There is a lot of secrecy surrounding the upcoming Star Wars TV series The Acolyte, but the show’s cast revealed in a podcast for Entertainment Weekly audiences can expect to see epic lightsaber fights influenced by martial arts and samurai swordplay.
Star Wars: The Acolyte ventures into uncharted territory for the saga as the first “Sith-led” Star Wars story, and is described as a “mystery-thriller” set during the dying days of the High Republic – around a century before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. It is, in fact, that first prequel that stars Manny Jacinto, Charlie Bartnett and Dafne Keen have likened to their lightsaber battles, referencing the epic clash between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul in Phantom Menace‘s climax.
“If you loved that sequence with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and Darth Maul I think you’re going to enjoy this show,” Jacinto said. Barnett echoed Jacinto, but elaborated by saying their fights will be more grounded and brutal in a physical way.
“I will say too — not to shade, but we have a lot more tangible physical moves than I saw in that fight,” Barnett said. “As badass as it is, there’s a lot more grounded work that goes into our stunt training and our stunt performances.”
“All of the fight training that we’ve gone through is so heavily influenced by samurai. Only this time, laser swords are subbing in for, you know, actual swords,” Keen added.
One of the draws for Keen was how much the show was relying on lightsabers and physical fights instead of blasters as has been typical in most Star Wars series and likened the choreography to a dance. “I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but I will just say it. There’s a lack of guns, which personally as someone who loves fighting and stunts and stuff, I love. Because it gives you that body-to-body choreography — that dance feeling. It actually looks like a real fight as opposed to just I point and I shoot, which is kind of an easy cop out in a way. We get a lot of that body-to-body.”
Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) leads the cast, and will star alongside Lee Jung-Jae (Squid Game), Manny Jacinto (Top Gun: Maverick), Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Dean-Charles Chapman (Game of Thrones) and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix).
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