The Mandalorian has been action-packed from the very first episode, with plenty of characters besides Mando getting the chance to show off their hand-to-hand skills. One such character is the Armourer, who toward the end of season 1 took on a group of stormtroopers – and came out on top.
Stunt double Lauren Mary Kim, who performed the sequence, has revealed just how tricky that scene was to pull off. Speaking to Corridor Crew, and reported by Screen Rant, Kim described the process of filming the fight. “That was probably one of the most strenuous fights I’ve ever had to do,” she said, explaining: “As a oner [one take], we never did it as pieces, we did the whole fight from top to bottom. I think we did like 400, 500 oners… We shot so many different angles… I died, I died.”
According to Kim, the fight was shot in just one day and was directed by Dave Filoni. “Usually, the stunt coordinator shoots like a 'previs' [pre-visual], they have an idea of how it should be edited so they shoot towards the edit,” Kim explained. “With The Mandalorian, they like to get a lot of different angles, so they can really choose and see which one is the best for each moment. They're very particular with what their look is, so that's why they shoot so many different angles.”
She also said that the fight took place on a built set, instead of using StageCraft VFX technology, and added that while her costume held up fine, the stormtrooper suits “broke constantly.”
This isn’t really surprising, considering the scene involved actual physical contact. “We had to do positive contact, it was hard for me to hit the guys, you know you’re always taught to like not hit people,” Kim said. She then explained the combat style used in the scene is Eskrima, a Filipino martial arts technique.
As for her own armour, Kim commented that she thinks the helmet is practical – but the fur around the shoulders, while looking “cool”, only served to make her hot.
