10 Most Underrated Star Wars Lightsaber Duels, Ranked

Going back to the original "Star Wars" in 1977, there's one aspect of this franchise that has become a fan favorite, regardless of the medium being explored. Whether it's on the big screen or in the pages of a comic book, everyone loves seeing a good lightsaber duel. There's something simple yet effective about watching Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and Darth Vader (David Prowse/James Earl Jones) trade mild blows. The franchise has come a long way, where duelists do backflips, jump on moving vehicles, and gain the high ground amid these epic battles.

/Film has already gone through the best lightsaber duels in "Star Wars" history. However, all of those come from the live-action films. Obviously, they're great, but "Star Wars" has grown and evolved with Disney+ series and animated shows to flesh out the lore. Even some duels from the Skywalker Saga deserve a bit more love. That's why we've gone through and created a wholly new list of some of the most underrated lightsaber duels ever. These are the ones that should give the Mustafar fight in "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" a run for its money, whether it's due to impressive choreography or the sheer emotion in seeing two old friends duke it out. 

Let's get this out of the way up top: "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker" is not good. It's made even worse with it being the grand finale of the Skywalker Saga, yet fumbling the ball seemingly every step of the way. In his review for "Rise of Skywalker," /Film's own Chris Evangelista points out how the movie's "rushing through a convoluted storyline that's painfully clunky, chock-full of eye-rolling exposition that's bound to give you a headache." It's a shame to think of how much better the film could be, but one of the few bright spots is a pretty great duel between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). 

Kylo Ren was easily a highlight of the sequel trilogy as a whole, and we know at this point how complex his relationship with Rey is. The two fought on the same side in "Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi" against Praetorian guards, where Kylo gave her a choice to join him or become his enemy. We see that strain laid out on the table here, which is made all the more emotional with Rey recently learning she's the granddaughter of Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). Therefore, it's the duel of the grandchildren as she fights Darth Vader's grandson, who's been pulled away from the light side of the Force. 

All of their anger and resentment toward each other bubbles to the surface as they trade blows while waves crash on the ruined Death Star they stand upon. It's an epic scene that's enough to make you forget about most everything else. 

Kit Fisto deserves so much more respect. He's little more than a cool-looking background character in the prequel trilogy, but he really gets his time to shine in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." The animated series had a lot of ground to cover, filling in a lot of the blanks between the events of "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith." Part of that includes making General Grievous (Matthew Wood) more of a threat, and we see that early on in the show's run in the season 1 episode, "Lair of Grievous." 

Kit (Phil LaMarr) and his Padawan track an escaped prisoner to a strange den. There are all sorts of creatures and weapons there, but the final boss they have to deal with is General Grievous. Kit and Grievous engage in a beautifully animated battle where the field is covered in fog. Early in the show's run, Grievous is immediately set up to be a formidable threat, with the duel only ending when Kit escapes on his ship. 

There was only so much "The Clone Wars" could do from a plot structure. After all, both Grievous and Kit are still alive during the events of "Revenge of the Sith," so it's not like either of them can die right here. But one thing the series does amazingly well is make you feel tension and dread even when you knew where all of this had to lead to. A two-minute battle is all it takes to show that Kit Fisto could've been utilized so much better in the movies. 

One of the greatest contributions "Ahsoka" on Disney+ made to "Star Wars" lore is Baylan Skoll (played by the late, great Ray Stevenson). He's a former Jedi Knight who nonetheless wants to end concepts of light and dark sides of the Force. He's the antagonist, but his motivations extend beyond just wanting to do evil things. And he proves himself one of the most visually arresting lightsaber duelists in episode 4, "Part Four: Fallen Jedi."

In contrast to a lot of other underrated lightsaber duels, Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and Baylan don't go immediately into slashing each other. They start by circling, almost as though they're sizing one another up. It feels like there's a degree of mutual respect before they get into the actual battle. It's one of the more uniquely choreographed fights, as each one has a different style. Ahsoka is more agile; there are many flourishes with the way she handles a lightsaber. Baylan is far more methodical; he takes big, violent swings toward her. 

And it's truly a testament to Stevenson's performance that when he tells her, "It didn't need to come to this," you believe him. Baylan has an agenda, but it feels like he doesn't want to hurt Ahsoka or her friends if he can help it. Rory McCann will play Baylan for "Ahsoka" season 2, and hopefully, he can put his own mark on the character with an equally impressive lightsaber display. 

