Written by Chris Snelgrove | issued
Few people associate Star Wars with martial arts in the same way that most people associate them with movies like: matrix. There are countless Asian influences on Star Wars, but decades later, you'll still get weird looks from people if you try to say something like: attack of the clones kung fu movie. But in reality, the film's iconic lightsaber battle between Yoda and Count Dooku was inspired by a forgotten Jet Li martial arts film. Swordsman II.
To understand how Star Wars inspired this martial arts film, we need to look back at one of my favorite stories related to the prequels.Rob Coleman served as animation director. phantom menace, and after successfully bringing the likes of battle droids and Jar Jar Binks to life, Lucas invited him to work on a sequel film. Upon joining the company, he knew that animating Yoda during his duel with Count Dooku would be his most difficult task, so he created a detailed picture of exactly what Lucas wanted him to do. I was eagerly awaiting the script.
The Star Wars stunt master gave some practical, real-world examples of people fighting with smaller weapons, but these real-world martial arts notes helped Coleman understand Yoda's fighting style. was not enough.
When Coleman received the script, he was shocked to see Lucas' one-sentence description of the climactic duel. “In a battle that defies description, Yoda and Count Dooku fight.” The animators scheduled a meeting with George Lucas to get further clarity on how the fight should go. But the Star Wars creator doubled down on that ambiguity, simply telling Coleman, “Yeah, yeah…that's what you need to understand.”
The biggest question Coleman had initially was what the fight should look like, considering Yoda has a much smaller weapon than Dooku. This led the animation guru to consult stunt coordinator Nick Gillard, who works with the film's other duelists Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christianson, and Christopher Lee. The Star Wars stunt master gave some practical, real-world examples of people fighting with smaller weapons, but these real-world martial arts notes helped Coleman understand Yoda's fighting style. was not enough.
The scene was likely bittersweet for Rob Coleman. At first, his efforts paid off, with the premiere audience of Star Wars superfans loving Yoda's martial arts moves.
Next, the animators got advice from a most unexpected source: Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best. Best was a huge anime fan, and Coleman remembers the young actor recommending anime titles that he thought would inspire him (unfortunately, he didn't mention any names in the interview). The idea of making Yoda's battles more animated was a good idea, but the final piece of the Star Wars puzzle didn't solidify until Coleman attended a screening of Jet Li's martial arts film. Swordsman II.
Coleman revealed this information in an old interview on the official Star Wars website, which focused on how the film's ninjas used otherworldly martial arts to duel their enemies.
One scene in particular served as Coleman's main inspiration. “In that movie, there's a night scene in a bamboo forest with ninjas jumping and jumping from tree to tree,” he said. “And I thought, 'Oh, okay.' There's an inspiration that Yoda can fly around in.”
Coleman revealed this information in an old interview on the official Star Wars website, which focused on how the film's ninjas used otherworldly martial arts to duel their enemies. Everything clicked for Coleman when he saw this. With his ability to fly around and attack from unexpected angles, Yoda could easily take on opponents like Count Dooku. If you rewatch the scene where he's speaking, it's easy to see how much this kung fu movie was influenced. attack of the clones Attacks by high-flying ninjas occur one after another.
The scene was likely bittersweet for Rob Coleman. At first, his efforts paid off, with the premiere audience of Star Wars superfans loving Yoda's martial arts moves. But recently, the consensus among fans was mostly what he had feared: that the “jumping and hopping and flipping” seemed “a little too cartoonish.” But the creatively bankrupt Sequel Trilogy is a reminder that the Prequels knew how to take risks, and even if it didn't exactly lead up to it, we can't help but feel that Coleman was up to the challenge. You need to respect what you did. very This scene shakes things up a lot.
