George Lucas had to make a change for an epic Phantom Menace scene

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Audience members were thrilled with an incredible lightsaber battle during the 1999 release of the first prequel film, “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace,” on the big screen.

In a truly spectacular fashion, Darth Maul’s ignition of his dual-bladed red lightsaber was nothing short of breathtaking. However, what followed during his fateful duel with Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi had far-reaching implications that significantly impacted the galaxy.

In simpler terms, Qui-Gon Jinn was sadly killed, but his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was still quite young at the time, took up the challenge of avenging his master by being the first Jedi Knight in over a millennium to defeat a Sith Lord in battle.

As reported by Collider, McGregor recently discussed this topic at Fan Expo Boston. Recalling the thrilling fight sequence he filmed with Park’s character Maul, the 54-year-old actor expressed, “When Qui-Gon was slain, it intensifies significantly. The entire fight was extraordinary to perform, including being trapped behind laser doors and so on. However, that particular scene, it takes things to another dimension.

However, what we see on the screen in ‘Duel of the Fates’ is not exactly how it was filmed. 

McGregor shared that George Lucas needed to increase the camera’s speed beyond its normal rate, which effectively slowed down the filming, as both Lucas and Park were moving exceptionally quickly.

“When me and Ray did that fight… George—I’ve got to get this right—over-cranked,” McGregor shared.

In simpler terms, “He asked us to speed up the camera a bit because he thought we were moving too quickly during the fight scene. We sped up the camera to make our actions appear slower. He was concerned that the audience might not believe how fast we were fighting.

Lightsabers were constantly damaged during prequels filming

In the prequel trilogy, it’s hard to deny that some of the franchise’s most impressive lightsaber scenes occur, largely due to the passionate effort put into the choreography by the actors themselves. Before filming, McGregor honed his skills in fencing, while Park brought his martial arts background to enhance the on-screen combat intensity.

Previously, Hayden Christensen, the actor who portrayed Anakin Skywalker in the prequel films, disclosed to GQ that the duel on Mustafar from Revenge of the Sith, often regarded as the finest in the series, was not shot with stunt performers and was not enhanced through digital slow-motion.

In simpler terms, McGregor shared another interesting story behind-the-scenes to highlight their skills in the trilogy. He mentioned that during a fight scene, a crew member had to change the lightsaber blades after each take because the forceful sparring would bend the blades out of shape.

The objects were constructed from metal: tubing and an unknown alloy, perhaps. However, we worked so vigorously that… George would call for a cut, and upon looking down, your lightsaber appeared as a large, distorted shape. Thus, this individual replaced the blade on it after each take. It’s easy to imagine how intensely we were fighting.

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2025-08-12 19:32