RotS: Rescuing the Chancellor

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Chapter 4: Rescuing the Chancellor

Rescuing the Chancellor
This chamber's design drew greatly on the design of the Emperor's throne room in Episode VI, from the stairs and bracketing duty stations to the throne itself set against a large window. The events that occur in these chambers also have many similarities.

In the novelization by Matthew Stover, it is in this chamber that Palpatine is revealed to the reader as Darth Sidious. This occurs during a conversation between Sidious and Dooku, which also serves to clarify the plot behind this section of the film. Dooku knows that Sidious has lured Anakin Skywalker here by placing himself, as Palpatine, in jepoardy. Dooku is to be captured by Anakin following Obi-Wan's death, and then Sidious would convert Anakin to the dark side before creating an "Empire of Man". Sidious, however, has an alternate plan, which plays out in the film, removing Dooku as his apprentice in favour of Anakin.

Christopher Lee shot all his scenes on a greenscreen stage prior to principal filming on this set with the other actors. Because of this, lighting had to be meticulously planned to correspond with the yet-to-be-finished set. Kyle Rowling served as Lee's stunt double, and ILM used a digital face-swapping technique to paste the latter's face over that of the stuntman's.

Note that Dooku again has two B2 bodyguards, as he did in the arena in Episode II. The droids had a larger role in the shooting script for that film. Obi-Wan refers to the Geonosis duel when telling Anakin, "this time we'll do it together". However, Anakin has already faced Dooku in combat in the three years between episodes: he engaged him in a brief duel on Raxus Prime in the videogame Star Wars: The Clone Wars&mdash;ending with Dooku's henchman, Cydon Prax, shooting Anakin in the back with a stun bolt. He also fought and killed a doppelgänger of Dooku on Metalorn in the videogame Star Wars: The New Droid Army. Whether this was a Force-conjured doppelgänger or a clone of Dooku remains unknown, although it is believed that the game designers actually intended it to be Dooku himself. For more on this issue, click here for an account of this retcon by continuity guru Abel G. Peña.

The novelization expands greatly on this duel, shown from Dooku's point-of-view. The Count believes the duel to be little more than a game as he easily matches his opponents' moves. However, it transpires that the Jedi were simply baiting Dooku, using styles he could easily counter before suddenly switching to new styles they are far more proficient with. The Episode III videogame also includes a video clip that extends the initial confrontation with Dooku's line, "Do not assume that just because there are two of you, that you have the advantage".

Note that the walkway section does not crush Obi-Wan's legs; two protrusions underneath create a gap, and the walkway simply pushes his body forwards, hence why he is perfectly able to walk when he wakes later in the film. He has, however, been knocked out by a combination of hitting the guardrail and the floor, and Dooku's Force choke. The unconscious Obi-Wan was played by a dummy of actor Ewan McGregor, which earned the nickname "Fauxbi-Wan Kenobi" on set.

In the comic adaptation, Anakin only cuts off Dooku's right hand. Here too, Dooku pleads with Palpatine ("Protect me, Chancellor"), in keeping with lines present in the novel and early versions of the script wherein Dooku asks Palpatine to consider the deal they had made prieviously. In the novel, he realizes that his life and his ideals have been for nothing, as now he is simply another step on Anakin's path to the dark side.

When Palpatine mentions the Sand People, a Tusken war cry can be heard in the background, but is quickly transformed into a distant explosion.

Note that Obi-Wan's lightsaber is lying next to his body, yet when Dooku thew him across the chamber earlier, his weapon mysteriously disappears from his hand, and is not seen near his body when the walkway falls.

The Venator-class Star Destroyer set to broadside the Invisible Hand is named the Guarlara, taking its name from a species of horse-like creatures native to Naboo. Statues depicting these creatures can be seen outside the Theed Palace in Episode I.

As the Invisible Hand destroys several of the Guarlara's cannons, one of the falling clone troopers emits the iconic "Wilhelm scream" used in every Star Wars film and many others.

Anakin orders Artoo to activate "elevator 3224". Note that by this time, they have apparently reached a different set of elevators than the ones the Jedi arrived in, as evidenced by the corridor leading off behind Anakin.

The Jedi are captured in "hallway 328". Grievous orders activation of a ray shield trap, although it has been established that ray shields are used primarily to stop energy-based attacks, whereas particle shields are used against physical objects&mdash;hence why the Rebel pilots in Episode IV must use proton torpedoes to get past the Death Star's ray shielded exhaust port. However, a ray shield could project enough energy to disintegrate anything that attempted to pass through it, so this is still likely correct usage of the device.

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