From family drama to Christopher Lee's other nearly-Star Wars role, and more Count Dooku goodness...
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00:00 From what went into making that epic lightsaber, to how the mighty Christopher Lee very nearly
00:06 ended up in a different Star Wars role altogether, here are those Count Dooku facts and secrets
00:12 you've likely never discovered until now.
00:16 I'm Gareth from What Culture Star Wars and here are 10 Things You Didn't Know About
00:20 Count Dooku.
00:21 10.
00:23 His all-important connection to Sifo-Dyas
00:26 Count Dooku once sat as a respected member of the Jedi Order.
00:30 However, upon discovering just how corrupt the Order actually was, Dooku ultimately became
00:34 frustrated and turned his back on his one-time allies.
00:38 Before his wander over to the dark side, though, one of Dooku's close pals, Master Sifo-Dyas,
00:42 who'd been having visions of an incoming conflict and had also grown disillusioned
00:47 by the Order, set into motion a plan that would ultimately change the galaxy forever.
00:52 Being somewhat rogue, Sifo-Dyas ordered the creation of a clone army from the planet Kamino,
00:58 something a now-turned-Dooku was aware of.
01:01 In the end, as revealed in Kaven Scott's Dooku Jedi Lost audiobook, Darth Sidious,
01:06 after initially building this secret army into his grand plan to overthrow the Jedi,
01:11 soon felt that Dyas was growing into too much of a threat to his vision.
01:15 So in a rather tragic turn of events, Dooku was ordered to assassinate his one-time mate
01:20 by his new master.
01:21 Something the powerful Sith apprentice achieved via untraceable Pyke Syndicate murder.
01:26 And just like that, another potential speed bump for the soon-to-be Emperor of the Galactic
01:30 Empire was shuffled out of existence.
01:35 How They Shot Those Christopher Lee Fight Scenes
01:38 Living one hell of a life already by the time he got around to shooting on episode two,
01:42 Attack of the Clones, the late, great Christopher Lee had battled Nazis and become an iconic
01:47 part of cinema history with his work in everything from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings
01:51 flicks to Terrence Fisher's Dracula.
01:53 However, that did mean he was coming in at a silvery 80 when bringing the formidable
01:58 Count Dooku to live-action life.
02:00 And while Lee was still fairly game to get his hands dirty on George Lucas' set, a
02:04 double was actually required in order to capture some of the more athletic Sith Lord movements
02:08 seen in his duels with Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.
02:13 Swapping out the actor who would regularly boast about his record-setting amount of on-screen
02:17 sword fights for a stunt performer when needed for wider shots, Lee's face was then seamlessly
02:23 CGI'd on top of said fighting double in post.
02:26 But that's still very much a badass Lee swinging his saber whenever we lean in for
02:30 a scintillating close-up.
02:31 Christopher Lee Nearly Played a Very Different Role in Star Wars
02:38 Keeping with the iconic thespian who gripped the prequels from the second he arrived on
02:42 the Force-sensitive scene, it turns out that Christopher Lee very nearly rocked up in the
02:46 galaxy far, far away in an entirely different but still notably despicable capacity.
02:51 Some 25 years before he donned the swishing cape and curved red lightsaber, Lee was actually
02:56 in the running to play the slimy Grand Moff Tarkin, seen routinely keeping Darth Vader
03:01 in check on board the Death Star.
03:03 However, Lee would decide against committing himself to George Lucas' universe at that
03:07 time, instead choosing to suggest his good pal Peter Cushing for the role of the high-ranking
03:11 Empire officer.
03:12 Cushing would, of course, absolutely nail the cold and clinical part of Tarkin.
03:17 Yet it is interesting to note how different a new hope could have looked with Lee in the
03:21 saddle of the superweapons commander.
03:23 7.
03:25 FAMILY TIES Born into a wealthy and politically powerful
03:29 family, the second the Jedi came calling for a young Dooku, he was always destined to become
03:33 a significant figure in the galaxy.
