Entertainment
Every Star Wars Hallway Fight Scene, Ranked
Everyone loves a good hallway fight scene, and, in recent years, they’ve become a sort of staple of well-made action movies. There are countless great examples in cinema and TV, but one franchise has particularly mastered the art of the hallway fight scene: Star Wars.
Everyone remembers that incredible Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) brawl in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but, since then, there have been another five such sequences set in the galaxy far, far away, and many people forget that there is already a crazy one in the original movie. So, here are all seven hallway action sequences in Star Wars, ranked.
7
Han Solo in ‘Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope’ (1977)
Yes, this counts. It’s the very first in the franchise, in Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, and an extremely quirky one at that. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) goes after a group of Stormtroopers, screaming at the top of his lungs, only to reach a hangar full of them and retreat the way he came. There’s barely any action, as it plays more on the comedic side, but it still works as a perfect Han moment: shoot first, think later.
This scene is also one of the many changes made by George Lucas in the Special Edition released in 1997. In the original, the hallway leads to a dead end with only five Stormtroopers. The odds are still against Han, but the hangar works much better, let’s face it.
6
Baylan Skoll in ‘Ahsoka’ Season 1 (2023)
A hallway scene that isn’t top-of-mind, but made quite a stir when it aired is Baylan Skoll‘s (Ray Stevenson) in the series premiere of Ahsoka. He and his apprentice, Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), storm a New Republic cruiser to free former Imperial warlord Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto). When Skoll reaches the brig hallway, he cuts through every single officer on the way, casually strutting to Elbeth’s cell when it’s done.
Although very brief, this scene is elevated by the late and great Ray Stevenson. He portrays Baylan making full use of his stature, turning him into the kind of opponent no one would want to confront directly. His deadpan expression and mechanical movements also emphasize how powerful Baylan is, while also hinting that there is a lot more to know about this former Jedi than being only a powerful warrior.
5
K-2SO in ‘Andor’ Season 2 (2025)
The funniest (yes, more than Han) entry on this list is also the most brutal (yes, more than Number 1), and takes place in the final two episodes of Star Wars‘ most serious property, Andor. When Cassian (Diego Luna), Melshi (Duncan Pow), and Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) find themselves cornered by the ISB in the old rebel safehouse apartment on Coruscant, K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) rescues them by violently killing every agent on the way. After the slaughter, he proudly announces: “Cassian! I’ve cleared a path!”
This sequence has incredibly high stakes, given the importance of Kleya’s message, Luthen’s (Stellan Skarsgård) recent sacrifice, and Supervisor Heert (Jacob James Beswick) determination to catch Kleya after Director Krennic’s (Ben Mendelsohn) ultimatum. The dark hallway feels like a horror movie slaughter setting, but K-2SO’s attitude balances the weight by replying ironically to ISB agents and even using Heert as a human shield, despite his own blaster-proof coating.
4
Obi-Wan Kenobi in ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ (2022)
Say what you will about the Obi-Wan Kenobi miniseries, it does feature some incredible action sequences. The hallway action scene in “Part IV” is among them, where Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) protects young Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair) from Imperial forces at Fortress Inquisitorius. Trapped from both sides inside an underwater corridor, Obi-Wan finally comes onto himself again after years of letting his connection to the Force wane because of the grief and regret he’s been carrying since the ending of Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.
There are many great aspects to this scene, from fighting choreography to visual storytelling. First, Obi-Wan is doing what the Jedi are supposed to do, protecting an innocent person from harm, and that person being Leia significantly raises the stakes, too. More important, however, is how he does it. Obi-Wan directly strikes a Stormtrooper only once, because they were already at close range; all the others he defeats only by cleverly deflecting their blaster shots — a staple of his preferred lightsaber combat form, Soresu — and using the incoming flood to his favor. That’s the Jedi way: avoid striking at all costs and protect the innocent.
3
Maul in ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Season 7 (2020)
The final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars has no shortage of great action scenes, but Maul’s (Sam Witwer) hallway fight against a squad of Clone Troopers could very well pass as the definition of “rampage.” Even without a lightsaber, the former Darth makes quick work of the clones by using sheets of the walls as shields and blades with the Force. He never touches anything or anyone, and barely breaks his stride. There’s even room for a final display of gratuitous cruelty when he traps a clone’s arm on a closing blast door after he’s already gotten the poor bastard’s blaster.
The whole sequence happens in the animated series’ penultimate episode, in the context of Order 66, which forced Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) to free Maul from his confinement after taking the whole Siege of Mandalore — a 4-episode story arc — to capture him. Once the clones turn on her, she decides to use Maul as a distraction, setting him free so she could make her own escape. Maul actually asks her for “a fighting chance” in the form of a lightsaber, but that was clearly an attempt to deceive her, as he then proceeds to demonstrate how he actually doesn’t need a weapon to defeat his enemies.
2
Luke Skywalker in ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 2 (2020)
Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is the undeniable greatest hero of Star Wars, but we never really got to see him in his prime; in Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, he is still barely a Jedi Knight, despite his amazing feats. So, when Luke defeats a whole Imperial cruiser filled with Dark Troopers in The Mandalorian, seeing it was a dream come true for most fans. In the Season 2 finale, he rescues Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), young Grogu and their friends from Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), displaying his mastery of lightsaber combat for the first time and taking out an entire hallway of Dark Troopers up close.
When this scene initially aired in 2020, it felt like a direct nod to Darth Vader’s (James Earl Jones) own hallway scene in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, with Luke getting his own iteration of that moment. The Mandalorian‘s version, however, has no deaths, as all of Luke’s opponents are mechanical. Still, the fact that they are essentially overpowered droids in great numbers raises the stakes of his rescue mission, requiring him to actually defeat them. This moment also connects the movie and television corners of the Star Wars universe for the first time, making it a huge deal for the franchise.
1
Darth Vader in ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ (2016)
Finally, the ultimate Star Wars hallway scene and one of the best in cinema altogether. Whenever someone thinks about a hallway fight or about Rogue One, it’s Darth Vader’s scene in a corridor filled with rebel soldiers that comes to mind. It has everything: it’s aligned with his character, a powerful soundtrack, franchise-defining high stakes… Rogue One already has an incredibly dramatic outcome for its story and characters, but Vader’s hallway scene manages to elevate it even more, highlighting just how close the rebels came to losing the war before it even started.
The scene takes place at the end of the Battle of Scarif. The entire Rogue One crew is dead, and the rebels are hurrying to get the Death Star plans to Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) aboard the Tantive IV. Before the ship can depart, however, there’s Vader. The scene perfectly captures one of the Sith Lord’s key traits: he’s a huge drama queen. He creates a whole atmosphere for his entrance — the lights go out, his mechanical breathing fills the room, and his lightsaber is ignited with perfect timing to allow everyone to make out just his dark silhouette. In a little over 10 seconds, he makes an impression that lasts way longer than the following carnage.
Vader’s moment in Rogue One is what started the trend of epic hallway fight scenes in Star Wars, making it a staple of the franchise under Disney. It also influenced many other artists and pretty much consolidated this as more than a trope; now, a well-made hallway fight works almost as a quality certificate for an action film or series. There have been many such scenes before in other movies, of course, but it was Vader who made everyone want one after Rogue One.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login