After 23 years, Star Wars is finally breaking one of George Lucas’ classic lightsaber rules – and in the most surprising place. We have Samuel L. Jackson to thank for Mace Windu’s purple lightsaber; the actor asked George Lucas for something a little different, and he won the legendary filmmaker over.

Since then, we’ve seen a number of different Jedi with purple lightsabers. Some of them have been quite unusual; The Acolyte featured the live-action Vernestra Rwoh, who could reshape her lightsaber into a whip. But, for 23 years, there’s been one simple rule: the purple lightsaber is always a Jedi weapon. Until now.

Star Wars’ New Sith Lord Has A Purple Lightsaber

LEGO Star Wars is one of the most uncanny, off-beat TV shows; the original series introduced Darth Jar Jar (for real), featured Jedi Palpatine, and rewrote the history of the galaxy using creative new Force powers based on LEGO bricks. But the sequel, LEGO Star Wars: Pieces of the Past, will go one step further.

The mysterious villain of Pieces of the Past is a Sith Lord named Solitus. We don’t know much about Solitus, who wields two unusual lightsabers connected by a chain… but there’s one thing we do know. Both lightsaber blades are purple, completely breaking the George Lucas pattern.

What A Purple Lightsaber Means In Star Wars Lore

In Star Wars lore, a purple lightsaber is generally taken to indicate that the Jedi using it is close to the dark side. Mace Windu, for example, struggled with his own inner darkness for years, and has channeled it into the unique lightsaber form known as Vaapad. This is likely why he was so effective in his battle against Palpatine.

While it’s true LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy isn’t exactly canon – the first season led to the creation of a new mash-up version of the galaxy – a precedent has now been set for a Sith to use a purple lightsaber. It’s likely this indicates an inversion of Mace Windu; a Sith who feels the call of the light side.

It is, however, amusing to speculate about why Kylo Ren didn’t use a purple lightsaber; he was, after all, a dark sider who still felt the light side’s pull. The most probable explanation is that he was desperate to commit to the dark side, to resist the light, and thus eager to bleed a kyber crystal to get a red lightsaber.

In Kylo Ren’s case, it didn’t go well; the crystal fractured, forcing him to use a crossguard lightsaber that could channel its surges of power. Perhaps that particular Star Wars villain would have been better with a purple lightsaber, too.