Latest Updates: Wednesday, September 3, 2008
The name of the third novel of the Clone Wars series has been revealed on Amazon.comAmazon.com has listed the release of the Audiobook of the third novel in the Clone Wars series by Karen Traviss as being released on May 19th 2009. The title is listed as "Star Wars: Clone Wars: No Prisoners". The title is pretty cool. We will continue to inform you about the new series as more information becomes available.
Source: Star Wars: Clone Wars: No Prisoners
Stay Tuned!
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The Clone Wars television series debuts this October on Cartoon Network! If you want to find the original source check out Scifiwire
The new Clone Wars series will air first on Cartoon Network on October 3rd at 9:00 PM ET/PT, the first episode will last one hour. For more information on the coming series and the first couple episodes check out the link provided above.
This is very exciting, in a way the recent Clone Wars movie was just an advertisement, a teaser, of what was to come. The new episodes are looking to be a lot of fun, with much more about the relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka and their time together as master and padawan. It also seems that we will get to see a lot more of Master Yoda and even get to see an episode involving Plo Koon, who happens to be one of my all time favorite Jedi.
This new series is going to be really cool. The animation is pretty neat, and so far I think that the relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka was one of the more interesting aspects of the series so far (from what can be gleaned from the movie, which was basically an advertisement for the series). I think that the series will be prove the quite exciting, and it finally gives me reason to watch Cartoon Network again. We will continue to post more information on the new television series, stay tuned!
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Latest Updates: Wednesday, August 20, 2008
I have more information on the new McDonald's toy promotion. Including pictures, a new online portion and more.As I mentioned in the last article the new McDonald's Happy Meal toy promotion will last until September 11th. It has begun as of August 15th. Those who go to McDonald's and buy a Happy Meal will receive one of 18 Star Wars bobble heads, some that have special features such as lightsaber's that light up. These toys are not just from the Clone wars, their are also several toys from the original Star wars trilogy. The new information is quite interesting though. Usually a toy promotion at a fast food restaurant is simply that, you get a toy and that's it.
However, McDonald's has something special planned for young Star Wars fans this time around. Rather than just give kids a toy, they have created a unique online experience for kids. This involves a virtual world that kids design and play in. It was created in July and the Star Wars portion of it will be open through September 10th. The kids can reach this site by going to www.happymeal.com, where they will meet Yoda who arrives on a Gunship (like on the toy) and takes them from the space station locale they entered on a Jedi Quest. Using six secret codes they find on Happy Meal packaging, kids can go on even more Jedi Quests. This is a very interesting move, mainly because it gives the kids to continue the experience even after they are done playing with the toy. I wouldn't be at all surprised if other fast food companies follow suit in similar ways in the future.
Even more cool in my mind though, are the toys. Since I was a kid I loved playing with and collecting Star Wars action figures. I know many never grew out of it. Their are plenty of adults who enjoy collecting Star Wars toys as a hobby, and get much fulfillment out of it. It's also good of course, if you have any kids who loves Star Wars. I recently received a set of Toys to share with you, and I took pictures. I will be showing you pictures of all the new toys, as well as their features. Enjoy. 
The Darth Vader bobble-head features movable-removable wings and makes two noises: the firing of lasers and Vader's famous breathing. 
The Boba Fett figure is pretty straight forward. He is riding atop his Slave I and he can roll forward on wheels. 
The Ahsoka figure is perched atop the Twilight Freighter and her lightsaber lights up.
The Chewbacca bobble-head is sitting on top of the AT-ST or chicken walker, that he stole from the Empire in Return of the Jedi with a little help from the Ewok's. The AT-ST winds up and then moves, it is pretty cool, it moves almost like the clumsy chicken walker from the movies. 
The Stormtrooper bobble is on top of an AT-AT. It also has a wind up handle like the AT-ST does and moves around. 
General Grievous is onboard his starfighter, he has two green lightsabers that light up. 
Yoda is riding on a Republic Gunship and says: "May the force be with you". 
Han Solo is of course in his signature ship the Millenium Falcon. You can pull the ship backward to wind up the wheels. 
C-3PO, often called things such as "the professor" or "Goldenrod" looks surprised in this bobble-head, where he is riding on a landspeeder. There are wheels on the bottom.
The dark acolyte and personal assassin of Count Dooku, Asaaj Ventres looks just as hideous and bitter as usual in her bobble-head, which for some strange reason is perched atop a Droid Starfighter. Her lightsaber lights up.