03:36 In the wake of his aforementioned decision to turn his back on the Order, Dooku would
03:39 return home and finally take up the title of Count.
03:43 But he wasn't the only child Mama and Papa Dooku brought into this galaxy far, far away.
03:48 His brother, Ramil, acted as the Count of Serrano before he took over.
03:52 And by took over, I definitely mean Dooku took his life in the lead-up to the former
03:55 Jedi seizing said title.
03:57 Jenda, his sister, wasn't actually on his radar until he unintentionally bumped into
04:01 her during a festival, as you do.
04:04 Making it two for two when it comes to family fellings, though, Dooku eventually had Asajj
04:08 Ventress dispatch her on the back of Jenda, trying her best to convince him to stay away
04:12 from all things dark side.
04:14 With family like this, who needs enemies, amirite?
04:17 It's really sad, isn't it?
04:19 6.
04:20 WHAT WENT INTO THAT LIGHTSABER?
04:22 Much like the actor himself who breathed live-action life into Darth Tyrannus, Count Dooku was
04:27 very much regarded as a highly respected swordsman.
04:30 The design of his unmistakable lightsaber only made him that much more deadly with a
04:34 glowing blade.
04:36 Opting for Form II, Makashi - this form was characterised by its elegance, balance and
04:40 fluidity - Dooku decided that he could take the form to new heights with a new design
04:45 of laser sword.
04:46 Curving his blade's hilt, this adapted design helped Dooku enhance his lunges and slashes,
04:52 when duking it out with Jedi and any other enemies in his way.
04:55 It's worth noting that this form was barely used by the time of the Age of the Galactic
04:59 Republic 2, with Makashi being created and primarily used during the Old Republic days.
05:05 This means that next to no one used or really knew how to combat the form during Dooku's
05:09 time in the Sith spotlight, making him an even deadlier opponent for all who stood before
05:14 him.
05:15 5.
05:16 HE WAS THE LAST OF THE LOST 20
05:19 Despite hardly acting as the first Jedi to have turned his back on the Order since its
05:22 creation thousands of years before the events of the prequel trilogy, Dooku's departure
05:27 from the light side did actually come in the thick of what is classed by many as one of
05:31 the darkest and lowest periods in Jedi history.
05:34 Growing up part of a group of Jedi Masters known as the Lost Twenty, each and every member
05:38 of this infamous set of Force-Wielders decided to exit the Order on the back of ideological
05:43 differences with those running the ancient religious Order, or just the concept of the
05:47 Jedi altogether.
05:48 In short, this lot weren't just teased over to the side of evil with the promise of UNLIMITED
05:54 POWER.
05:55 They very much believed the Jedi were just out and out wrong.
05:58 All twenty of the Lost Jedi were immortalised via bronze busts in the Jedi archives, as
06:02 a reminder of the imperfections of the Order in the years after their defections, and how
06:07 Jedi Masters must always take the time to improve themselves and learn from their own
06:11 mistakes.
06:12 Dooku acted as the final member of this significant group, earning his own bust seen in an Attack
06:16 of the Clones deleted scene before the Order was all but wiped out in Revenge of the Sith.
06:21 4.
06:22 HE WAS VERY NEARLY A WOMAN IN ATTACK OF THE CLONES
06:25 Never one to completely waste a concept, even if it doesn't necessarily fit what it was
06:29 originally designed for, the origins of Count Dooku would actually pave the way for another
06:34 prominent Star Wars character.
06:36 In early drafts of Attack of the Clones, George Lucas had actually envisioned the fallen Jedi
06:40 as a female alien by the name of Countess Dooku.
06:44 And while a Medusa-like version of the character was intriguing despite not being utilised
06:48 down the road, another visual variation of the antagonist would actually act as an inspiration
06:53 for none other than Asajj Ventress.
06:55 A Force user who would go on to become an apprentice of Dooku down the road, but more
07:00 on that later.
07:01 In the end, Lucas decided against these designs the second it became clear that Christopher
07:05 Lee was keen to come aboard.
