Steven Spielberg is arguably one of the best filmmakers of all time and a close friend of Star Wars creator George Lucas. As a result, it might not surprise fans to learn that Spielberg helped Lucas with what is possibly one of the most impactful sequences in the prequels era of the franchise, which Lucas directed.
In a behind-the-scenes featurette, concept design supervisor Ryan Church detailed Spielberg’s involvement in Revenge of the Sith, which concluded the prequel trilogy. Church revealed how Spielberg helped create the visuals for the infamous Order 66 sequence from the movie. Here is what Spielberg contributed to the film and why it made the Order 66 deaths even more tragic.
Steven Spielberg Helped Create the Order 66 Montage in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg was reportedly offered the director’s chair for The Phantom Menace, which George Lucas eventually directed. However, Spielberg did briefly partake in creating the prequel trilogy, by helping craft some of the scenes in Revenge of the Sith.
According to a BTS featurette from the movie, Ryan Church, the concept design supervisor for the prequels, revealed that Spielberg was involved in the making of the Order 66 sequence from the movie, which sees several Jedi being murdered by the Clone Troopers on orders from Darth Sidious.
We had Steven Spielberg working on his version of some of these sequences. Steven wanted to play with not showing the deaths.
Church made the above statement regarding Spielberg’s contribution to the Order 66 montage.
Church explained that director George Lucas wanted the death scenes to take place on different planets, each with its unique visual design. As a result, Spielberg was brought in to help with the pre-visualization of some of the scenes and helped shape the deaths of Aayla Secura and Plo Koon.
Steven Spielberg’s Contribution Made Two Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Deaths Even More Tragic
As revealed in the Revenge of the Sith BTS featurette, Spielberg’s idea for the death scenes of the Jedi was used for at least two scenes in the movie. In the Clone Wars, the Jedi fought alongside the Clone Troopers, making Order 66 a truly tragic event. Spielberg wanted to emphasize the tragedy by obscuring the actual deaths of the Jedi.
One example of Spielberg’s idea being put to use is the death of Aayla Secura, who is shot dead by a group of Clone Troopers on the planet Felucia. However, we do not see Secura actually dying. Her body is overshadowed by the planet’s plant-like structures, while the Clone Troopers mercilessly shoot her.
Similarly, Spielberg contributed to the death of Plo Koon, who is caught up in a dogfight. Koon is killed when his spacecraft explodes, but we do not see his body. Thus, Spielberg enhanced the impact of the fan-favorite Jedi’s deaths by focusing on the tragedy of the circumstances, thereby making the scenes even more tragic and difficult to watch.
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