Before "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" that most fans are familiar with, there was "Star Wars: Clone Wars," without the "the." Genndy Tartakovsky, the mastermind behind "Samurai Jack" and "Primal," oversaw the 2D cartoon series that was responsible for some of the greatest animated "Star Wars" moments of all time. One of those is the epic duel between Anakin (Mat Lucas) and Asajj Ventress (Grey DeLisle) on Yavin 4. 

Tartakovsky puts in a battle that would be worthy of inclusion in "Samurai Jack" itself. It's awesome right from the start, as the two stare off against one another. When it begins raining, the water evaporates off the lightsabers, allowing mist to emanate from them. But then something happens to take this duel from good to amazing. Anakin takes hold of Asajj's wrist as her red lightsaber illuminates his face. He then begins not fighting like a Jedi but a Sith, one who uses his anger to gain the upper hand. Stylistic images of Obi-Wan and Yoda appear on the screen as though they're already judging his eventual descent into the dark side.

Anakin wins once the battlefield crumbles under Asajj, and she plummets into an abyss. But it doesn't feel like a victory. As the viewer, you're left with the understanding that Anakin, a hero throughout the series, will soon become responsible for untold death and tragedy. You go from admiring his lightsaber skills to worrying about what's coming next. 

The "Star Wars: Visions" episode, "The Ninth Jedi," has one of the greatest "Oh s***" moments in the franchise's history. A group of force-sensitive individuals has been invited to Hy Izlan by Margrave Juro (Tetsuo Kanao/Andrew Kishino) to restore the Jedi Order. A young girl, Lah Kara (Chinatsu Akasaki/Kimiko Glenn), is set to deliver the guests' new lightsabers, but when she hands them their new weapons, they activate them simultaneously ... and each one is red. 

The individuals meant to be Jedi are, in fact, Sith. Kara is force-sensitive herself, and she does her best in the ensuing battle, but the real attraction comes when Juro himself shows up. He takes out several of the Sith all on his own, but what's most striking is the visual style. Juro wears a mechanical mask, while the Sith consist of various alien species. If you didn't know any better (and if the lightsaber colors were reversed), you'd be forgiven for thinking Juro is evil while all of the Sith are good. That's likely the point of this particular short and many other extended "Star Wars" materials. 

A simplistic reading of "Star Wars" has always been "Jedi=Good" and "Sith=Bad." After all, they use the light and dark sides of the Force, respectively. But is that always true? Can Jedi be just as brutal and kill people, even Sith, without thinking twice? "The Ninth Jedi" is one of the best "Visions" segments for having a duel that's both thrilling to watch and makes you reconsider the entire nature of this franchise. 

Disney's official explanation for cancelling "The Acolyte" came down to cost vs. viewership. It's a shame, as the series didn't really get a fair shake with so much more story to tell. And who knows what kind of epic lightsaber duels we missed out on that could've rivaled the one in episode 5, "Night."

In the previous episode, a group of Jedi arrived to find Kelnacca (Joonas Suotamo) dead and a mysterious stranger with a red lightsaber in their midst. Episode 5 kicks off with the stranger, who turns out to be Qimir (Manny Jacinto), making quick work of several of the Jedi. It's an incredible way to make an antagonist an immediately recognizable threat, and the duel completely upends the show's status quo. Jecki (Dafne Keen) was introduced earlier in the series as Sol's (Lee Jung-jae) Padawan, and halfway through the season, she gets killed off. This is one of the most underrated "Star Wars" lightsaber duels because of how it upends expectations and takes the series as a whole in a much darker direction than many were probably anticipating. 

This fight shows how to introduce a big bad the right way. Qimir is a brutal duelist, and if "Acolyte" had been given more seasons, there's a good chance he would've become one of the all-time great "Star Wars" villains in the same tier as someone like Darth Maul.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) fighting Darth Maul (Ray Park) in "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" is one of the best lightsaber duels ever put to screen. If you're going to draw parallels to any duel, that'd be the one, and its influences are what makes Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) battling the Grand Inquisitor (Jason Isaacs) in the season 1 finale of "Star Wars Rebels" so incredible. 

