Duel of the Fates

The Phantom Menace

If you’ve been reading each of these posts, then you’ll realise it’s no secret that I’m not a huge fan of the highly technical and gymnastically choreographed prequel lightsaber duels. The broadsword fighting technique used in the sequel trilogy – now that’s a style I can get behind.

However, there is an exception. When Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Qui-Gon Jinn face off against Darth Maul on Naboo, it’s spine-tingling.

Why? Well, I reckon it has something to do with the Williams effect.

I’ve referenced the music so many times on this list of the greatest moments in the saga and with good reason – John Williams’ scores have the power to morph the merely good moments into great ones. Williams is a huge driving force behind what makes Star Wars, well, Star Wars.

The music composed to accompany the duel at the climax of The Phantom Menace is one piece that is so dramatic it has transcended the saga. Duel of the Fates has often sprung up in our own galaxy. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has used it to introduce the players to the field. Top Gear has featured the track while driving equally dramatic cars.

But my favourite application of the score in pop culture – Bart Simpson and Principal Skinner’s allergen-fuelled tussle set to the Duel of the Fates backdrop in The Simpsons’ Season 18 episode “Please Homer, Don’t Hammer ‘Em.”

The music is certainly one factor that propels the scene into my top 20 Skywalker saga moments, but also the audacity of Darth Maul to bring a double-sided lightsaber to the table. It changed the fight mechanics entirely, allowed Ray Park as Maul to show off his athleticism and provided some validation as to why this was a lightsaber duel like we’d never seen before.

Not only do we have two Jedi fighting a Sith, all in their prime, but we also have a new style of weapon to consider. It’s no wonder that this is a higher-tempo tussle than the duels we had witnessed in the original trilogy.

For years growing up, I through Maul was the Phantom Menace. He was scary, deadly but above all, enigmatic. He was a phantom presence in the story. Of course, with hindsight, it’s a title that’s not quite so on the nose but Maul’s attributes that gave birth to this misinterpretation still stand.

His appearance, weapon, gymnastic arsenal and Williams’ fearsome score made Maul feel like a formidable foe and but for a piece of classic dark side arrogance, he would have proved just that.