Samuel L Jackson says Star Wars: The Force Awakens actors need to 'go to lightsaber fight school'

Jackson wielded a purple lightsaber as Mace Windu in the prequels

Jess Denham
Friday 08 January 2016 13:06 GMT
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Samuel L Jackson personally requested a purple lightsaber from George Lucas
Samuel L Jackson personally requested a purple lightsaber from George Lucas

Samuel L Jackson has revealed that he wasn’t too impressed with the lightsaber battles in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The US actor played Jedi Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequels, a character known for the purple lightsaber he personally requested from director George Lucas.

“It’s done in the spirit of the Star Wars films,” he said, obviously holding back. “It’s adventuresome, it’s exciting in a way. I think the kids need to go to lightsaber fight school but that’s just me, they got time to get better.

The more realistic and raw duels were very intentional however.

“When you look at Star Wars and Empire, they are very different lightsaber battles, but for me they felt more powerful because they were not quite as slick," JJ Abrams previously said.

"I was hoping to go for something much more primitive, aggressive and rougher, a throwback to the kind of heart-stopping lightsaber fights I remembered being so enthralled by as a kid.”

Regardless, newcomers Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Adam Driver will be getting plenty of lightsaber practice, judging by Disney and LucasFilm’s slate of planned movies in the franchise.

None of the actors have directly commented on Jackson’s thinly veiled criticism, but Boyega did retweet a quote on Twitter reading: “Good or bad, someone will always have something to say. You can’t please everyone.”

Luckily, Star Wars fans have warmly welcomed the new cast members, with the film receiving universally positive reviews.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has officially taken over Avatar as the most successful film in US box office history.

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