The picture I took really doesn't properly capture the way this figure represents Anakin's face. The Anakin Skywalker bobble-head really captures how troubles he is in a way that you would be surprised a bobble-head would be capable of doing. He is riding on a customized Jedi Starfigher with windup wheels. 
Luke Skywalker appears to be riding in his signature X-wing, it features windup wheels. 
RD-D2 is riding in the socket of an N-1 Starfighter, such as the one Anakin Skywalker used in Episode 1 to destroy the Droid Control ship and turn the tide of the battle. He beeps and makes noises much like the real R2. 
Captain Rex rides in his Republic gunship, the ship features windup wheels. Personally this is one of my favorites. He probably has the biggest head of all the bobble-heads. 
The intrepid Ewok scout Wicket W. Warrick is featured on a stolen Imperial speeder bike. The speeder has windup wheels. Up close Wicket has that Ewok face that we all know and love. 
Princess Leia Organa is running from the Imperials in the Tantive IV, her ship has wheels. 
I really think this figure of Obi-Wan Kenobi on his Jedi Starfighter does a good job of capturing his sardonic, almost smug expression. His starfighter features windup wheels. 
The final figure, that of Padme Amidala, rides on board her Naboo Royal Cruiser. The craft has wheels.
That is all the different toys from the promotion. I think they are pretty cool. Just thought you guys might want to check these out.
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We have another review of The Clone Wars, written by Andrew Liptak. A few spoilers involving the plot are contained within.
Review: The Clone Wars
The latest installment of the Star Wars franchise is an entertaining, but flawed film that adds to the Clone Wars saga by bringing Lucasfilm into the computer generated imagery realm.
Set shortly after Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, the story opens with the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt’s son. From there, the story picks up with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, along with their Clone Troopers in a pitched battle. Following that, the heroes go off to secure a treaty with Jabba the Hutt and save his son.
I found the story to be very lacking, and very straight forward. Jabba’s son is kidnapped, in a plot engineered by Count Dooku and Ziro the Hutt (a Truman Capote sounding gangster on Coruscant), designed to split the Jedi off from the outer rim.
The film was very fast, starting off with a monologue that probably would have been better with the traditional yellow scrolling text, and it picks up speed from there. This is one of the strengths of the film - the speed and action. If there’s anything that Star Wars is fantastic at, it’s epic space battles, and this film doesn’t disappoint with the various scenes in which this happens. The same can be said for the ground action with Obi-Wan and the Clone Troopers. The animators did a fantastic job putting everything together, and what we see is a very well animated series of scenes that are not only complex, but well put together.
The clones featured in the film are the highlight of the movie, and I think that the series that’s coming should be highlighting them, rather than the rest of the main characters. In the background, we can see that the animators took particular care with them, as we see them limping in the background, talking to one another. Despite the fact that they’re all cloned from Jango Fett, they’re individuals, particularly some of the ‘face characters’, such as Rex and Cody. Rex especially stood out, and I suspect that he’ll be on his way towards being a fan favorite, especially in the 501st. The scene that really grabbed me was when they were speaking with Ahsoka in the hanger.
According to the novelization, most of the troopers that we saw were 501st, and there were other references to the 501st Fan Legion, such as the pink astromech (R2-KT, named for Katie Johnson), which was a really cool thing to see.
Other parts of the movie just didn’t work, at least not to the level that I was hoping - This was a movie designed geared towards a younger generation. But to me, the dialogue was just painful at times, especially with the main characters such as Anakin. A number of reviews spoke to Ziro the Hutt, who sounded like Truman Capote, but I didn’t find him as annoying as others.
The bottom line for me was that this was an entertaining movie, but certainly not one that will rank with even the prequel trilogy, although there are aspects that do make it stand out among the others. If anything, it will be interesting to see where this goes when it reaches television.
End Review:
This review printed with permission from the blog of Andrew Liptak, a frequent contributor and friend of the site. To visit the original source go to: http://tk3220.wordpress.com/2008/08/17/review-the-clone-wars-2/ you can also visit the 501stcast by clicking on the banner on the left sidebar of the homepage.
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Latest Updates: Tuesday, August 19, 2008
We have added a new comment feature and we are working on further upgrades to the site.We have set up the comment feature for all news articles. At the bottom of the story there will be something that says the number of comments, simply click on this. It will take you to a page where you can add comments and share your opinions with other readers.
