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From family drama to Christopher Lee's other nearly-Star Wars role, and more Count Dooku goodness...
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00:00From what went into making that epic lightsaber, to how the mighty Christopher Lee very nearly
00:06ended up in a different Star Wars role altogether, here are those Count Dooku facts and secrets
00:12you've likely never discovered until now.
00:15I'm Gareth from WhatCultureStarWars and here are 10 Things You Didn't Know About Count Dooku.
00:2210. His All-Important Connection to Sifo-Dyas
00:25Count Dooku once sat as a respected member of the Jedi Order, however upon discovering
00:31just how corrupt the Order actually was, Dooku ultimately became frustrated and turned his
00:35back on his one-time allies. Before his wander over to the dark side though, one of Dooku's
00:41close pals, Master Sifo-Dyas, who'd been having visions of an incoming conflict and had also
00:46grown disillusioned by the Order, set into motion a plan that would ultimately change the galaxy
00:51forever. Going somewhat rogue, Sifo-Dyas ordered the creation of a clone army from the planet
00:57Kamino, something a now-turned-Dooku was aware of. In the end, as revealed in Cave and Scott's
01:03Dooku Jedi Lost audiobook, Darth Sidious, after initially building the secret army into his
01:08grand plan to overthrow the Jedi, soon felt that Diaz was growing into too much of a threat
01:14to his vision. So in a rather tragic turn of events, Dooku was ordered to assassinate his
01:19one-time mate by his new master, something the powerful Sith apprentice achieved via untraceable
01:24Pyke Syndicate murder. And just like that, another potential speed bump for the soon-to-be Emperor
01:30of the Galactic Empire was shuffled out of existence.
01:349. How They Shot Those Christopher Lee Fight Scenes
01:37Living one hell of a life already by the time he got around to shooting on Episode 2, Attack
01:42of the Clones, the late, great Christopher Lee had battled Nazis and become an iconic part
01:47of cinema history with his work in everything from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings
01:51flicks to Terence Fisher's Dracula. However, that did mean he was coming in at a silvery
01:5680 when bringing the formidable Count Dooku to live-action life. And while Lee was still
02:01fairly game to get his hands dirty on George Lucas' set, a double was actually required
02:05in order to capture some of the more athletic Sith Lord movements seen in his duels with Anakin
02:10Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda. Swapping out the actor who would regularly boast about his
02:16record-setting amount of on-screen sword fights for a stunt performer when needed for wider shot,
02:21Lee's face was then seamlessly CGI'd on top of said fighting double in post. But that's still very
02:27much a badass Lee swinging his saber whenever we lean in for a scintillating close-up.
02:338. Christopher Lee Nearly Played a Very Different Role in Star Wars
02:37Keeping with the iconic thespian who gripped the prequels from the second he arrived on the force-sensitive
02:42scene, it turns out that Christopher Lee very nearly rocked up in the galaxy far,
02:46far away in an entirely different but still notably despicable capacity.
02:51Some 25 years before he donned the swishing cape and curved red lightsaber,
02:55Lee was actually in the running to play the slimy Grand Moff Tarkin,
02:59seen routinely keeping Darth Vader in check on board the Death Star. However,
03:03Lee would decide against committing himself to George Lucas' universe at that time,
03:07instead choosing to suggest his good pal Peter Cushing for the role of the high-ranking Empire
03:11officer. Cushing would, of course, absolutely nail the cold and clinical part of Tarkin,
03:17yet it is interesting to note how different a new hope could have looked with Lee in the saddle
03:21of the superweapons commander. 7. Family Ties
03:26Born into a wealthy and politically powerful family, the second the Jedi came calling for a
03:31young Dooku, he was always destined to become a significant figure in the galaxy. In the wake of
03:36his aforementioned decision to turn his back on the Order, Dooku would return home and finally take
03:41up the title of Count. But he wasn't the only child Mama and Papa Dooku brought into this galaxy
03:46far, far away. His brother, Ramil, acted as the Count of Serrano before he took over. And by took over,
03:52I definitely mean Dooku took his life in the lead-up to the former Jedi seizing said title.
03:57Jenta, his sister, wasn't actually on his radar until he unintentionally bumped into her during a
04:02festival as you do. Making it two for two when it comes to family fellings though, Dooku eventually
04:07had Asajj Ventress dispatch her on the back of Jenta trying her best to convince him to stay away
04:12from all things Darkseid. With family like this, who needs enemies, am I right? Oh, it's really sad,
04:17isn't it? 6. What went into that lightsaber?
04:21Much like the actor himself who breathed live-action life into Darth Tyrannus, Count Dooku was very much
04:27regarded as a highly respected swordsman. The design of his unmistakable lightsaber only made
04:33him that much more deadly with a glowing blade. Opting for Form 2, Makashi, this form was characterized
04:39by its elegance, balance, and fluidity, Dooku decided that he could take the form to new heights
04:44with a new design of laser sword. Curving his blade's hilt, this adapted design helped Dooku
04:49enhance his lunges and slashes when duking it out with Jedi and any other enemies in his way.
04:55It's worth noting that this form was barely used by the time of the age of the Galactic Republic,
05:00too, with Makashi being created and primarily used during the old Republic days.
05:04This means that Nexton no one used or really knew how to combat the form during Dooku's time in the
05:10Sith Spotlight, making him an even deadlier opponent for all who stood before him.
