Star Wars: George Lucas Had One Lightsaber Rule That Frustrated Mark Hamill

Mark Hamill's outings as Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" saga saw him undergo intense training to bring the noble Jedi's ways to life. However, his lightsaber training while preparing for "The Empire Strikes Back" was particularly grueling, and a strict George Lucas edict undid some of his hard work.

In an interview for the "Star Wars" website, Hamill explained that he spent weeks training with stunt coordinator Peter Diamond and Olympic fencing champion Bob Anderson to create a memorable lightsaber battle. Unfortunately, Lucas disapproved and made them change it. "We had choreographed stuff where, you know, we did spins around and we did various things ... He didn't want us to ever take both hands off the hilt," Hamill said. "So we had to go back and re-choreograph that whole thing. It was frustrating, but I was very lucky to have Peter, who was so skilled as a stunt coordinator, and Bob."

Having to redo the sequence caused some behind-the-scenes headaches, but it was worth it in the end. Additionally, Lucas gave a valid reason as to why Skywalker had to use two hands when wielding his weapon.

The "Star Wars" franchise is heavily inspired by Samurai movies, with lightsabers reminiscent of the swords used by the ancient Japanese warriors in movies like "Seven Samurai." As such, it's possible that George Lucas wanted to emulate the duel scenes shown in those films. However, the "Star Wars" mastermind has provided other reasons for his original two-handed lightsaber rule.

Lucas discussed the lore behind the mystical weapon in "Star Wars Featurette: The Birth of the Lightsaber." According to the creator, he wanted the weapon to come across as powerful, thus the need for the two-handed approach. "They had a lot of energy in them, so you worked with them as if they were heavy," he said.

Lucas added that he got rid of the two-handed rule when Luke Skywalker became a more formidable warrior as time went on. He wanted to illustrate how the Jedi become experts at using the weapon, but the decision was also inspired by a desire to make the battles more fast-paced and intense. Fortunately, Lucas' rules paid off, as "Star Wars" fans still talk about Luke Skywalker's skills with a lightsaber today.