We are also working on further upgrades to the site. I cannot give a fixed date for when our next updates will be in place, but I hope to at least partially unveil them in a month or so, and have them completed in two months if possible. I will certainly keep you up to date on this. These updates include a new banner, a new skin and layout, among other things. We are also going to have weekly polls on the left sidebar on the main page. I will not get into anything else at the moment, but those are just some of the things to look forward to in the future.
We will of course also be updating the site regularly with any news relevant to the Clone Wars era of Star Wars, so stay tuned. I hope in the next couple months as well to expand a bit more on our other sections. As always, if you desire to contribute to the site please let us know through contact@theclonewarz.net and we will get back to you very quickly. Also, if you have any news on the Clone Wars era that has missed us please drop us a line and we will be glad to write a post on it, and credit you of course for bringing it to our attention.
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Latest Updates: Saturday, August 16, 2008
Last night I went to the opening of the new Star Wars The Clone Wars movie. I have written a review of the movie. This review will not include major spoilers. So you can read on without worry if you haven't seen it yet.
If we do post a review that includes major spoilers warning will be give, this review, however, will not have any major spoilers. That is to say, none of the review will give away major plot points.
Review of Star Wars The Clone Wars:
I would like to start by saying that my expectations were not high. I love Star Wars, I have been a huge fan since I was about eight years old. However, after seeing the previews, hearing bits about the movie, seeing the animation and reading the less than enthusiastic reviews from almost all of the pre-screenings, I was not expecting much.I have to admit however, that I got more than I expected.
The movie did not start out as normal Star Wars movies do, it had the familiar yellow logo, but unlike normal, Clone Wars was included in the logo. There was no yellow scrolling writing explaining the beginning of the movie, which was rather dissapointing. Instead, there was a evening news-esque voice-over giving a very short explanation of the opening scene, was was hardly and explanation at all. I can only assume that the flanneled one did this to cater to the younger audiences. I will be frank, while all of the Star Wars movies are meant for kids, as George Lucas has said before, this one is more so that way than any of the others. I will not get into details but suffice it to say if you are not a Star Wars fanboy, fangirl, or a child, you probably will not like this movie.
I of course, being a huge fanboy, enjoyed it. There were a few times when I was taken out of the moment, and it was quite clear that I was watching a movie. In other words, the immersion wasn't amazing. It was pretty lighthearted over all, more so than the other movie. The only real issue was that, as I already mentioned, this hurt it in the aspect of immersion. You rarely feel like you are a part of the movie, you rarely forget you are in a theater. While I said it exceeded my expectations, this was only because my expectations were already dismal. It was not amazing. It was an enjoyable affair and the dialogue was not as bad in my opinion, as in some of the prequels. While it was a fair bit less intense, I don't remember any scenes that caused the painful awkardness of the love scenes from Attack of the Clones which can best be described as intense failures with poor chemistry. The dialogue was still not amazing, however, it could have been worse.
The animation was like none I have ever seen before. It was actually not bad, though sometimes the characters seemed to lack expression. If you wanted to know what they were feeling you had to pay attention to what they said, visual cues were largely non-existent. The voice acting was not all that bad. The Anakin did not sound much like Hayden Christiansen, however the Obi-Wan was fairly close. I still don't think it had the sardonic edge that Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan had, which was a shame. The Yoda and the Padme were not bad either, but they still were not the same.
Overall, the movie was not as bad as I expected. However, do not expect it to be up to par with GL's previous films, even the prequels. It was enjoyable to watch as a Star Wars fan, but as in exercise in good movie making it did not do incredibly well, and it is doubtful it will be winning any awards. At the very least, George Lucas gives us the first female jedi with a prominent role, which was refreshing. The hutt's, especially Jabba's uncle, are highly amusing. And in the end it was good enough not to completely dissapoint me. As a Star Wars fan, I would have liked something better, I am not going to lie. But it wasn't absolutely dreadful, just a few steps down from the quality we had come to expect. Which is saying a fair bit, considering that the prequels are not the best of the flanneled one's work.
I give it a B-. My advice: go and see it for yourself.