05:155. He was the last of the Lost Twenty
05:18Despite hardly acting as the first Jedi to have turned his back on the Order since its creation
05:23thousands of years before the events of the prequel trilogy, Dooku's departure from the
05:27Light side did actually come in the thick of what is classed by many as one of the darkest and
05:32lowest
05:32periods in Jedi history. Making up part of a group of Jedi Masters known as the Lost Twenty,
05:37each and every member of this infamous set of Force-wielders decided to exit the Order on the
05:42back of ideological differences with those running the ancient religious order, or just the concepts of
05:47the Jedi altogether. In short, this lot weren't just teased over to the side of evil with the promise
05:52of UNLIMITED POWER. They very much believed the Jedi were just out and out wrong. All 20 of the
05:58Lost Jedi were immortalized via Bronze Bus in the Jedi Archives, as a reminder of the imperfections of
06:04the Order in the years after their defections, and how Jedi Masters must always take the time to
06:09improve themselves and learn from their own mistakes. Dooku acted as the final member of this
06:14significant group, earning his own bust scene in an Attack of the Clones deleted scene before the
06:18Order was all but wiped out in Revenge of the Sith. 4. He was very nearly a woman in Attack
06:24of the Clones
06:25Never one to completely waste a concept, even if it doesn't necessarily fit what it was originally
06:30designed for, the origins of Count Dooku would actually pave the way for another prominent Star
06:34Wars character. In early drafts of Attack of the Clones, George Lucas had actually envisioned the
06:39fallen Jedi as a female alien by the name of Countess Dooku. And while a Medusa-like version
06:45of the character was intriguing despite not being utilized down the road, another visual variation of
06:50the antagonist would actually act as an inspiration for none other than Asajj Ventress, a Force user who
06:56would go on to become an apprentice of Dooku down the road, but more on that later. In the end,
07:01Lucas decided against these designs the second it became clear that Christopher Lee was keen to come
07:07aboard. 3. He's had many apprentices Speaking of Dooku's history of
07:12apprentices over the years, Asajj Ventress isn't the only savage presence to have taken up a spot
07:17under the Count's learning tree. During his time under the tutelage of Darth Sidious, Dooku trained
07:22and guided three notably impressionable souls in the ways of both the Force and Lightsaber mastery.
07:28On top of the deadly assassin Ventress, Savage Opress, Maul's brother, and Quinlan Vos,
07:33Ventress' one-time lover, both trained under Dooku at one point or another. Dooku didn't give a toss
07:39about any long-standing rule of two, clearly. He's also had a hand in teaching General Grievous how to
07:44duel with a laser sword before the Cyborg Separatist Force was bested by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge of the
07:49Sith. Of course, when operating as a Jedi Master, Dooku also trained Kenobi's former master Qui-Gon Jinn,
07:55along with a number of other Force-sensitive folk in Legends lore in the wake of his defection.
08:00Simply put, Dooku's teachings could very much be felt across the galaxy.
08:052. He Had Two Legendary Masters
08:08And there's a good reason just about every Jedi, Sith, and Force user who found themselves
08:13interacting with the legendary Count Dooku wanted to learn everything they could from him.
08:17Did you see who taught him the ways of the light and dark sides of the bloody Force?
08:21Hilariously, Dooku actually wasn't all that interested in being the mighty Grand Master
08:25Yoda's apprentice at first, instead wanting to learn under the tutelage of Lene Costana,
08:30due to her being known as someone who was tasked with chasing down dark side relics from across the
08:35galaxy. Obviously, while sitting alongside the little green legend though, Dooku found himself
08:40being very much immersed in substantial Jedi Order issues and missions, even watching his master best a
08:46giant torrent attack on Kashyyyk at one point. And adding to an already extensive knowledge of the
08:51Force and how to effectively wield a lightsaber, Dooku would then end up being recruited by the
08:56Dark Lord of the Sith in the shadows, Darth Sidious, as an unofficial apprentice as he further expanded
09:01on his sizeable understanding of the Force. As far as teachers go then, you likely won't find many
09:07better than the person who was moulded by arguably two of the most powerful entities ever to have existed.
09:12Not too shabby.
09:141. He Once Became a Vampire
09:17How on earth do you top a Force-sensitive bloodsucker, eh? In what was clearly a sweet
09:22nod to the legendary career of Dooku actor Christopher Lee, the comic book miniseries
09:26Star Wars Adventures Tales from Vader's Castle actually involved a story that saw the devious
09:32fallen Jedi becoming a very different kind of count. Interacting with bat-like creatures who
09:37possessed the ability to transform humans into a similar form of monstrosity,
09:41Cavan Scott's tale saw Dooku very much becoming Dracula-esque in this tribute of sorts to Lee's
09:47work as the world's most famous vampire. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this
09:512018 development is the fact that the series is actually classed as canon, so who knows?
09:56We may yet see some undead Sith menaces coming to blows with our heroes in a Disney Plus series,
10:01or nutty horror movie spin-off later down the road. For now though, we'll just have to make do with
10:06a Dooku brandishing his fangs on the pages.
10:10And that's our list, know of any other things people didn't know about Count Dooku? Let us
10:13know all about them in the comments section right down below, and do not forget to like,
10:17share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it. Also, if you're into this kind of
10:21thing, then head on over to WhatCulture.com and find some more incredible articles just like the
10:25one that I wrote right here that this video is based on. I've been Gareth from WhatCulture
10:28Star Wars, may the Force be with you as always, and I hope I'll see you very, very soon. Bye
10:34-bye!
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