of colors within Star Wars can reveal itself in surprising ways.
Images: Disney, Lucasfilm
