The 15 most memorable lightsaber battles from the Star Wars franchise, ranked

This battle would rank much higher if what the marketing materials promised actually happened in it. The Rise Of Skywalker posters depicted Rey and Ren, lightsabers ablaze, standing before a sunken TIE Fighter among the watery ruins of Return Of The Jedi’s Death Star. What could have been an all-timer fight ultimately did not make the cut, and as a result, this set piece—while scary-big in scope—falls far short of having any real emotional impact or meaningful place in the story. As we watch each half of Rise Of Skywalker’s dyad brave tempestuous waves and negotiate uneven terrain, the sequence takes on an unintentionally “meta” feel. Especially when we see Rey lose steam mid-battle as the look on her face suggests that, like us, she also doesn’t understand why this fight is happening—other than to look cool and take up run time.

Every Jedi in the galaxy (and their multi-colored) arsenal showed up on Geonosis in Attack Of The Clones to help stop Dooku and his fellow Separatists from turning Padme, Anakin, and Obi-Wan into some alien monsters’ meal. Yes, the battle is full of rubbery, weightless CG and, yeah, the Jedi are the only ones in the skirmish with lightsabers, but the sheer audacity and imagination behind this budget-be-damned sequence is a landmark moment for both fans and the series. It’s the first time audiences saw the Jedi at the height of their powers, led by Mace Windu and Yoda. Also, we learn there’s life before, and life after, by witnessing Yoda fly in with the air calvary and Windu casually leap off a cliff and land in the battle pit, ready to unleash the Force.

When their previous encounter with Dooku in Attack Of The Clones left Anakin without a hand, he and Obi-Wan were given a rematch in Revenge Of The Sith. It’s a close-quarters, two-on-one fight against the silver-haired Sith that ends with Dooku literally losing his head—and Star Wars pushing the violence right to the edge of its PG-13 rating. The startling finishing move (most of which is toned down by clever editing) isn’t sensational for the sake of being sensational. Rather it’s in service of Anakin’s darker character arc as he spirals closer to Vaderdom.

RIP Mace Windu. This hero deserved to go out like one in Revenge Of The Sith, instead of being zapped with Emperor Palpatine’s “UNLIMITED POWERRRRR!” Force lightning. At least Mace got to use his purple lightsaber in a somewhat vicious one-on-one with the traitorous Sith before being flung out an office window. This action scene marks a turning part in Star Wars history, especially in regards to Anakin’s arc on his way to becoming Vader. But Ian McDiarmid’s way over-the-top (and irritating AF) acting choices, and the obvious CG facial replacement on his stunt double, saps this sequence of any real entertainment or emotional value.

The first battle since Return Of The Jedi to really capitalize on the interactive lightning that lightsabers provide, this slow-burn action scene from Attack Of The Clones is one of the creepiest fights in any Star Wars movie. From the jump, Dooku is set up as a (no pun intended) force to be reckoned with, despite his age. He taunts and lures Obi-Wan and an all-too-eager Anakin deeper into a conflict where he has the home turf advantage. The more the three fight, the more our blood pressure spikes—especially when a large power cable is cut in a plume of sparks and the combatants battle on in the dark. The only light is the glow of their twirling lightsabers dancing along their faces, which is one of Lucas’ best visual choices out of all the Star Wars films he’s directed.

The least kinetic of the series’ lightsaber duels, Obi-Wan’s sacrificial encounter with his former pupil-turned-Emperor’s puppet in A New Hope is one of the more iconic and emotionally charged set pieces in the original trilogy, especially with Luke’s anguished “No!” as he watches his mentor and friend get struck down only to become more powerful than Vader (and us) can possibly imagine.

The Galactic Senate Chamber, with its floating seating areas, proves to be quite an exciting locale to stage a throwdown between Force-capable individuals in Revenge Of The Sith. This riveting sequence—with an assist from Steven Spielberg—comes after Yoda discovers that he has helped fight the evil Senator’s war on false pretenses. Fed up, Yoda takes out his frustrations on Palpatine in truly inventive ways—like lobbing the seating pods at the guy before they exchange Force lightning. At this point in the film series, Yoda is depicted as the only Jedi who can take on the brunt of a lightning blast and push it back on its wielder.

It’s fitting that these two characters, who featured in the series’ first lightsaber duel, would be the participants in the franchise’s most recent fight, in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. This time, however, advances in visual effects and overall filmmaking techniques give their conflict an urgency and excitement that George Lucas couldn’t afford at the time the first Star Wars movie was made. The dark and barren locale of their second canonical lightsaber fight gives the brooding action a near-constant tension, one that boils over into a jaw-dropping finishing move. After having his former master on the ropes, Vader is defeated once again—this time with a blow to his iconic helmet. Obi-Wan’s lightsaber cuts a jagged scar across Vader’s face plate, exposing the badly burned and defeated Anakin underneath.

