The Star Wars saga has a few standard elements, be they in a theatrical film or a Disney+ series. There’s usually a title crawl at the very beginning, especially when it’s a movie that is kicking off. There are references to and displays of the Force. There’s typically an at-first mysterious individual behind a black mask who ruins many members of many species’ days. And, of course, there’s an overhanging war, typically shown via either exciting space battles or, well, less exciting scenes of political discourse in high-ceilinged chambers. But what the IP is known for more than anything else is its lightsaber duels. After all, why have such an iconic weapon if the movie or streaming series isn’t going to show it off? What follows are the best of the best when it comes to whirring lightsabers bashing up against one another.
None of the Disney+ shows made the cut, but the fifth episode of Star Wars: The Acolyte and Obi-Wan’s confrontation with Darth Vader in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi came close. The same goes for Obi-Wan and Vader’s duel in Star Wars: A New Hope and Rey and Finn’s confrontation with Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Luke vs. Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Even with impressive third acts in the prequel trilogy’s first and third films, Luke’s fight with Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is without a doubt the most iconic lightsaber duel in the history of the franchise, and rightly so. Not only did it greatly improve upon the honestly boring choreography of the Obi-Wan vs. Vader fight in Star Wars: A New Hope, it gave cinema history one of its definitive and oft misquoted lines of dialogue.
Everything about The Empire Strikes Back feels like all bets are off. It’s a continuous subversion of what people expect sequels to be. The protagonists often feel as though they’re genuinely in danger, and the lightsaber clash is no exception. Luke loses a hand, has a devastating revelation dropped on him, and nearly falls off a city in the clouds. Naturally, the lightsaber clashes would only get more convoluted and — when CGI didn’t get in the way — physically impressive as the franchise went on, but there’s something that to this day is perfect about the balance struck here. Luke leaps a little bit, but for the most part it plays as two men just several feet from one another with devices that can cut through their opponent like butter. Toss in one of those opponents harboring a secret and it’s one of cinema’s great scenes.
Luke vs. Vader in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Even with a son nearly striking down his father, the saddest scene in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi involves an Ewok getting gunned down by an AT-ST walker and then having another Ewok kneel by its side and cry. But it says a lot about this lightsaber battle that it’s kind of close. As far as choreography and setting go, The Empire Strikes Back nets the win for Luke vs. Vader duels, but Return of the Jedi gives it a serious run for its money.
One aspect that really works for this fight is having Emperor Palpatine in the background, waiting for a vision he had to come true. But Luke is stronger than what Palpatine wants him to be, so the wrinkly sadist is left disappointed. With the exception of Obi-Wan vs. Anakin in the prequel trilogy’s capper, this is the most thematically rich and moving duel of the franchise. Yes, Vader reveals he’s Luke’s father in Empire, but here Luke saves his father’s soul, and that’s just as exciting as the flashes and clashes of red and green.
Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon vs. Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
For all its faults, most of which have been discussed to death throughout the 26 years since its release, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace has the saga’s absolute best lightsaber duel. Everything about it works, starting with the moment those big doors slide open, and the seldom-seen Darth Maul looks up at his opponents. Oh, and John Williams’ incredible “Duel of the Fates” starts blaring.
Thanks to Ray Park’s physical abilities, Darth Maul is the most ferocious opponent a lightsaber dueler can face, and the well-shot scenes (intercut with a space conflict, a blaster battle in the Theed Capitol, and a Gungan vs. droid ground fight) only help accentuate his physicality. Even those who had checked out fairly early on in the film perked up when this duel got going, and while The Phantom Menace doesn’t always sell its more emotional, character-driven moments, there’s little doubt everyone in the audience’s heart broke when that red beam blade went through Liam Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn.
Yoda vs. Count Dooku in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
There are two ways of looking at Yoda’s lightsaber duel with Count Dooku a.k.a. Darth Tyranus in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. One is the way that some in the audience felt: that it “jumped the shark” by having Yoda whirling and twirling through the air. The other way is that it was nice to finally see Yoda do something other than sit and talk or lay back and become one with the Force in perpetuity.
This was also a chance to see the late, legendary Christopher Lee swing a lightsaber, which is a cinematic gift that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Sure, he did it again in the following film, but his duel with Obi-Wan and Anakin there, while more thematically rich, was also brief. Here, it’s really just a fun fight to watch, even if the CGI can be a tad on the spotty side here and there.
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Yoda vs. Darth Sidious in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
It’s clear that George Lucas knew he had to deliver the most intense lightsaber battles to date with Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, because it ends with a pair of doozies, made all the better by the fact that they cut between one another. The audience knew Anakin’s fight with Obi-Wan was coming, as it had been mentioned in the original trilogy (not to mention its constant splashing across the marketing materials), but comparatively, Yoda vs. Darth Sidious was a surprise. A party favor of sorts.
And, while this fight isn’t as phenomenal as the saga’s most important duel, it’s nearly as fun and certainly as acrobatic. Those who didn’t like seeing Yoda twirl around in Attack of the Clones still probably can’t fully get on board, but even with that, the special effects are more convincing here when it comes to pulling his movements off. The icing on the cake here, though, is just how much fun Ian McDiarmid was clearly having shooting it.
Anakin vs. Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith
Even after 20 years, the lava-caked landscape of Mustafar looks pretty impressive in Revenge of the Sith. But, visual appeal aside, it’s the presence of the lava that helps make this lightsaber battle feel the most dangerous of them all. If the viewer didn’t know for a stone-cold fact that Obi-Wan and, to an extent, Anakin, live through this, they’d be forgiven for thinking they were going to die at any moment.
This battle is also buoyed by just how personal it is for both opponents. All lightsaber battles are a fight for survival, sure, but here Anakin truly wants to kill Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan truly just wants to save Anakin. But Obi-Wan knows it’s too late, as does the audience, which makes this lengthy duel carry a certain dramatic weight that was only felt as sharply in Luke’s fights with Vader.
Rey vs. Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
As a whole, the sequel trilogy is lacking when it comes to lightsaber duels. But, while the film itself is fully average at best, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker does have a good one. In this case, the winning factor is the setting and how the planet’s elements affect the fight.
Rey and Kylo duke it out on the wreckage of the Death Star II, previously seen in Return of the Jedi. Whereas part of the appeal of Obi-Wan and Anakin’s fight on Mustafar felt extra dangerous because of the lava, here it feels as though Rey or Kylo could be swept away by a ferocious wave at any moment. Admittedly, their fighting through a snow-covered forest in Star Wars: The Force Awakens is nearly as good, but the addition of the decimated Death Star gives this duel the edge. Not to mention, having Rey win then go out of her way to save Ren’s life was a nice touch.
What’s your favorite duel in the Star Wars franchise? Let us know in the comments below!
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