Epic finale for Star Wars III

Lucas plans epic lightsabre battle for final Star Wars instalment.

13:27 17 May 2004

George Lucas is planning to end his series of Star Wars prequels in style with an epic lightsabre battle between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The pair, who were master and student in the second film, "Attack of the Clones", go head to head after both falling for the same woman.

Reports suggest the Jedi duo will battle it out while surfing down a stream of lava on lumps of rock.

"Anakin and Obi-Wan fight on platforms on the lava," an insider told the Sun newspaper. "They control these like surfboards."

The third film, which has been given the working title "Birth of the Empire", will see Anakin seduced by the dark side of the force and become the evil Darth Vader.

Lucas is under pressure to deliver after "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones" received a lukewarm reception from critics and some diehard fans.

Star Wars is one of the most lucrative film franchises of all time.

Some fans will be hoping Star Wars III won't be the last they'll see of the Jedi. So far Lucas has refused to say whether he will make the three sequels to the original films that he is thought to have penned.