- 1 year ago
From family drama to Christopher Lee's other nearly-Star Wars role, and more Count Dooku goodness...
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00From what went into making that epic lightsaber, to how the mighty Christopher Lee very nearly
00:06ended up in a different Star Wars role altogether, here are those Count Dooku facts and secrets
00:12you've likely never discovered until now. I'm Gareth from WhatCultureStarWars and here are
00:1810 Things You Didn't Know About Count Dooku. 10. His All-Important Connection to Sifo-Dyas
00:25Count Dooku once sat as a respected member of the Jedi Order. However, upon discovering just how
00:31corrupt the Order actually was, Dooku ultimately became frustrated and turned his back on his one-time
00:37allies. Before his wander over to the dark side though, one of Dooku's close pals, Master Sifo-Dyas,
00:43who'd been having visions of an incoming conflict and had also grown disillusioned by the Order,
00:48set into motion a plan that would ultimately change the galaxy forever. Going somewhat rogue,
00:53Sifo-Dyas ordered the creation of a clone army from the planet Kamino, something a now-turned-Dooku
00:59was aware of. In the end, as revealed in Caven Scott's Dooku Jedi Lost audiobook, Darth Sidious,
01:06after initially building the secret army into his grand plan to overthrow the Jedi, soon felt that
01:12Dyas was growing into too much of a threat to his vision. So in a rather tragic turn of events,
01:17Dooku was ordered to assassinate his one-time mate by his new master, something the powerful Sith
01:22Apprentice achieved via untraceable Pike Syndicate murder. And just like that, another potential
01:28speed bump for the soon-to-be Emperor of the Galactic Empire was shuffled out of existence.
01:349. How They Shot Those Christopher Lee Fight Scenes
01:37Living one hell of a life already by the time he got around to shooting on Episode 2,
01:42Attack of the Clones, the late, great Christopher Lee had battled Nazis and become an iconic part of
01:47cinema history with his work in everything from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings flicks,
01:51to Terence Fisher's Dracula. However, that did mean he was coming in at a silvery 80 when bringing
01:57the formidable Count Dooku to live-action life. And while Lee was still fairly game to get his hands
02:02dirty on George Lucas' set, a double was actually required in order to capture some of the more
02:07athletic Sith Lord movements seen in his duels with Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.
02:13Swapping out the actor who would regularly boast about his record-setting amount of on-screen
02:17sword fight for a stunt performer when needed for wider shots, Lee's face was then seamlessly
02:23CGI'd on top of said fighting double in post. But that's still very much a badass Lee swinging
02:29his saber whenever we lean in for a scintillating close-up.
02:338. Christopher Lee Nearly Played a Very Different Role in Star Wars
02:37Keeping with the iconic thespian who gripped the prequels from the second he arrived on the
02:42Force-sensitive scene, it turns out that Christopher Lee very nearly rocked up in the galaxy far,
02:46far away, in an entirely different but still notably despicable capacity.
02:51Some 25 years before he donned the swishing cape and curved red lightsaber, Lee was actually in
02:56the running to play the slimy Grand Moff Tarkin, seen routinely keeping Darth Vader in check on
03:02board the Death Star. However, Lee would decide against committing himself to George Lucas' universe
03:06at that time, instead choosing to suggest his good pal Peter Cushing for the role of the high-ranking
03:11Empire officer. Cushing would, of course, absolutely nail the cold and clinical part
03:16of Tarkin. Yet it is interesting to note how different a new hope could have looked with
03:20Lee in the saddle of the superweapons commander.
03:247. Family Ties Born into a wealthy and politically powerful
03:28family, the second the Jedi came calling for a young Dooku, he was always destined to become
03:33a significant figure in the galaxy. In the wake of his aforementioned decision to turn his back on the
03:38Order, Dooku would return home and finally take up the title of Count. But he wasn't the only child
03:44mama and papa Dooku brought into this galaxy far, far away. His brother, Ramil, acted as the Count
03:49of Serrano before he took over. And by took over, I definitely mean Dooku took his life in the lead-up
03:54to the former Jedi seizing said title. Jensa, his sister, wasn't actually on his radar until he
04:00unintentionally bumped into her during a festival, as you do. Making it two for two when it comes to
04:05family fellings, though, Dooku eventually had Asajj Ventress dispatch her on the back of Jensa trying
04:10her best to convince him to stay away from all things Darkseid. With family like this,
04:15who needs enemies, am I right? Oh, it's really sad, isn't it?
04:196. What Went Into That Lightsaber? Much like the actor himself who breathed live-action
04:24life into Darth Tyrannus, Count Dooku was very much regarded as a highly respected swordsman.
04:30The design of his unmistakable lightsaber only made him that much more deadly with a glowing blade.
