Hello and Happy new year, Star Wars fans! We’re back to contemplate the new Star Wars Rebels Season 3 mid-season trailer. There is a lot to chew on there, but let’s first take a look at the significance of the “darksaber”, and where it’s going.

First off, what is the darksaber? This black laser-sword is fundamental to the culture of the Mandalorians, going back to ancient times. It actually has its origins with the Jedi, and was stolen by the Mandalorians during the fall of the Old Republic. The origins of this saber would be great content to explore in a future Old Republic cartoon, which could be on the horizon. The saber was passed down throughout the ancestors of Pre Vizsla, who had the saber during the time of the Clone Wars. The darksaber became a symbol of leadership within the Mandalorian splinter group “Death Watch” while it was wielded by Vizsla, and gave him the title of “Mand’alor”, protector of Mandalorian culture. Pre Vizsla lost the saber to none other than Darth Maul, who killed Pre Vizsla to then became the leader of Death Watch.

To say the saber is tightly linked to Mandolorian mythology is an understatement. This saber was actually used to kill Dutchess Satine by Maul, as part of a revenge against Obi Wan. There are some very interesting theories about Obi Wan and Dutchess Satine being the parents of Sabine Wren, who took ownership of the darksaber in Visions and Voices (season 3, mid-season finale). According to the theory, Sabine, who was born 2 years before Satine’s death, was hidden due to the fact that if it ever got out that Obi Wan Kenobi had a child that he would be kicked out of the Jedi order. Others have rejected this theory and given some good reasons. Meanwhile, others give a compelling case that Bo Katan, the sister of Satine, could be Sabine’s mother.

Adding to the confusion, Dave Filoni stated that he “‘would argue’ that Sabine’s mother was in fact one of the Death Watch members in the throneroom when Pre Vizsla was killed”. To make matters more complicated, Pablo Hidalgo states that this is just the tip of the iceberg of subplots related to the Mandalorian families. Could there be more to it?

One question is, what is the significance of this saber to Maul? The saber was on an alter with a sketch of Dutchess Satine on the wall in the location where Maul tried to use NightSister magic to summon the knowledge of where to find Obi Wan. Weird stuff. However, Maul leaves the saber on the ground and heads off in his ship once he gets the information he needs. Maul no doubt knows where Obi Wan is because he’s already visited Tatooine in The Phantom Menace. Therefore, the Darksaber may not hold any special significance to him beyond an artifact that is connected to his deep desire for revenge against Kenobi for ruining his life.

In the latest trailer we see Sabine being trained by Kanan with the Darksaber. Unless Sabine can use the Force suddenly she will be relying on her skills as fighter and her ingenuity. We also know from the trailer that at some point Sabine will have to fight another Mandalore using Ezra’s lightsaber. In the recent episode of Rebel Force Radio: Star Wars Rebels: Declassified, they discussed the trailer and the significance to the Visions and Voices episode. They bring up the fact that because Sabine doesn’t have the Force, she may not need to avoid the dark side. Kanan says “you must use all your skills together”, meaning she could even use things normally associated with the dark side such as vengeance or hate. It’s cool that she uses some sort of electronic lasso instead of pulling the saber back with the Force.

So will Sabine Wren take the mantle of Mand’alor and lead the Mandalorians? DashStar proposed this theory in a recent video. I recommend you check it out for some great details. More importantly, will this mean that she must face and defeat Maul, the previous owner of the dark saber?

It would be really cool to me, @davestrrr, if the theory that Obi Wan is her father is true, and that this somehow comes out during this fight. This would give even more impetus for Sabine to defeat Maul, and further deepen the mythology surrounding Maul, Kenobi, and the Mandos. We’ll have to play the waiting game on Sabine’s parentage, but even if we see who her mother is, we can’t help but wonder if this could be an adoptive mother, and the situation is more complex as it often is in Star Wars. Again, I like this theory, but I’m not ready to hang my hat on it just yet. I just think it would be cool.

The more we see the Darksaber the more I wonder if we’ll see it on the big screen? With the open canvas of the Star Wars Story movies we could see it’s transfer back to the Mandalorians or even the Jedi/Sith that created it. I’m interested in how it would be created on the big screen and how it will look. I’m sure they could create something cool with CGI. How it fits into the movies is another question, but the much rumored Kenobi spin-off film would be a logical place. This will also enable further reasons to bring up Jango in the story, and other aspects of the Mandos. We’ll see what happens soon, and speculation is half the fun.

Brought to you by @davestrrr and @mazlow01. Stay tuned to spoiledbluemilk.com for updates!