Labels: Movies, The Clone Wars
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McDonald's has unveiled a new Happy Meal toy line based on the new movie Star Wars The Clone Wars, so if you have a child, a niece or a nephew who loves Star Wars, this is an opportunity you don't want to miss.The promotion will go from August 15th to September 11th. It will include 18 different Star Wars Clone Wars bobbleheads. The different toys are Padme Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Ahsoka, Rd-D2, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, General Grievous, C-3PO, Wicket W. Warrick, Princess Leia, Storm Trooper, Asaaj Ventress, Boba Fett, Han Solo, Chewbacca and Clone Trooper. They are all featured atop a Star Wars vehicle, such as an AT-AT, or a TIE Fighter. The style of the toys is done in much the same way as the style of the Star Wars Clone Wars movie.
To view several of the toys and see more information about the promotion click here
There is another section of the site you can visit to get a look at the other eleven toys. At the first link you can only see seven of them. However, at this link if you look at the top left screen it will flash twice and show the other available Star Wars figures. It flashes pretty quickly though, so you may need to watch a few times to see all the different toys.
Whether you are an enthusiastic collector, or just have kids, nephews or nieces who love Star Wars, this is a great opportunity, don't miss it!
Labels: Clone Wars, Collecting, Toys
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Andrew Liptak of the 501st has reviewed the new Star Wars The Clone Wars movie soundtrack. Sample's of the new music are included. Continue on to read the review. 
Album Review: The Clone Wars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
I'm a Star Wars geek. Regular readers will note that I'm a regular member of the 501st Legion, a group that does Star Wars costuming (I'm a storm trooper), and I've seen each movie numerous times already. So it goes to show that I'm a bit excited for the upcoming Clone Wars movie that's coming out at the end of the week. (Yes, I'll be in armor for it.) Depending on where you are, you'll likely see a couple of our troopers out in force for the movie, especially in the big cities.
With every Star Wars movie comes a Star Wars soundtrack. They're big, bombastic, exciting to listen to and it fits with the entire epic space saga quite nicely. For the Clone Wars, John Williams isn't doing the work, but Kevin Kiner, who's done work for CSI Miami, Enterprise, Stargate SG-1, and a number of other television episodes. The result is mixed. While there are some tracks that absolutely blew me away, such as the B'omarr Monastary, Landing On Teth, there are some that really don't fit with the rest of the soundtrack, such as Obi-Wan to the Rescue, which uses heavy guitars, which just doesn't fit.
What is kind of neat is the branching out of sounds. There's a bit of an eastern sound to some of the tracks, and it's nice to see that Kiner doesn't feel too constrained by the original soundtracks by putting out something that's essentially a repackaged soundtrack. There's some fairly good, creative work here. While that's the case, this soundtrack isn't up to the same level as the soundtracks from A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. There's no grand themes on the level of The Imperial March or the Main Theme. The tracks support the film (I suspect, I haven't seen it yet) and maintain much of the same environmental feel that reminds you that you are in a Star Wars movie - which is the entire point. The sound here moves the action along, and does so in a timely and precise fashion, and one that's not bad at all.
Overall, it's a fun listen, and if you're a Star Wars fan, you'll like it, but don't be expecting any sort of audio breakthrough when it comes to the sound.
Star Wars Main Title & A Galaxy Divided - Kevin Kiner
Landing on Teth - Kevin Kiner
B'omarr Monastary - Kevin Kiner
End Review.
This review has been published with permission from Andrew's blog, he is a frequent contributor to the site. If you want to read the original source you can find his blog at carryyouaway.blogspot.com, you can also visit the 501st podcast by clicking on the 501st banner on the homepage.
Labels: Soundtrack
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Latest Updates: Monday, August 4, 2008
Grant Gould has announced via his Starwars.com blog that there will be a weekly online comic coming to accompany the TV series.
This is going to be different from the comic strip version, but will be a full color, 5 page comic every week. Here's Grant's blogpost:Lucasfilm announced some exciting news at Comic-Con regarding a weekly Clone Wars online comic that will accompany the TV series. There will be four artists switching off each week -- Grant Gould (me), Tom Hodges, Katie Cook, and Jeff Carlisle -- and I'm really excited about it. I think it's gonna set a new standard in webcomics and blow everyone away.
Full Article
Hodges chimed in on Theforce.net's forums:“This has been a few months in the making and I’m relieved to be giving out details. Pablo Hildago at Lucas Online approached me earlier this year and asked me to give him a few names of people I would be comfortable working with. Right off the top of my head I suggested Katie and Grant. the 3rd was difficult as I have many a lot of friends who I would have liked to have on this, it just seemed like some were too busy. Pablo suggested Jeff and I agreed.
