'Star Wars 9' will have 'one of the most epic' lightsaber battles in the franchise's history

Daisy Ridley says Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will have an amazing lightsaber battle that will be “one of the most epic fights” in the sci-fi series so far.

The British actor was speaking with Wired about the focus on making the sequences look and feel lighter and that was achieved by a change in design.

“The interesting thing about this film is that we concentrate more on the fact that [the lightsabers] are light,” Ridley said.

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“Because the [old] lightsabers were so heavy, as Eunice [Huthart] said, who is our new stunt coordinator, that it was more like broadsword fighting, which isn’t technically what it’s supposed to be because lightsabers are supposed to be light, by nature.”

A typical lightsaber blade is about 3 feet (91 cm) in length while its hilt is around 10.5 inches (27 cm) in length.

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“So they actually made them lighter for us,”she continued. “We in this film actually have perhaps one of the most epic fights in Star Wars.”

Ridley has been through intense training since being cast as the main lead Rey for the first Star Wars legacy sequel The Force Awakens.

Rey battles Kylo Ren with a lightsaber which director J.J. Abram had wanted to have a primitive feel.

"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,” he told Empire magazine.

“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."

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It’s in The Last Jedi that Rey gets proper Force training after finding Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on Ahch-To at the end of The Force Awakens, which in tur n improves her lightsaber skills.

She and Kylo-Ren (Adam Driver) take part in an epic lightsaber battle in Snoke’s throne room with the Praetorian Guard that many Star Wars fans agree is one of the most iconic fights of the whole franchise.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker comes out 20 December, 2019. Watch the first teaser below.