A look back at the memorable duel between Yoda and Count Dooku in “Attack of the Clones”, which represented a real technical and script challenge for the film team.
We are at the end of Attack of the Clones, the second part of the Star Wars prelogy produced by George Lucas in the 2000s. The war has just begun between the troops of the Confederation and the army of the Republic. After trying to defy Count Dooku, Anakin and Obi-Wan were one after the other knocked out of harm’s way by the latter, who was preparing to flee. But a final, unexpected adversary then comes to block his way: against all expectations, it is Yoda.
The wise and venerable Jedi master, who has never before been seen drawing his lightsaber in the cinema, then embarks on 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 unsuspected agility for an 800 year old man.
Epic and striking at the same time, the sequence is not devoid of humor, and still remains in the memories of fans today. However, as we learn in the audio commentary for Attack of the Clones, it gave George Lucas and his teams a cold sweat for a long time, who racked their brains to make it realistic, fearing that it would is not funny (this was also the case for another completely improbable scene in the film):
“Of course the sequence was going to be difficult”explains producer Rick McCallum.
Lucasfilm Ltd.
“How is a little 75 centimeter featherweight going to take on a 1.80 meter man? We never knew if it was going to work. I think Rob did an absolutely exceptional job because it could have be completely ridiculous.”
In order to properly prepare the viewer for the lightsaber duel, animation director Rob Coleman then had the idea of offering an appetizer to the scene, imagining a face-to-face based on mastery of Force between the two adversaries:
“If there was one sequence in this film that kept me up at night, it was this one. In the original script, Yoda fought with a sword right away.”he says.
“We talked to George about what we called ‘the wizards’ duel,’ and George added that to the sequence. I think it really helps the viewer to accompany Yoda, who finds in himself the strength and the energy to fight this Sith Lord.”
Lucasfilm Ltd.
As for George Lucashe declares that he himself was very concerned by the rendering of the scene on the screen, and by the reactions that it could arouse in the public:
“I was scared to death of this sequence, I wondered how I was going to get through it, because it was the biggest risk of the film. Could I make it realistic enough to be believable or was I going to do I make myself totally ridiculous? (…) I was able to have fun without it looking stupid, which is what I was afraid of. But I was worried until the animators showed me the shot where [Yoda] arrives and he looks tough.”
What did you think of that famous confrontation sequence between Yoda and Dooku?
(Re)discover all the hidden details in “Attack of the Clones”…