The quick version is each week, we’ll be given a story leading into that weeks episode. Now it could be a direct tie-in or peripherally connected from a distance because some episodes have story arcs not connected to each and every episode. Keep in mind, the series will not always be about Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padme. It will flesh out characters we’ve only seen bits and pieces of.
This will also NOT be “web-strip” format. It will be full color, comic format and each story will be 5 pages in length.
I’ve been really excited about this (and one other project I have with them that i should be able to talk about soon). I’m really excited for Katie, Jeff and Grant as well.”
Source
Labels: Clone Wars, Comics
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Latest Updates: Thursday, July 31, 2008
ScoreNotes recently posted an interview with composer Kevin Kiner. Click here to listen to it.
And the official site StarWarsTheMusic.com has posted streaming clips from the soundtrack here. (Some of the track titles could, I suppose, be considered spoilers.) They have also posted a press release here although it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know.
The soundtrack will be released August 12.
Labels: Soundtrack
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Latest Updates: Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Unofficial Clone Wars Site has reviewed the latest book from Karen Traviss, here's their thoughts.
Earlier this year, the Star Wars Lit community was abuzz with the news of a couple of things - that there was an untitled Karen Traviss novel coming, and that there was a Clone Wars movie coming out. A couple of months ago, fans learned that they were both connected, as Karen turned out to have been writing the novelization. The release of The Clone Wars brings about the first book released in the time frame since Traviss's last Republic Commando novel, True Colors, which was released last year, and once again shows that Traviss is one of the better writers for the Clone Wars.
Read the full review here
Labels: Reviews, The Clone Wars
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Latest Updates: Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Yahoo movies has posted an exclusive clip from the Clone Wars movie.
The 3:49 minute clip details an early battle sequence in the movie, and contains some minor spoilers.
Take a look here:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809991325/video/8977211
Man, that looks awesome.
Labels: The Clone Wars, Video
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Latest Updates: Monday, July 28, 2008
Randomhouse.com has posted up an interview with Clone Wars author Karen Traviss, and an excerpt of the book on their website.
Here is an excerpt from the interview:A Conversation with Karen Traviss
Question: Your new novel, The Clone Wars, is an adaptation of the animated film set for release in August. What's it like to write an adaptation? How do you turn the script into a novel, and do you have any freedom at all in terms of plot and characters?
Karen Traviss: The words "based on" mean just that — in fact, the phrase "very loosely based" would probably comply better with the UK's Trades Descriptions Act!
It's an animated feature film, and this is a novel, so the book can't be the same as the movie; there's already a gulf between what works in movies and what works in books anyway; you have two completely different products. Readers expect (and need) much more complexity and much deeper characterisation, and they're more demanding of plot logic - you have to tweak plots, because what is convincing to people watching a visual spectacle in a cinema very often doesn't work at all in print. And, inevitably, there's only so much movies can ever cover — they can never, ever see inside a character's head like a novel can. They have what's known as an omniscient viewpoint, and my books are all very tight third-person POV. So it's as different as chalk and cheese.
I'm pretty process-driven when I tackle a job like this, so I read the script, noted the main plot points, then worked out how I was going to cover the ground so that it started and ended in the same place as the movie and hit the same plot beats. Then I just...wrote it.
Now that movies are available on DVD, people buy books to get an experience that's different from what they can see on screen. They don't need or want a print version of the movie. They want something extra. It's my job to see they get it.
Q: The animated film is kicking off the new Clone Wars animated TV series. Does this new series pick up where the old Clone Wars series left off?
KT: No, it doesn't. It covers the same ground, although some of the continuity in the movie has changed from that in the last CW animated series. Because this is such familiar territory to SW fans —- I wanted to give them some things they'd never seen before. So they'll see the characters from a whole new perspective. Jabba, Ventress and Dooku may be a big surprise for some readers, as will some of the droids.
Q: Are you going to be involved in the new series–perhaps more novels set in this era of the Star Wars universe?
KT: I'm doing three of the five books from this series, with the other two being written by my good friend Karen Miller. It's a lot of fun to work with a buddy, and especially with someone who has the same take on fiction — that it's about character, character, and more character. We spend hours on the phone having debates about the psychology of the characters — often at weird hours, because she's in Australia and I'm in the UK.
