For Junchang and the rest of “The Acolyte” stunt team, taking the cast from Jar Jar Binks to Jedi Master was no easy feat. It required months of coaching from over a dozen trainers, encompassing lightsaber practice, force training, movement work and hand-to-hand combat.
“Usually on a production, you’ll either have hand-to-hand or sword-based combat — this requires both,” says action designer Chris Cowan. “It was pretty difficult and intensive, because we had to run them through the gamut.”
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Jedi training for “The Acolyte” was scheduled three times a week in three-hour blocks. For the first month, it was “just basics,” according to stunt coordinator Mark Ginther. “Kicks and basic punches,” he says. “When we start doing fight choreography, or if we’re on set and we got to make a change, we’re going to need to know they have the basics.”
After mastering the fundamentals, each cast member worked with a designated trainer to learn their character’s specific moves. Sparring sessions were also frequent, during which the actors donned pads and fought their instructors in full-contact simulations.
“We want them to feel the real pain [of the hits], so their muscles can get used to it,” Junchang says. “Once they feel the pain, they know, ‘Oh, this is real. If they kick me, I have to block, I have to move. Otherwise, I’m getting hurt.'”
