The power of the dark side: Darth Vader's lightsaber sells for $3.6 million

Impressive. Most impressive.

A lightsaber prop wielded by Darth Vader (played by David Prowse) in the Star Wars sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi sold at a Propstore auction in Los Angeles on Thursday for a forceful $3.6 million. 

The prop, which the auction site described as "the only hero lightsaber" from either film "with verifiable screen use ever to be offered at public auction," is now the highest-priced item from any Star Wars movie ever sold at an auction.

The auction catalog explains that the lightsaber in question was originally constructed from a modified 1950s camera flash bulb attachment. This particular saber was the prop used in battle sequences between Vader and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on Bespin in Empire and on the second Death Star in Jedi — and originally had a faux blade attached that effects artists later overlaid with hand-drawn red-and-white animation. 

Ewan McGregor recalls 'Star Wars' stunt double breaking his teeth in iconic rain fight: 'I'm alright mum'

Amy Adams, Aaron Pierre, more join Ryan Gosling for 'Star Wars: Starfighter' as production begins

The saber is one of two props used by Prowse (and his stunt double Bob Anderson) in Episode V and Episode VI. The films also used a second lightsaber prop without a blade attachment for scenes when the weapon remains unactivated. The prop sold on Thursday did not include a blade attachment, as no original prop blades are known to exist in private collections — though the movie weapon at the auction did once have blades attached to film battle scenes.

The catalog also notes that it's possible this particular prop might have been used during the original 1977 Star Wars in the duel between Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness), but the item's use in that first film cannot be verified.

The opening million-dollar bid for the item came at 6:31 p.m. PT on Thursday. After 29 more bids, the 31st and final bid of $2.9 million had secured the prop just seven minutes later at 6:38. The buyer also paid a buyer's premium to the auction house around $700,000, bringing the total cost to approximately $3.6 million.

Over 1,000 pieces of props and pop culture items were included in the three-day auction, which continues on Friday and Saturday. The next highest-priced item sold so far was a whip used by Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The item, which also included the character's belt and whip holster, sold for $485,100 including the buyer's premium.

Other items that have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars include a flamethrower used by Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a Ressikan flute and box utilized by Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) on Star Trek: The Next Generation, a brain-wiping neuralyzer handled by Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) in Men in Black, and a Spider-Man suit worn by Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) in Spider-Man 2.

Lower-valued items include a sweater worn by David Kaplan (Jesse Eisenberg) in A Real Pain, a New York City snow globe used in Sully, a dog collar from As Good as It Gets, and stunt revolvers wielded by the Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer) in The Lone Ranger. 

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Other Star Wars items at the auction include a stormtrooper helmet from Return of the Jedi, a stunt lightsaber used by Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) in Revenge of the Sith, and an astromech droid from Solo: A Star Wars Story.