Dafne Keen talks to EW.com about how the cast and crew of Star Wars: The Acolyte, streaming on Disney+ this June, set about topping the fight scenes between Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jin and Obi-Wan Kenobi in The Phantom Menace.
“Yeah, that was a very frequent conversation we had,” Keen, who plays alien Jedi Jecki Lon, tells Entertainment Weekly. “It was very much: We want to top the Darth Maul fight — the most iconic fight, I think, in the Star Wars cinematic universe. It’s such an amazing fight and we were all so excited about the saber fights. There’s such a skill and a craft to it that it feels so OG Star Wars and feels so impressive when you see it as a viewer.”
Keen’s fondest memories on set involve having a lightsaber in her hand. “It was my favorite part of filming. I loved the whole training process of it. Everyone was very excited about it, which then made it much more fun. Our incredible stunt team created this kind of fusion of different martial arts and we were really trained in how to use the sabers. I feel very comfortable with a sword now, and I know that Charlie does too, and I know that JJ does too. We were all in there for hours a day training, and it was really fun to kind of explore also a different side to the characters within the fighting.”
And Keen says you see those different sides coming out through the moves they employ while in battle. “You can show a different aspect of your character. I feel like the way that JJ’s character fights and the way that my character fights are completely different. And also with the way that Charlie’s character fights. I found a lot of Jecki’s repressed parts of her within her fighting. They only came out in the fight scenes, and as someone who really enjoys doing stunts, getting to learn a new skill, it was just really just really fun and such a privilege.”
Read more at EW.com. The Acolyte streams on Disney+ from June 4th in the USA and June 5th in Europe.
Image: Dafne Keen as Jecki Lon in Star Wars: The Acolyte, by Christian Black
