Count Dooku

**Count Dooku** is a fictional character from the *Star Wars* franchise, appearing in *Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones* and *Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith*, as a primary antagonist. He was portrayed by Christopher Lee[1] and voiced by Corey Burton in the animated series *Star Wars: The Clone Wars* and *Star Wars: Clone Wars*.

Once a respected Jedi Master, he falls to the dark side of the Force after the death of his former Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn, and becomesDarth Sidious' second apprentice under the name **Darth Tyranus**. As the founder of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, he is instrumental in the Clone Wars. Dooku was trained by Yoda as a Padawan learner.

## Appearances[edit]

### Films[edit]

#### *Attack of the Clones*[edit]

Introduced in *Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones*, Count Dooku appears as the leader of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a federation of planetary systems rebelling against the Galactic Republic. He says that the Republic is corrupt, and that its politicians are more interested in maintaining the bureaucracy and enriching themselves than in helping poor, oppressed systems.

Dooku recruits bounty hunter Jango Fett to assassinate Padmé Amidala on Coruscant; the attempt on her life fails, however. When a fight with Obi-Wan Kenobi forces Fett to flee from Kamino to Geonosis, the bounty hunter rendezvous with his benefactor. After capturing Obi-Wan on Geonosis, Dooku tells him that he's attempting to save the Republic, explaining that thousands of senators are under the influence of a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious. When Obi-Wan refuses to join him, Dooku promptly sentences him to death.

After an army of Jedi and clone troopers rescue Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker and Padmé, a battle breaks out between the Republic forces and Dooku's army. Dooku tries to flee, but Anakin and Obi-Wan engage him in a lightsaber duel. Dooku subdues Anakin with a blast ofForce lightning, and wounds Obi-Wan with his lightsaber. When Anakin comes to Obi-Wan's defense, Dooku cuts off the young Padawan's arm. Just as Dooku is about to escape, Yoda confronts him and engages him in a lightsaber duel. Unable to match Yoda's speed and agility, Dooku distracts his former master by using the Force to dislodge a large pillar and send it hurtling toward Anakin and Obi-Wan. While Yoda is busy saving them, Dooku escapes.

After he arrives on Coruscant, Dooku shows the Geonosian designs of the Death Star to Darth Sidious and informs his master that their plan is working: "The war has begun."

#### *Revenge of the Sith*[edit]

In the opening of *Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith*, set three years later, Dooku and Separatist commander General Grievouskidnap Supreme Chancellor Palpatine—Sidious' alter ego—as part of a plan orchestrated by Palpatine to lure Anakin to the dark side of the Force. Anakin and Obi-Wan board Grievous' ship and confront Dooku, who knocks Obi-Wan unconscious, leaving Anakin to face the Sith Lord alone. Anakin gives in to his hatred of Dooku and uses the dark side to overpower him, severing both of Dooku's hands and leaving him helpless. Palpatine then tells Anakin to execute Dooku on the spot; after initial hesitation, Anakin brutally decapitates Dooku. This act sets off a chain of events that leads to Anakin's eventual fall to the dark side and transformation into Darth Vader.

#### *The Clone Wars (film)*[edit]

In the 2008 CGI film *Star Wars: The Clone Wars*, Count Dooku plots to bring Jabba the Hutt into the folds of the Confederacy by enlisting Jabba's uncle Ziro the Hutt to kidnap Jabba's son Rotta. After Ziro's agents deliver the Huttlet to the planet Teth, Dooku contacts Ziro again to arrange for his minion Asajj Ventress to take custody of Rotta. When Jabba requests Jedi assistance to rescue his son, Dooku plans to frame the Jedi for the crime. Dooku duels Anakin for the first time since their encounter in *Attack of the Clones*. The duel ends in a draw, and Anakin and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano eventually foil Dooku's plan.

### Television[edit]

#### *The Clone Wars*[edit]

In the 2008 animated series *Star Wars: The Clone Wars*, Dooku is the leader of the Separatists. In addition to sending Grievous and Ventress on missions to antagonize the Republic, he works with the terrorist group Death Watch to give the Republic a reason to send a military presence to Mandalore, which would play in his favor. The plan falls through when Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore urges the Galactic Senate to hold off a military force.

In the third season, Dooku is forced to eliminate Ventress to prove his loyalty to Sidious. Ventress survives, however, and works with Mother Talzin to kill Dooku by giving him Savage Opress as a replacement apprentice. During a confrontation between Dooku and Ventress, Savage turns on both. In the fourth season, after defeating Anakin in three separate lightsaber duels, Dooku gets his revenge on Ventress by having Grievous order the systematic genocide of the Nightsisters. Believing both Ventress and Talzin have been killed, Dooku knows the only threat left to him is Savage while sensing his eventual meeting with Darth Maul. In the fifth season, Dooku plays minor roles via hologram in guiding King Rash of Onderon and Grievous taking over Florrum.

