Star Wars Battlefront 2 Gets Count Dooku

Count Dooku is the next prequel-era Star Wars icon coming to Battlefront II, according to EA’s official website. The curved-lightsaber-wielding villain will be voiced in the game by Corey Burton, who previously played the part in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series.

The Count Dooku character was first played in the movies by the late, great Christopher Lee, with the actor’s iconic turn as Dracula inspiring Dooku’s black-caped look and dastardly dialogue. Burton said in a press release that he watched Lee in the role to become the voice of evil Darth Tyranus.

“I’ve played so many of these sorts of wizardly, Machiavellian, vainglorious characters since I was a teenager. I’ve always sort of had an affinity for that,” Burton said. “I’ve watched some of Mr. Lee’s performance and just sort of climbed into his particular skin. It’s a character type and a vocal placement that’s very natural to me, even though it’s not in the same placement as my normal speaking voice.”

Burton teased what we’ll get to see from his performance as Dooku in the game, hinting at moments of strength for the Sith villain as well as sections where he might against the wall in battle.

Further Reading: The Insane Star Wars Battlefront Sequel You’ll Never Play

“There are scenes [in Star Wars Battlefront II] where the character is in command and strong. But, there are certainly times when the character is under threat. And of course, Dooku’s persona is to completely downplay any sense of weakness or fear. Well, to make it invisible, really, because he is all powerful.”

EA also announced that Matt Lanter will reprise the role of Anakin Skywalker (which he played in The Clone Wars animations) in Battlefront II, although this pre-Vader Anakin won’t be added to the game until the following month.  

Battlefront developer DICE has previously pleased fans of George Lucas’ questionable-but-arguably-loveable prequel trilogy by adding characters like General Grievous and young Obi-Wan Kenobi to Star Wars Battlefront II, which caused the internet’s premier meme-makers to dust off their trusty “Hello there!” gifs. 

Dooku will arrive on Star Wars Battlefront II on Jan. 23, 2019. We’ll be sure to bring you trailers and images as they’re released. For more on Star Wars, here’s everything you need to know about Episode IX!