07:07 3.
07:08 HE'S HAD MANY APPRENTICES
07:11 Speaking of Dooku's history of apprentices over the years, Asajj Ventress isn't the
07:15 only savage presence to have taken up a spot under the Count's learning tree.
07:19 During his time under the tutelage of Darth Sidious, Dooku trained and guided three notably
07:24 impressionable souls in the ways of both the Force and lightsaber mastery.
07:28 On top of the deadly assassin Ventress, Savage Opress, Maul's brother, and Quinlan Vos,
07:33 Ventress' one-time lover, both trained under Dooku at one point or another.
07:38 Dooku didn't give a toss about any long-standing rule of two, clearly.
07:41 He's also had a hand in teaching General Grievous how to duel with a laser sword, before
07:46 the cyborg Separatist Force was bested by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the Sith.
07:50 Of course, when operating as a Jedi Master, Dooku also trained Kenobi's former master,
07:54 Qui-Gon Jinn, along with a number of other Force-sensitive folk in Legends lore in the
07:59 wake of his defection.
08:00 Simply put, Dooku's teachings could very much be felt across the galaxy.
08:05 2.
08:06 HE HAD TWO LEGENDARY MASTERS
08:08 And there's a good reason just about every Jedi, Sith and Force user who found themselves
08:13 interacting with the legendary Count Dooku wanted to learn everything they could from
08:17 him.
08:18 Did you know that he taught him the ways of the Light and Dark Sides of the Bloody Force?
08:21 Hilariously, Dooku actually wasn't all that interested in being the mighty Grand Master
08:25 Yoda's apprentice at first, instead wanting to learn under the tutelage of Lene Kostana,
08:30 due to her being known as someone who was tasked with chasing down Dark Side relics
08:34 from across the galaxy.
08:36 Obviously, while sitting alongside the little green legend, Dooku found himself being very
08:41 much immersed in substantial Jedi Order issues and missions.
08:44 Even watching his master best a giant Tarentatech on Kashyyyk at one point.
08:49 And adding to an already extensive knowledge of the Force, and how to effectively wield
08:53 a lightsaber, Dooku would then end up being recruited by the Dark Lord of the Sith in
08:57 the Shadows, Darth Sidious, as an unofficial apprentice as he further expanded on his sizeable
09:02 understanding of the Force.
09:04 As far as teachers go, then, you likely won't find many better than the person who was moulded
09:08 by arguably two of the most powerful entities ever to have existed.
09:13 Not too shabby.
09:14 1.
09:15 He Once Became a Vampire
09:18 How on earth do you top a Force-sensitive bloodsucker, eh?
09:21 In what was clearly a sweet nod to the legendary career of Dooku actor Christopher Lee, the
09:25 comic book miniseries Star Wars Adventures Tales from Vader's Castle actually involved
09:30 a story that saw the devious fallen Jedi becoming a very different kind of Count.
09:35 Interacting with bat-like creatures who possess the ability to transform humans into a similar
09:40 form of monstrosity, Cave and Scott's Tales saw Dooku very much becoming Dracula-esque
09:45 in this tribute of sorts to Lee's work as the world's most famous vampire.
09:49 Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this 2018 development is the fact that the series
09:53 is actually classed as canon, so who knows?
09:56 We may yet see some undead Sith menaces coming to blows with our heroes in a Disney+ series
10:01 or nutty horror movie spin-off later down the road.
10:04 For now, though, we'll just have to make do with a Dooku brandishing his fangs on the
10:08 pages.
10:09 And that's our list!
10:11 Know of any other things people didn't know about Count Dooku?
10:13 Let us know all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget
10:16 to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it!
10:20 Also if you're into this kind of thing then head on over to WhatCulture.com and find some
10:23 more incredible articles just like the one I wrote right here that this video is based
10:27 on.
10:28 I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, may the Force be with you as always and I
10:31 hope I'll see you very, very soon.
10:33 Bye!
10:34 Bye!
10:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]