In the sixth season, Dooku finds out the clone trooper Tup executed Order 66 prematurely and works behind the scenes to stop the Republic's investigation. He then manipulates the Banking Clan and its representative Rush Clovis into putting all their resources in the hands of the Sith, bringing war to the planet Scipio. The Jedi find a lightsaber belonging to deceased Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas—whom Dooku murdered years earlier—and start an investigation. Sidious forces Dooku to clean up their trail. Dooku confronts Anakin and Obi-Wan on Oba Diah, revealing his alter-ego Darth Tyranus to the Jedi, and they realize that it was he who created the clone army. Some further investigation by Yoda prompts Dooku and his master to perform a Sith ritual in an unsuccessful attempt to break the Jedi Master; Dooku appears to fight Anakin in the illusion, but is executed in a matter very similar to his eventual demise.

### *Star Wars: Legends*[edit]

Dooku appears extensively in the *Star Wars* series' "Expanded Universe" of novels, comic books and the 2003 micro-series *Star Wars: Clone Wars*. In 2015, Lucasfilm labeled such material non-canon, and rebranded them "Star Wars Legends".

#### Comic books[edit]

In the *Star Wars: Republic* series, set during the Clone Wars, Dooku trains multiple Dark Jedi apprentices, most of whom he uses as minions. His apprentices include Ventress, Tol Skorr and renegade Jedi Quinlan Vos. Vos initially intended to infiltrate the Separatists as a spy for the Jedi Council but instead nearly falls to the dark side.

#### Novels[edit]

In Jude Watson's *Legacy of the Jedi*, Dooku is first tempted by the dark side of the Force as a child when his friend and fellow Padawan Lorian Nod steals an ancient Sith Holocronfrom the Jedi Archives. Dooku is intrigued by the Sith's open embrace of power and realizes that he is just as capable of ruthlessness as they are. When they get caught, Nod lies that the theft was Dooku's idea. However, Dooku eventually manages to convince the Jedi Council of the truth, and Nod is then expelled from the Jedi Order. Nod's treachery leaves Dooku with a great bitterness and intolerance of any form of betrayal. Years later, Dooku encounters and eventually kills Nod.

In Sean Stewart's *Yoda: Dark Rendezvous*, Dooku attempts to trap Yoda by offering to negotiate an end to the Clone Wars. Dooku attempts unsuccessfully to sway Yoda to his cause, while Yoda nearly convinces Dooku to return to the Jedi Order. When Anakin and Obi-Wan appear unexpectedly, Dooku believes that Yoda was trying to set him up to be captured, and renounces his former master once and for all. In the novel, it is also revealed that Dooku always resented his parents for "giving him away" to the Jedi Order.

In James Luceno's *Labyrinth of Evil*, Dooku engineers Grievous' transformation into a cyborg and trains him in lightsaber combat. He then schemes with Sidious to invade Coruscant in what he believes to be a plot to kill Obi-Wan and initiate Anakin into the Sith.

Matthew Stover's novelization of *Revenge of the Sith* expands upon Dooku's character: it portrays him as an evil man who has no concept of loyalty or friendship, and who despises cyborgs, as well as the galaxy's non-human species. It also explains that Dooku believes that Palpatine's staged kidnapping is part of a plan to kill Obi-Wan and recruit Anakin into theGalactic Empire as the commander of its army, while Dooku and Palpatine will rule the galaxy together. The novelization depicts Dooku's death scene from his point of view; in his final moments, he realizes that Palpatine merely used him as a means to engineer the war and as a placeholder for Anakin, whom he intended to be his apprentice all along.[2]

#### *Star Wars: Clone Wars*[edit]

During the 2003 animated miniseries *Star Wars: Clone Wars*, Count Dooku leads the Separatists from behind the scenes, taking the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress as his apprentice while training General Grievous in lightsaber combat. In the final episode, he and Grievous kidnap Palpatine, setting the stage for *Revenge of the Sith*.

### Toys[edit]

A number of toys based on Count Dooku have been produced, including the Lego set *Lego Star Wars: Duel on Geonosis* which recreates the duel between Jedi master Yoda and the Count Dooku,[3] and a Hasbro Count Dooku lightsaber.[4]

## Portrayal[edit]

Count Dooku was portrayed by Christopher Lee in *Attack of the Clones* and *Revenge of the Sith*, while Kyle Rowling performed the lightsaber action sequences. The character was voiced by Corey Burton in *Star Wars: Clone Wars* (as well as most of the video games).

Lee reprised his role to voice the character in the 2008 animated film, while Burton returned to voice the character in the subsequent TV series.