04:35Opting for Form 2, Makashi, this form was characterized by its elegance, balance,
04:40and fluidity, Dooku decided that he could take the form to new heights with a new design of laser
04:45sword. Curving his blade's hilt, this adapted design helped Dooku enhance his lunges and slashes,
04:52when duking it out with Jedi and any other enemies in his way. It's worth noting that this form was
04:57barely used by the time of the Age of the Galactic Republic, too, with Makashi being created and
05:01primarily used during the Old Republic days. This means that next to no one used or really
05:07knew how to combat the form during Dooku's time in the Sith Spotlight, making him an even deadlier
05:12opponent for all who stood before him. 5. He Was The Last Of The Lost 20
05:18Despite hardly acting as the first Jedi to have turned his back on the Order since its creation
05:23thousands of years before the events of the prequel trilogy, Dooku's departure from the light side
05:28did actually come in the thick of what is classed by many as one of the darkest and lowest periods
05:33in Jedi history. Making up part of a group of Jedi Masters known as The Lost 20, each and every
05:38member of this infamous set of Force wielders decided to exit the Order on the back of ideological
05:43differences with those running the ancient religious order, or just the concepts of the
05:47Jedi altogether. In short, this lot weren't just teased over to the side of evil with the promise
05:52of unlimited power! They very much believed the Jedi were just out and out wrong. All 20 of the
05:58lost Jedi were immortalized via bronze bus in the Jedi archives, as a reminder of the imperfections of
06:04the Order in the years after their defections, and how Jedi Masters must always take the time to
06:09improve themselves and learn from their own mistakes. Dooku acted as the final member of this
06:14significant group, earning his own bus scene in an Attack of the Clones deleted scene before the Order
06:18was all but wiped out in Revenge of the Sith. 4. He was very nearly a woman in Attack of the Clones
06:25Never one to completely waste a concept, even if it doesn't necessarily fit what it was originally
06:30designed for, the origins of Count Dooku would actually pave the way for another prominent Star
06:34Wars character. In early drafts of Attack of the Clones, George Lucas had actually envisioned the
06:39fallen Jedi as a female alien by the name of Countess Dooku. And while a Medusa-like version of the
06:45character was intriguing despite not being utilized down the road, another visual variation of the
06:50antagonist would actually act as an inspiration for none other than Asajj Ventress, a Force user who
06:56would go on to become an apprentice of Dooku down the road, but more on that later. In the end,
07:01Lucas decided against these designs the second it became clear that Christopher Lee was keen to come
07:06aboard. 3. He's had many apprentices
07:10Speaking of Dooku's history of apprentices over the years, Asajj Ventress isn't the only savage
07:15presence to have taken up a spot under the Count's learning tree. During his time under the tutelage
07:20of Darth Sidious, Dooku trained and guided three notably impressionable souls in the ways of both
07:26the Force and lightsaber mastery. On top of the deadly assassin Ventress, Savage Opress, Maul's brother,
07:32and Quinlan Vos, Ventress' one-time lover, both trained under Dooku at one point or another.
07:38Dooku didn't give a toss about any long-standing rule of two, clearly. He's also had a hand in teaching
07:43General Grievous how to duel with a laser sword before the Cyborg Separatist Force was bested by
07:48Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the Sith. Of course, when operating as a Jedi Master, Dooku also trained
07:53Kenobi's former master, Qui-Gon Jinn, along with a number of other Force-sensitive folk in Legend's
07:59lore in the wake of his defection. Simply put, Dooku's teachings could very much be felt across the galaxy.
08:042. He Had Two Legendary Masters
08:08And there's a good reason just about every Jedi, Sith, and Force user who found themselves interacting
08:13with the legendary Count Dooku wanted to learn everything they could from him. Did you see who
08:18taught him the ways of the light and dark sides of the bloody Force? Hilariously, Dooku actually
08:22wasn't all that interested in being the mighty Grand Master Yoda's apprentice at first, instead
08:27wanting to learn under the tutelage of Linnae Costana, due to her being known as someone who was tasked
08:32with chasing down dark side relics from across the galaxy. Obviously, while sitting alongside the
08:38little green legend though, Dooku found himself being very much immersed in substantial Jedi Order
08:43issues and missions, even watching his master best a giant torrent attack on Kashyyyk at one point.
08:49And adding to an already extensive knowledge of the Force, and how to effectively wield a lightsaber,
08:53Dooku would then end up being recruited by the Dark Lord of the Sith in the Shadows, Darth Sidious,
08:59as an unofficial apprentice as he further expanded on his sizeable understanding of the Force.
09:04As far as teachers go then, you likely won't find many better than the person who was moulded
09:08by arguably two of the most powerful entities ever to have existed. Not too shabby.
09:151. He Once Became a Vampire
09:17How on earth do you top a Force-sensitive bloodsucker, eh? In what was clearly a sweet nod to the legendary
09:23career of Dooku actor Christopher Lee, the comic book miniseries Star Wars Adventures Tales from
09:28Vader's Castle actually involved a story that saw the devious fallen Jedi becoming a very different
09:34kind of count. Interacting with bat-like creatures who possessed the ability to transform humans into
09:39a similar form of monstrosity, Kaven Scott's tale saw Dooku very much becoming Dracula-esque in this
09:45tribute of sorts to Lee's work as the world's most famous vampire. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of
09:51this 2018 development is the fact that the series is actually classed as canon, so who knows?
09:56We may yet see some undead Sith menaces coming to blows with our heroes in a Disney Plus series
10:01or nutty horror movie spin-off later down the road. For now though, we'll just have to make do with a
10:06Dooku brandishing his fangs on the pages.
10:10And that's our list. Know of any other things people didn't know about Count Dooku? Let us know
10:13all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget to like,
10:17share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
10:19Also, if you're into this kind of thing, then head on over to WhatCulture.com and find some
10:23more incredible articles just like the one that I wrote right here that this video is based on.
10:27I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, may the force be with you as always,
10:31and I hope I'll see you very, very soon. Bye-bye!
Comments