Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’s Light Saber Duel Took Six Days to Film
There will be no spoilers here. We all already know there’s going to be an epic lightsaber duel between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. It was right there in the footage we saw that Disney and Lucasfilm released during the D23 Expo. It’s also right there in the poster. Rey and Kylo Ren have it out in epic fashion atop a ship on some storm-lashed planet. Now we’ve learned that this showdown took an astonishing six days to film. Folks, that’s a long time for a single scene and means that their clash is likely going to be one for the ages. The information comes courtesy C-3P0 himself, Anthony Daniels, who is currently on tour with his book “I Am C-3PO – The Inside Story.” Daniels was speaking to French media outlets about his book and what it was like filming the 9th and final installment in the Skywalker Saga, and revealed that their duel was crafted over six long days.
We are not fans of pre-release spoilers. This information merely reinforces what we already knew from both the footage and the Rise of Skywalker poster; the lightsaber duel between Rey and Kylo Ren was given a major investment in time to pull off. There have been plenty of legendary duels in the past; Darth Vader vs. Obi-Wan, Darth Vader vs. Luke, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Maul, etc.—but we’re willing to bet none took six days to film. And none were positioned as the duel to end all duels (at least for the Skywalker saga, that is.)
The battle between Rey and Kylo Ren will possibly answer several questions for us, including who, exactly, Rey really is, and how powerful her Force abilities are. As co-writer Chris Terrio revealed to Empire, finding out who Rey is and what she’s capable of are a big part of The Rise of Skywalker‘s storyline:
“How can Rey become the spiritual heir to the Jedi? We kept coming back to ‘Who is Rey?’, and how can we give the most satisfying answer to that not only factually – because obviously people are interested in whether there’s more to be learned of Rey’s story – but more importantly who is she as a character? How will she find the courage and will and inner strength and power to carry on what she’s inherited? The second one is, ‘How strong is the Force?…What is the Force and how strong is the Force?’ Those two things were really important.”
The strength of the Force will no doubt be on full display during the Rey/Ren battle. The fact that it took so long to film means we might be witnessing the most intense duel in Star Wars history.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens on December 20, 2019.
Featured image: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Poster. Courtesy Walt Disney Studios