The two have similar set-ups. A Jedi Master encounters a dark side user with his Padawan, in this case Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), in tow. However, instead of the Master being defeated, his Padawan is ... or at least it seems this way as it turns out Ezra only fell down to a lower platform. However, the belief that Ezra's dead allows Kanan to fight without fear. It's somehow even more heartbreaking, at least in the moment, because you have a Jedi who feels as though they've already experienced the ultimate failure. His new resolve allows him to knock the Grand Inquisitor off the ground and dangle to sure doom. And it isn't Kanan that delivers the final blow. 

The Grand Inquisitor gets one last chance for a cool one-liner, as he tells the Jedi, "There are some things far more frightening than death." He then lets go, accepting his fate and falling to his doom. It's a chilling line, as it suggests there are far more powerful forces in the galaxy than him. Kanan may have won that day, but the war's far from over. 

Going back to Duel of the Fates, it's understandable that Obi-Wan wasn't too pleased to learn Darth Maul was still alive following getting cut in half at the end of "The Phantom Menace." They would have various rematches over the years, including one in the season 5 premiere of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." 

In an effort to stop Darth Maul (Sam Witwer) and his brother Savage Opress (Clancy Brown) from amassing their own army, Obi-Wan (James Arnold Taylor) faces off against the Sith once more on Florrum alongside his fellow Jedi, Adi Gallia (Angelique Perrin). The pairs split off into one-on-one fights, but Savage gains the upper-hand and winds up killing Adi. Given everything Maul has taken from Obi-Wan, it would be understandable if he gave into his anger too much. But his ability to stay cool under pressure is what makes Obi-Wan one of the best Jedi in the "Star Wars" universe. 

Instead, Obi-Wan remains tactical, waiting for the brothers to get their guard down. He stomps on Savage's knee and maneuvers himself in just a way where he cuts off his arm. Maul's the one who ends the fight by pushing Obi-Wan away and collapsing the tunnel. It's thrilling to watch Obi-Wan find a solution out of a seemingly unbeatable problem (fighting two Sith at once). But he gets creative, and we also get to see another side of Maul. There's not much that scares him, but the idea of his brother being taken from him was too much. Maul probably would've loved to have killed Obi-Wan right then and there, but something was more important to him. 

It's absolutely worth questioning how noble the Jedi Order is. One could argue it shouldn't have existed in the first place, nor should it have become so entrenched in the galaxy's political machinations. In "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" season 5, Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) is accused of bombing a Jedi Temple and faces trial, but Anakin knows she couldn't have done it. His search leads him to Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger), another Padawan who has grown disillusioned with how the Jedi operate and battles Anakin using Asajj Ventress' dual lightsabers. 

It's not just a great fight but also a stellar chase as Barriss tries to elude Anakin while claiming the Jedi are too violent. Sadly, she's proven somewhat right. Just like Anakin's duel with Asajj Ventress in "Star Wars: Clone Wars," we see some of his dark side bubble to the surface. He grows increasingly violent with Barriss, ultimately choking and throwing her against a tree to subdue her. 

Of course, the damage is already done. Ahsoka has gone through a trial for the bombing, and even though she is offered to rejoin the Jedi Order, she refuses. The duel itself is great, but the tragedy underscoring it proves both Barriss and Ahsoka have some valid criticisms. 

It's rare to see Darth Sidious, aka Emperor Palpatine (Ian Abercrombie), actually get in on the action. Normally, he waits in the shadows, saying spooky things while letting others do his dirty work. But in "The Clone Wars" episode, "The Lawless," Darth Maul ascends to the throne on Mandalore, and that's something Sidious feels deserves his personal attention.

Sidious arrives to say how impressed he is with Maul, but he can't let his ascension stand. He duels both Maul and Savage Opress, providing the rare "Star Wars" spectacle of several Sith fighting each other. Sidious is more than a capable combatant, even managing to kill Savage. As if that wasn't enough, Sidious beats Maul while he's down and strikes him with Force lightning. The entire sequence shows how there was so much more to explore with Sidious compared to what we saw in the films. He's a great puppet master working behind the scenes, but still powerful enough to take on Maul and his brother and emerge victorious. 

More than anything, it's one of the few times you actually see fear in Darth Maul's eyes. The galaxy becomes ever so slightly more nuanced with this duel, especially with Sidious' warning that he has other plans for Maul. Despite all of the terrible things he's done, you can't help but feel sorry for Maul. It's not just a great duel; it toys with the balance of everything you thought you knew about these character dynamics, making it the best, most underrated lightsaber duel ever.