Why Is Dooku’s Lightsaber Blue In The Tales Of The Jedi Trailer?

The latest trailer for Tales of the Jedi featured shots of Dooku wielding a blue lightsaber during various points in his journey with the Jedi Order. The new trailer showcased the latest entry in Star Wars animation that will chronicle the perspectives of two characters that gradually become disillusioned with the Jedi Order, but for very different reasons. Dooku will be the subject of three shorts, with Ahsoka Tano returning to the spotlight in an additional three episodes. Both characters are featured prominently in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but the new series will allow for a unique insight into their backgrounds.

Dooku undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping the events that would define the Clone Wars, but other than events that unfolded in Dooku: Jedi Lost and brief appearances in Master & Apprentice, the backstory behind Count Dooku’s eventual turn to the dark side is relatively unexplored in Star Wars canon. Although parts of this story were told in Dooku: Jedi Lost, the choice to add more nuance to a character like Dooku through animation is a welcome one.

The show will explore three distinct points in Dooku’s time with the Jedi Order. Dooku is seen engaging in sinister actions throughout the trailer, despite still wielding a weapon with a color that is synonymous with the virtue of the Jedi. A blue lightsaber was thought to indicate a Jedi Guardian, one that placed great emphasis on the physical aspects of the Force. More concretely though, lightsaber colors serve as a reflection of the kyber crystal rather than the wielder. As learned in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 5, episode 6, “The Gathering,” when a Jedi fashions a lightsaber, they form a powerful Force bond with its kyber crystal. This bond is then instilled into the crystal, manifesting the color. In Dooku’s case, when he was still on the side of light, this manifested as a blue shade.

Will Dooku’s Lightsaber Turn Red In Tales Of The Jedi?

​​​​​​​In the Star Wars films, however, Count Dooku of Serenno totes a menacing crimson blade associated with the Sith. Dooku presumably bled his once blue kyber crystal into the familiar deep red, a process that has been addressed in Star Wars material, but not seen on screen. Given the timeline for Tales of The Jedi, the showpresents the opportunity to explore the intricacies of lightsaber mechanics and the bond that Dooku shares with his weapon as his presence in the Force darkens.

During his time as a Padawan, Dooku discovers a hidden room in the Jedi archives that contains ancient Sith relics known as the Bogan collection. The Bogan is an esoteric word for the dark side of the Force, with the Ashla representing the light. Before leaving the Jedi Order, Dooku is portrayed as curious about the dark side of the Force. Although he matures into a stoic and demanding figure, he clearly exudes a more pensive and philosophical approach to the Force as well. This interest in the deeper aspects of the Force was unrelenting as Dooku aged. While mentoring Qui-Gon Jinn, Dooku is enamored with ancient Jedi prophecies and spends an obsessive amount of time tinkering with both Jedi and Sith holocrons.

Given his propensity for exploration of objects rooted in the dark side of the Force, it’s plausible that Dooku could fully immerse himself in the ways of the Sith in Tales of the Jedi. The show will progressively examine Dooku straying further from the light, while he trains as a Jedi but grows closer to becoming a Sith. For a character that is so often shrouded in mystery, there would be no better way to cement his transition from light to dark than with him bleeding his lightsaber from blue to red.