‘The Acolyte’s’ Dafne Keen Hints at Lightsaber Duels to Surpass Franchise’s Most Iconic Fights: “We Want to Top the Darth Maul Fight”

The trailer for ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ recently debuted, hinting at plenty of action, a promise echoed by creator Leslye Headland in various media appearances.

Headland described ‘Acolyte’ as a blend of ‘Frozen’ and ‘Kill Bill’, drawing influence from Wuxia and Samurai genres. The trailer showcased this fusion, and Headland emphasized how ‘Acolyte’ will depict Jedi outnumbering Sith for the first time in the franchise’s history.

Although the ‘High Republic’ books serve as the main inspiration for the show, there are also many references to the prequel and sequel trilogies. In her latest interview, Dafne Keen, set to portray Jecki Lon, assured fans that the show’s action scenes will rival some of the franchise’s most memorable moments.

Yeah, that was a very frequent conversation we had. “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 also shared that wielding a lightsaber during filming was her favorite part of the process.

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.

Keen expressed that holding a lightsaber was a dream come true, especially considering her cherished childhood memories associated with the franchise.

I remember watching Star Wars when I was a kid, then playing with sticks on the street and being like, ‘I have a saber!’ And now finally getting to learn these incredible choreographies that the stunt team put together was just honestly such a privilege, because we had such an amazing stunt team.

We’re eagerly anticipating what the crew has in store for us, especially hoping they deliver on their promises, particularly regarding epic lightsaber scenes. The show is set to premiere on June 4 on Disney+ with the first two episodes. Got something to share? Drop a comment below!