George Lucas Reveals Why Duels in Prequel Trilogy are More Dynamic

To this day the fans argue about how clashes between Jedi and Sith should look like. During the filming of The Phantom Menace, George Lucas explained the new approach with more dynamic fight scenes.

science fiction

Zbigniew Woznicki31 December 2023

Source: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace; dir. George Lucas; 20th Century Fox; 1999

Lightsabers are an icon of Star Wars and in the history of the universe successive generations of Jedi knights and Sith lords have fought each other using various techniques. We could see the first such duel already in A New Hope, but George Lucas wanted something more. The Phantom Menace became an opportunity to show the peak of the participants' power in lightsaber combat through more dynamic clashes.

In the short documentary titled Prime Of The Jedi, associated with the production of The Phantom Menace, George Lucas explained why there was a change in lightsaber combat in the universe of Star Wars:

"I was looking for a way to depict lightsaber combat like we already did, but in a more dynamic version, because we never saw a real Jedi in action. We only saw an old man, a crippled half-man, half-robot and a young boy who was learning from them. That's why I wanted to show the Jedi fighting at the peak of their power to be more dynamic and faster than what we've done so far."

We could see the differences in question, for example, during Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi's duel with Darth Maul. The sword strikes were much faster, and the choreography itself was richer with moves such as flips and spins.. Not all fans liked this approach and the discussion about changing the depiction of lightsaber combat continues to this day.

It can be noted that Lucas' words about the old man and the cripple got old very quickly. Already in Attack of the Clones it was clear that Yoda, barely walking on a cane, is just as energetic as his much younger counterparts when wielding a lightsaber. Perhaps in A New Hope Obi-Wan Kenobi would also be capable of fighting like during the Clone Wars.

More:This Controversial Change Made to Star Wars Almost 20 Years Ago Allowed for Ahsoka's Perfect Ending

RELATED TOPICS: cinema science fiction trivia George Lucas Star Wars

Zbigniew Woznicki

He began his adventure with journalism and writing on the Allegro website, where he published news related to games, technology, and social media. He soon appeared on Gamepressure and Filmomaniak, writing about news related to the film industry. Despite being a huge fan of various TV series, his heart belongs to games of all kinds. He isn't afraid of any genre, and the adventure with Tibia taught him that sky and music in games are completely unnecessary. Years ago, he shared his experiences, moderating the forum of mmorpg.org.pl. Loves to complain, but of course constructively and in moderation.

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