‘I was scared to death of this scene’: For George Lucas, this scene was the biggest risk of Star Wars Episode II

We’re at the end of Attack of the Clones, the second part of the Star Wars prequel produced by George Lucas in the 2000s. War has just begun between the Confederate troops and the Army of the Republic. After attempting to disobey Count Dooku, Anakin and Obi-Wan dodged one after the other as the latter prepared to escape. But a final, unexpected adversary then stands in his way: against all expectations, it is Yoda.

The wise and revered Jedi Master, never before seen drawing his lightsaber on film, then engages in a duel that will go down in the annals of the Star Wars saga. After demonstrating his mastery of the Force against Dooku, he draws his weapon and displays incredible agility for an 800-year-old man.

Epic and impressive at the same time, the sequence is not devoid of humor and remains in the memory of fans even today. However, as we learn in the Attack of the Clones audio commentary, this gave George Lucas and his team a long time to break into a cold sweat, scrambling to make it realistic for fear it wouldn’t be funny (it was also another of the film’s The case of a completely improbable scene):

“Of course, sequencing would be difficult”explains producer Rick McCallum.

“How would a little 75cm featherweight cope with a 1.80m man? We never knew if it would work. I think Rob did an absolutely exceptional job because it could have been completely ridiculous.”

In order to properly prepare the audience for the lightsaber duel, animation director Rob Coleman came up with the idea to offer an appetizer to the stage, presenting a face-to-face showdown between the two opponents:

“If there was one scene in this movie that gave me the night, it was this one. In the original script, Yoda immediately had a sword fight.”he says.

“We talked to George about what we called ‘Duel of the Witches’ and George added it to the series. I think it really helps the audience follow Yoda as he finds the strength and energy to fight this Sith Lord. “

as for George LucasHe states that he himself was very worried about the scene being portrayed on the screen and the reactions it could arouse in the public:

“I was scared to death of that sequence, wondering how to pull it off because it was the biggest risk of the movie. Could I make it realistic enough to be believable, or was I going to be completely me. Is it funny? (…) I was able to have fun without looking silly, which I was afraid of. But I was worried until the animators showed me the shot where He comes down and he looks tough.”

What did you think of that famous showdown between Yoda and Dooku?

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