A lightsaber duel in the snow? Yes, please. The Force Awakens’ climactic set piece is the most visually interesting and atmospheric lightsaber battle since Return Of The Jedi’s final confrontation between Luke and Vader. We didn’t know how much we needed this crowd-pleasing sequence until that fist-pumping, “eff yeah!” moment when Rey Force summons Luke’s lightsaber across several feet of frozen landscape and into her hand. This sequence also boasts a narrative contribution from filmmaker Ava DuVernay. The director suggested that J.J. Abrams give Rey a short introspective beat where she considers—and feels—the Force before continuing to fight Ren. This small beat adds an extra emotional boost to the first of many showdowns between Rey and Ren in this new trilogy.

The way Yoda summons his holstered lightsaber in Attack Of The Clones is one of those movie moments best experienced with a crowd on opening night. The weightless cartwheeling/spinning through the air mid-lightsaber battle is, um, well, it’s laughable. Unintentionally so. But it’s still cool to watch one of our favorite Jedi masters get an overdue fight scene, even if he is unable to beat this duplicitous Sith.

Like Obi-Wan before him in Revenge Of The Sith, Luke engages in a battle royale with Vader for the former Jedi’s soul in Return Of The Jedi. Unlike Obi-Wan, however, Luke is successful in helping his father redeem himself. It just takes the young Jedi a very protracted and moody clash aboard the second Death Star—and under and around Palaptine’s throne room—to do it. The stakes of this particular battle couldn’t be any higher, as Luke teeters on the edge of the very Dark Side he’s trying to save his dad from as Rebel spacecraft are outgunned by the Empire outside. As exciting and expansive as this well-shot fight is, it’s made all the more powerful as Luke uses the love for his sister, Leia, to ultimately fight back against his father’s darker impulses and help Anakin rediscover the good that’s still in him.

Steven Spielberg made some creative contributions to this pivotal set piece in Revenge Of The Sith, George Lucas’ capper to his prequel trilogy. This epic showdown pits Master Kenobi against Anakin on a planet made out of lava—as the friendship between the two Jedi gives way to a tragic rivalry. Like the rest of the prequels, this scene suffers from an over-reliance on weightless CG. But John Williams’ stirring score, combined with Ewan McGregor’s all-in performance, elevates this sequence to all-timer status for the saga. (Bonus points for Obi-Wan’s leg-severing finishing move on Anakin/Vader.) This long, long fight ends with what is arguably the most disturbing moment in the entire series: Obi-Wan just stands by and watches as one of his buddy’s leg stumps catches fire and the flames gradually spread and consume Anakin’s entire body.

I mean, just watch this scene. From the iconic moment Ren wills Rey’s lightsaber to cut Snoke in half, this fan-favorite action sequence from The Last Jedi promises to be unlike any audiences have ever seen or the series has ever produced. There’s nothing in The Rise Of Skywalker that even comes close to matching the inventive spectacle and narrative function of this epic action scene—one of the genre’s best ever.

More emotionally gripping than visually exciting, this landmark first duel between Skywalker and Vader on Bespin is peak Star Wars. The forces of good and evil duke it out in The Empire Strikes Back in a mix of sparking lightsabers and Force-thrown scenery, culminating in the franchise-defining revelation of Vader being Luke’s father. What the scene lacks in sophisticated fight choreography, it more than makes up for with that emotional gut punch that would resonate across the franchise for the next four decades.

It’s impossible not to think of The Phantom Menace’s best sequence without also humming its iconic theme, “Duel Of The Fates.” One of Star Wars’ best villains, Darth Maul, is sadly short-lived but, man, does he get one hell of an exit in a scene that tells fans the prequels are operating on a different level from what came before—especially in the action department. Here, Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson) and his apprentice, Obi-Wan, engage in a two-on-one duel that involves flips, jumps, and Force-powered leaps that inject this slog of a movie with a much-needed dose of kineticism. It’s ironic that the owner of a twin-bladed lightsaber gets cut in half and, like Palpatine, falls to his death. It’s a death blow that fans latched onto so fiercely that Lucasfilm would eventually resurrect the character in The Clone Wars. Usually such narrative choices would undermine what came before, but The Phantom Menace’s most iconic and effective sequence only gets better with age.