The Star Wars sequel trilogy’s most iconic villain, Kylo Ren, has a rather disarming origin story when it comes to his lightsaber design. Nearly 12 years ago, the world got its first glimpse of Ben Solo, aka Kylo Ren, in the highly-anticipated teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The scene that stole the show was when Kylo Ren fired up his red lightsaber and, in a moment that sent shockwaves through the internet, he activated the crossguard.

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While the exact design of Kylo Ren’s lightsaber has been canonically explained, the secrets behind its creation have been under wraps until now. We had the exclusive opportunity to speak with Jet Cooper, the 3D Modelling Supervisor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, about the design process and the many decisions that went into crafting the iconic weapon.

Cooper revealed that both Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader’s sliced-off hands directly led to the inclusion of the crossguard on Kylo Ren’s saber. The story began when Cooper and director J.J. Abrams dug back centuries, looking at knights’ swords for inspiration. They wanted to create a lightsaber that was not only visually striking but also had a deep connection to the characters and their history.

According to Cooper, the original design of the lightsaber was in a saber shape without a flare on the end of it. ‘Kylo Ren was very much a knight but really, really crude,’ Cooper explained. ‘We suggested casually in a conversation one day that everyone was losing their hands. Luke lost his hand. Vader lost his hand. And the reason Europeans put quillons on swords was to stop that from happening.’

Cooper explained that the idea of the crossguard was born out of a conversation between him and Abrams. They wanted to create a lightsaber that was not only visually striking but also had a deep connection to the characters and their history. The crossguard was inspired by the quillons on European swords, which were designed to prevent the sword from getting stuck in a person’s body.

‘[Ren’s saber has] the main beam with the cracked crystal, so it’s really irregular,’ Cooper said. ‘But what happens if we split that beam and divert it at the sides? Then, of course, Europeans used that part of the sword like a weapon, like a blade. It was nice that J.J. had Kylo Ren turn that and then push [the guard] into the person up against a tree. So, basically it’s an old-fashioned broad sword.’

While the design of the lightsaber has roots in European history, Cooper also revealed that there was another rationale for changing up Kylo Ren’s lightsaber design. ‘Another reason we flared the end out was so that, when you have a silhouette of it, that a 12-year-old could tell what it was,’ Cooper explained.

Cooper, who also worked on movies like Skyfall, X-Men: First Class, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, says that Kylo Ren’s lightsaber is among the creations he’s most proud of. ‘My favorite thing I’ve got in my office that I always do a show-and-tell with is Kylo Ren’s lightsaber,’ Cooper said. ‘I got to design that with J.J. Abrams and [we] finished on version number 13. Lucky number 13.’

In addition to making props for blockbuster movies, Cooper serves as Creative Director and Head of 3D at Makinarium, who just unveiled a one-of-a-kind Terminator collectible that’s available to preorder now. While he’s had a long career in the movie business working on massive franchises and smaller movies alike, much of Cooper’s love of prop making traces back to a galaxy far, far away.

‘When I was 8 years old, I saw the original Star Wars,’ Cooper said. ‘I came out of the theater thinking ‘That’s what I want to do when I grow up!’ It’s magic.’

Cooper’s journey in the world of prop making has been a long and winding road, but one thing remains constant – his love for creating iconic and memorable characters. As he looks back on his career, it’s clear that Kylo Ren’s lightsaber will always hold a special place in his heart.