A Luke Skywalker lightsaber used by Mark Hamill in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ headlines a five-day Heritage Auctions Hollywood sale opening on Monday, 13 July 2026.
The lightsaber has never gone under the hammer before, and Heritage has set the opening bid at $1 million, as reported by CBS News.
It is the centrepiece of a sale packed with instantly recognisable pieces of film and music history.
What is in the Luke Skywalker lightsaber sale
The auction, called the Hollywood and Entertainment Signature Auction, runs from Monday, 13 July 2026 to Friday, 17 July 2026. Alongside the lightsaber sits a witch hat worn by Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz, one of cinema’s most instantly recognisable villain looks.
Prop and costume auctions have become big business as studios and private collectors compete for screen-used pieces, and a lightsaber carried by Mark Hamill sits near the top of any wish list. The Empire Strikes Back, released in 1980, remains one of the most beloved entries in the saga.
The pop-culture haul keeps going. Bidders can chase hoverboards from Back to the Future Part II, the rugs from The Big Lebowski, boxing boots from Rocky and a drafted screenplay for a Godfather sequel, spanning decades of movie obsession.
Music history joins the lightsaber on the block
Music fans have a reason to watch too. Among the lots is a handwritten set of John Lennon’s lyrics for the Beatles song If I Fell, jotted on the back of a Valentine’s card while the band was in New York for its first Ed Sullivan Show appearance.
That card was written during a defining moment for the group, which makes the note far more than a lyric sheet.
It is a snapshot of the night the Beatles broke into the American mainstream, and collectors treat that kind of provenance as gold.
Joe Maddalena, an executive vice president at Heritage, said the collection “represents the full spectrum of entertainment history, from Hollywood’s Golden Age to modern blockbuster cinema and the most influential moments in popular music.”
He added that “these are the kinds of artifacts that define generations of storytelling and rarely become available to collectors,” underlining why the estimates climb so high.
What happens next with the Luke Skywalker lightsaber
Heritage has billed the event as a multimillion-dollar sale, and the spread of lots means it is not only die-hard Star Wars fans watching.
Classic film buffs, music collectors and pop-culture investors are all likely to be circling their favourite pieces.
Bidding runs through the week, and the headline question is whether the Luke Skywalker lightsaber clears its $1 million opening and how far past it collectors are willing to push.
mFinal prices for the marquee lots will be known once the sale closes on Friday, 17 July 2026.
