Star Wars: The Acolyte Aims to Outdo Lightsaber Fights From The Phantom Menace

The upcoming series will push lightsaber combat to new heights.

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Each Star Wars story aims to push elements of the franchise to new heights, and with the upcoming live-action series Star Wars: The Acolyte, star Dafne Keen claims the show could set the bar for what is possible with lightsaber combat, even surpassing the accomplishments of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. With that film's finale featuring Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn taking on Darth Maul in an intense and highly acrobatic conflict, many audiences consider that duel to be the most impressive in the whole franchise, but that conflict will seemingly pale in comparison to what The Acolyte unleashes. Star Wars: The Acolyte is set to premiere on Disney+ on June 4th.

"Yeah, that was a very frequent conversation we had," Keen shared with Entertainment Weekly about the showdown in The Phantom Menace. "It was very much: We want to top the Darth Maul fight -- the most iconic fight, I think, in the Star Wars cinematic universe. It's such an amazing fight and we were all so excited about the saber fights. There's such a skill and a craft to it that it feels so OG Star Wars and feels so impressive when you see it as a viewer."

In regards to the excitement of getting to wield a lightsaber, Keen continued, "It was my favorite part of filming. I loved the whole training process of it. Everyone was very excited about it, which then made it much more fun. Our incredible stunt team created this kind of fusion of different martial arts and we were really trained in how to use the sabers. I feel very comfortable with a sword now, and I know that Charlie [Barnett] does too, and I know that [Lee Jung-jae] does too. We were all in there for hours a day training, and it was really fun to kind of explore also a different side to the characters within the fighting."

When it comes to the more action-packed elements of the Star Wars franchise, all corners of the galaxy far, far away have offered opportunities to explore intense aerial combat, but with The Acolyte unfolding during the era of The High Republic, Keen's comments imply an emphasis on intimate showdowns as opposed to bombastic battles.

In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master (Lee Jung-jae) against a dangerous warrior from his past (Amandla Stenberg). As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems....

The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie Turner-Smith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

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Star Wars: The Acolyte premieres on Disney+ on June 4th.

Are you looking forward to the new series? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror! 

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