Full interview
And you can read the entire excerpt here:
Excerpt
Or, pick up the book, cheaply, at Borders
Labels: Books, Karen Traviss, The Clone Wars
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Latest Updates: Thursday, July 24, 2008
21 days until The Clone Wars is released to theaters, and a number of new posters have appeared online. Take a look.
These first two have a more of the classic 'Star Wars' poster feel to them, especially this first one. The second one reminds me a lot of the Empire Strikes Back poster, with the Clone helmet right in the center.
A couple international posters:
See some more here
Labels: The Clone Wars
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Latest Updates: Monday, July 21, 2008
As August 15th approaches, more coverage of the film is popping up. Youtube has a selection of TV spots that have been aired recently.
Here's a couple of the recent TV spots:
TV Spot 1
TV Spot 2
There are also a number of very short clips that have appeared:
Rex: Experience Outranks Everything
Cody in Battle
Looking good!
Thanks to Theforce.net for the heads up
Labels: The Clone Wars, Video
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StarWars.com has posted up information about a new Clone Wars reference book, entitled Inside Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Visual Guide.
The book is being published by DK, who is responsible for other Visual Guide releases for each of the prior movies. The release date is slated for July 26th. Here's what TOS had to say about it:
As they have with the Star Wars feature films, DK books is set to visually explore the rich universe of the animated Clone Wars adventures with their forthcoming Visual Guide, written by Jason Fry. Mining the feature film and the television series, the Guide examines heroes, villains, technology and events with authoritative text, crystal clear illustrations, and detailed callouts. The Jedi heroes and Separatist villains are showcased, as are pirates and bounty hunters, creatures, aliens and exotic worlds.
The book, like most of the initial Clone Wars products, hits shelves on July 26. StarWarsShop.com, in conjunction with DK, is making available an exclusive Limited Edition of the book, with bonus content: a card pocket on the inside cover that includes special reproductions of the distinctive Republic gunship nose art. Also inside this edition is a six-page gatefold with details on the various lightsabers seen in The Clone Wars.
Source
Labels: Books, DK, The Clone Wars
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Latest Updates: Thursday, July 17, 2008
The reviews are starting to come in as press screenings for the Clone Wars movie are starting up. The AP has posted up their review.
Here's what they had to say:`Clone Wars' revives old-style `Star Wars' fun
By DAVID GERMAIN – 2 hours ago
SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (AP) — A tinge of Anakin Skywalker's coming dark side clearly is visible in "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." Yet the animated adventure mostly harks back to the fun, swashbuckling times of the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
Lucasfilm Animation, which screened the movie Tuesday for The Associated Press in advance of its Aug. 15 theatrical release, has crafted a movie nicely tucked in to Anakin's early heroic days, before his transformation into the evil Darth Vader.
Along for the ride are noble-hearted clone soldiers with the camaraderie of Marine grunts, inept android warriors as idiotic as the Three Stooges and a young protege who rivals Anakin for cockiness and affectionately calls him "Sky Guy."
Dave Filoni, director of the movie and supervising director for "The Clone Wars" animated TV show debuting this fall on TNT and the Cartoon Network, said the idea was to return to the wisecracking tone of the original "Star Wars" in 1977, before the gloom of Anakin's fall.
"I wanted this to have the banter. I wanted this to be funny," Filoni said in an interview at Skywalker Ranch, home to Lucasfilm Animation, a division of "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' filmmaking empire. "Telling that dark story of Anakin Skywalker was important for George, but this was a chance to show Anakin before that. Anakin as a hero, Anakin as the good guy, Anakin more like his son," Luke Skywalker, of the original trilogy.
The Anakin in "Clone Wars" is a hybrid of Luke and his rascally ally, Han Solo, Filoni said.
"He's cocky like Han, he can do a lot of things like Han, he's clever with machines like Han. But he's naive like Luke. The whole galaxy is a bit overwhelming," Filoni said.
The movie presents all of the key characters from Anakin's world: Jedi masters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu and Yoda; Anakin's future wife Padme Amidala; androids R2-D2 and C-3PO; gangster Jabba the Hutt; villain Count Dooku; and Palpatine, the galaxy's evil emperor in waiting.
Characters not seen in the live-action movies include conniving assassin Asajj Ventress; Jabba's sinister uncle, a giant slug that speaks with a Truman Capote-like Southern drawl; and Captain Rex, a loyal member of Anakin's clone crew.
