After Qui-Gon Jinn's death on Naboo at the end of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, his lightsaber took quite the journey across the galaxy. In the famous Duel of the Fates, Darth Maul killed the Jedi master before Obi-Wan Kenobi returned the favor (well, kind of). We know that Kenobi used his master's lightsaber to end the fight, but that's not the end of the story for Jinn's lightsaber.

Jinn's silver and black hilt with a green blade was the first lightsaber shown in Star Wars in 16 years. The design inspired all three of Kenobi's lightsabers, and subsequently, the iconic Skywalker hilt. Though Jinn tried to avoid violence whenever possible, he used this weapon on many occasions to deal with various threats. After his death, however, his apprentice looked after the notorious lightsaber.

Qui-Gon Jinn's Lightsaber Was Taken To The Jedi Temple After His Death

The crystal doesn't seem to have been placed in the Kyber Arch

Following the death of his master, Kenobi brought the saber back to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. During the Galactic Republic Era, the Jedi traditionally collected the kyber crystals from the lightsabers of any Jedi who died. They then used those crystals to form the Kyber Arch. This monument served as both a tribute to the fallen Jedi and as a strong connection to the Force. The Kyber Arch was first introduced in the novel The High Republic: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray.

However, it seems Jinn's kyber crystal was never added to the Arch. While the fate of the saber is unknown between the time of Jinn's death and the fall of the Republic, there are some popular theories. In the Legends continuity, Kenobi used Jinn's lightsaber for a brief time before he could craft a new one for himself. Another story shows Kenobi allowing Anakin Skywalker to use the weapon as a training saber before he crafted his own. It is at least known, however, that the lightsaber left the Temple, and was not destroyed when the Empire came to power.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Took Qui-Gon's Lightsaber With Him On His Exile

Perhaps he thought it would help communicate with Jinn's Force ghost

The Great Jedi Purge forced Kenobi into hiding on Tatooine. The exiled Jedi brought three lightsabers with him to the desert planet: his own, his apprentice Anakin's, and his master Jinn's. At one point, Kenobi even carried all three hilts with him, attached to his cloak. Kenobi's saber was used to fight Vader on the Death Star. Anakin's passed to Luke and then Rey Skywalker. It's unclear, however, if Jinn's lightsaber was ever wielded again.

The Jedi believed that a Force-wielder was bonded to their kyber crystal, and that bond could continue after death. As seen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, the titular Jedi master tried multiple times to reach out to Jinn's spirit, failing to do so until the last episode. It's possible that Kenobi felt that holding onto his mentor's crystal would allow him to form this connection. While his adventures with a young Leia Organa seemed to open him to the Force again, his master's weapon may have also played a part.

Is Qui-Gon's Lightsaber Buried On Tatooine?

How strange those Skywalker sabers are...

Nobody knows for sure where Jinn's blade ended up, but "buried on Tatooine" seems like a pretty good bet. When Kenobi tried to cut himself off from the Force during his time under the twin suns, he buried Anakin's lightsaber and his own in a chest deep in the desert. At the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Rey buries the Skywalker lightsaber and Leia's saber in the sands of Tatooine. It stands to reason that at some point, Jinn's weapon found the same fate.

Could Luke have used Jinn's green crystal to craft his new weapon?

One popular theory suggests that Luke Skywalker found Jinn's kyber crystal on Tatooine after The Empire Strikes Back. The young Jedi lost his father's blade on Bespin, and had built a new, green-bladed lightsaber by the time Return of the Jedi begins. Could Luke have used Jinn's green crystal to craft his new weapon? There has been no canon confirmation of this theory, though if true, it would be a great homage to Jinn.

Much remains unknown about Jinn's lightsaber, or which hands it passed through. It's known for sure that Kenobi took responsibility for the blade, making sure to keep it out of the Empire's hands. Perhaps someday, Star Wars will provide confirmation of The Phantom Menace's iconic weapon's final resting place.