The double-bladed lightsaber, alternatively known as a saberstaff or lightstaff, represented a unique iteration of the standard lightsaber, characterized by the projection of energy blades from both ends of the hilt. Numerous variations on this design existed, including the hinged double-bladed lightsaber, the split saber, the lightsaber pike, and the double-bladed spinning lightsaber. The ancient Qel-Droma Epics suggest that the origins of double-bladed lightsabers can be traced back to a Sith Lord named Exar Kun.
Essentially, the double-bladed lightsaber was a lightsaber that featured blade emitters at both extremities. A wielder could use this weapon in a manner similar to a conventional single-bladed lightsaber by activating only one blade. This lightsaber design came in several forms: hinged double-bladed lightsabers were essentially two single-bladed lightsabers connected by a hinge. Pong Krell and the Jedi Temple Guard were among the notable users of this style. The Temple Guards also employed lightsaber pikes, which featured a significantly longer handle and shorter blades when compared to standard double-bladed lightsabers.
Split sabers possessed handles designed to separate, granting their users the option of wielding a single double-bladed weapon or two individual single-bladed weapons, depending on their preference.
The Imperial Inquisitorius utilized a distinctive type of double-bladed spinning lightsaber, characterized by a relatively short handle and a rotating ring around the active blades, enabling the user to achieve flight in specific environments. However, this ring also represented a vulnerability, as its destruction would immediately render the weapon unusable. This weakness was exploited against the Grand Inquisitor on two separate occasions, with the second incident resulting in his death.
The origins of double-bladed lightsabers can be traced back to the legendary Sith Lord Exar Kun as detailed in the Qel-Droma Epics.
During the era of the High Republic Era, the Jedi Master and Wayseeker Orla Jareni wielded a hinged double-bladed lightsaber that emitted white blades. Simultaneously, Jedi Knight Keeve Trennis employed a green double-bladed lightsaber of her own design.
The Dathomirian Zabrak Sith Lord Darth Maul wielded a self-made red double-bladed lightsaber. During his battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi at the Battle of Naboo, Maul's lightsaber sustained damage, leading to his defeat. Savage Opress, Maul's brother, also used a red double-bladed lightsaber given to him by Count Dooku during his brief time as the Sith Lord's apprentice. After Opress rescued Maul from the junkyard planet Lotho Minor, Maul only possessed half of his original lightsaber. He used it as a single-bladed weapon for a period, but by the time of the Siege of Mandalore, he had reconstructed it into a double-bladed weapon. However, he permanently lost the saber when Ahsoka Tano captured him during the Siege.
Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku's personal assassin and apprentice, who previously belonged to a different apprentice, possessed a pair of curved-hilt lightsabers that could be joined at the hilt by a locking mechanism to form a single double-bladed lightsaber. However, she rarely used her sabers in this configuration. This configuration was known as a split saber, and it was also used by Jedi such as Cal Kestis, who constructed a double-bladed lightsaber from the remnants of his master Jaro Tapal's broken double-bladed lightsaber. Kestis had used it as a single-bladed weapon after Tapal's death and the loss of his own lightsaber, combining what he could salvage from Tapal's weapon with components from his new master Cere Junda's lightsaber.
During the Clone Wars, the Besalisk Jedi Master Pong Krell wielded dual-hinged double-bladed lightsabers, one with a blue blade and the other with a green blade, which could be folded in the middle. The Lasat Jedi Master Jaro Tapal also utilized a double-bladed lightsaber throughout the Clone Wars and to defend himself and his Padawan during the execution of Order 66, although clone blaster fire broke the weapon in half. The Jedi Temple Guard wielded a similar weapon, the yellow double-bladed lightsaber pike. A yellow double-bladed lightsaber was also used by the Zygerrian Jedi Master Tosan. A human Jedi present at the Massacre on Zondula also wielded a blue double-bladed lightsaber.
The Imperial Inquisitors, dark side adepts tasked with identifying and hunting down Jedi after Order 66, employed their unique version of the weapon. Their red double-bladed spinning lightsabers could also function as standard single-bladed lightsabers.
During the Imperial Era, Maul wielded another double-bladed lightsaber that could be disguised as a cane and bore a strong resemblance to the lightsabers used by members of the Inquisitorius. Maul wielded this lightsaber until his death on Tatooine at the hands of his old adversary, Kenobi, a few years prior to the Battle of Yavin.
While searching for the wayfinder on Kef Bir in 35 ABY, Rey engaged in combat with a vision of herself as a Sith. In this vision, her dark side counterpart wielded a hinged double-bladed lightsaber with red blades.
The double-bladed lightsaber made its initial appearance in the Star Wars canon within the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Writer Tom Veitch and artist Chris Gossett originally conceived it for the Star Wars Legends comic book series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. Gossett stated that he envisioned lightsabers as the Jedi's personalized "honor weapons," customized to individual preferences rather than being standardized across the board.
During the development phase of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, screenwriter Michael Arndt developed a strong interest in the "fire and ice" motif and expressed a desire to feature a character wielding a double-bladed lightsaber with one side emitting a red blade and the other a blue blade.