Full article
Labels: Reviews, The Clone Wars
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Dark Horse has posted up four images for upcoming Clone Wars tie-ins to the Animated movie.
The covers give us a clue as to what will be released. It seems that they will continue with the digest type line, with Shipyards of Doom and Crash Course, and will be releasing a miniseries in the regular style. Shipyards of Doom goes on sale September 24th, Crash Course on December 31st, while The Clone Wars #1 will be released September 10th and The Clone Wars # 2 will be on sale October 8th.
The regular series is being created by Writer Henry Gilroy and Penciller Scott Hepburn. More information will be released at the San Diego Comic Con later this month. Stay turned to TUCWS for more information and reviews!
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Labels: Comics, Crash Course, Dark Horse, Pictures, Shipyards of Doom, The Clone Wars
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Karen Miller's announced Clone wars book has been given a title, according to Randomhouse's website, Clone Wars: Wild Space.
Karen Miller, a newcomer to the Star Wars Universe, will be writing two of the five books along with author Karen Traviss. The announced release date for this book will be November 25th of this year, and seems to be a trade paperback, coming in at $15.00. More information as we get it!
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Labels: Books, Clone Wars, Karen Miller, Wild Space
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Latest Updates: Monday, July 14, 2008
The SciFi Channel's SciFi Wire has just posted up an article about the characters of the Clone Wars, stating that the animated film will be examining some of the smaller side characters, in addition to the main characters.
Here's the full article:
Star Wars: Clone Wars supervising director David Filoni told SCI FI Wire that the animated TV series won't focus on the main characters of the feature films but rather will flesh out the stories of some of the lesser-known characters.
Creator George Lucas is very much involved in the animated show that will air for 22 episodes on the Cartoon Network sometime this fall.
"We're not just telling Anakin Skywalker's story," Filoni said in an interview at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on July 11. "If we were doing that, we would be stuck on one single arc. I look at the episodes where we have him and Ahsoka, which is his student, and I know that there is an arc there, because something has to happen to her. We don't see her in [Star Wars-Episode III:] Revenge of the Sith."
Following Ahsoka's journey allows the writers to show the progress of the title war, Filoni added. "We can kind of go left or right of that plot and deal with characters that we have never seen," he said. "There's a lot of material, so I can stretch it and, you know, keep making episodes about things that George would like to see or I would like to see."
The TV series and its accompanying animated feature film, also called Star Wars: The Clone Wars, take place between the second and third films, Star Wars-Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
Filoni laughed when asked if the much-maligned Jar Jar Binks will show up in the series. "I have to hold a few secrets back," he said.
Meanwhile, the Clone Wars movie, which comes out Aug. 15, "is a very stand-alone movie," Filoni said. "It sets up the major characters we know, like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, and, of course, the new character, Ahsoka. So it's made to stand alone and introduce everybody to the universe we're showing in the series"
The Clone Wars last three years in Star Wars mythology. "In that period, there are so many stories to tell that I've been amazed that just in the first season what we didn't get to, you know, and what I would still like to get to and what stories we would still like to explore," Filoni said. "So for me and the longer it goes, the more chance we all get to tell fascinating stories in that galaxy."
Among the stories to be explored in the show: Master Yoda's backstory and how he came to be as powerful as he is. The series will also ask show whether clone troopers have separate personalities and how the comical attack droids are clone troopers are good guys before they fall under the spell of Darth Vader. "It gives us a chance to look at them from very different points of view, as Obi Wan would say," Filoni said.
Another new character is Asajj Ventress, the bald, tattooed apprentice of the nefarious Count Dooku. "She is kind of sexual and strong in the dark side of the Force," Filoni said. "The Jedi are supposed to suppress those feelings and be hands off, but she is like a serpent, and that's another different dynamic."
Tom Kane will voice Yoda, who has been voiced by Frank Oz in the feature films. "It's very challenging, because he had a lot of dialogue, and it's a strain on poor Tom's voice," Filoni said.
Some of the movies' sounds, created by master sound-effects wizard Ben Burtt, are picked up and used anew by Matt Wood in the animated series. "Ben came up with great sounds, and Matt was his understudy and left a legacy of classic sounds, and they made hundreds of new sounds that they had to invent for things we've never before seen," Filoni said.
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Labels: Clone Wars
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