How Ray Park And The Mandalorian Are Upping The Action In Star Wars: The Clone Wars

How Ray Park And The Mandalorian Are Upping The Action In Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Working in live-action on The Mandalorian gave Dave Filoni a great idea for The Clone Wars.

Filoni, an executive producer and director on both shows, knew that a showdown in between Darth Maul and Ahsoka Tano was an inevitably in the animates series’ final episodes. However, unlike a fight he staged on Star Wars Rebels with Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi, he wanted this fight to be epic.

“As much as the Obi-Wan versus Maul fight was brief, I wanted this fight to be big. I wanted this to be an epic lightsaber fight,” Filoni said at Star Wars Celebration on Sunday. “I haven’t done too many of those in Clone Wars over the years and this one, I felt, had to be among the best if not the best we did.”

But how? In the past, Filoni has talked about his belief that lightsaber fights can be a little problematic. This time, though, he called on a person to help change that.

“So the best way to have a great lightsaber fight is to talk to somebody who has done lightsaber fights,” Filoni continued. “So I know Ray Park from over the years and I said ‘Ray, wouldn’t it be great, now that I’ve experienced doing more live-action stuff, why don’t we just suit you up in a mo-cap suit and have you be Darth Maul again?’ So when you see Maul fighting it’s going to really be Maul fighting.”

Filoni is currently working on the final 12 episodes of The Clone Wars as well as various roles on The Mandalorian, both of which are coming to Disney+. And his quotes certainly make it seem like his work in live-action on the latter gave him the way to ante in in the former. “I try to find ways to make the show better,” he said. “To give you guys more than you’ve ever had before.”

“As well as [my animation team] has done everything in the past when Maul has lightsaber fights there’s just something unique about the way Ray moves,” Filoni said. “It’s a skill, it’s an art, it’s truly him and I was thrilled that we could bring that and have [Sam Witwer, who voices Maul in animation], the voice and the body, together. It was a great moment.”

The Clone Wars will return of 12 final episodes later this year on Disney+.


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