Starwars.com has announced that Matthew Woodring Stover will be writing the novelization for Episode 3 due for release sometime in 2005. This is great news if you ask me. Stover is more than capable of writing dark and gritty war novels, so he should do an excellent job adapting the story and screenplay by George Lucas.

Also, unless you've been living in a cave, the Clone Wars cartoon series has kicked off, the first 6 episodes have come and gone, and if you've missed them, you can still catch them at cartoonnetwork.com (with a different commentary from the one offered from Hyperspace as well as the normal version) and you can download the Episodes from starwars.com providing that you subscribed to Hyperspace. You can also watch the episodes with a more technical commentary from the creators of the series.

To celebrate the new Clone Wars cartoons, TUCWS also has launched a little section of the site dedicated to the series. Check it out HERE.

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.

Dark Horse Comics updated their site with new info and full-color cover art for Star Wars: Republic #62. Here's the synopsis from the site:

Escaping from Ventress Asajj's fortress, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the clone trooper Alpha are pursued by Separatists and bounty hunters. Crash landing on a desolate planet, they are soon cornered. The bounty hunters give Alpha a choice: walk away from the fight, or die with his Jedi companion. Will Alpha's "live to fight another day" training win out? Or can the Force reveal another way to survive the ordeal before time runs out?

Republic #62, written by John Ostrander, penciled by Tomás S Giorello, and with the cover by Brian Ching ships February 18, 2004.

UPDATE! Also, Rebelscum posted a scan of the cover for Republic #61 that was in the latest issue of Preview. View the cover HERE.

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.

Starwars.com updated today with some very good news. Tomorrow at 10:30 am (PST) Hyperspace members will have the chance to submit their questions to CWAS director Genndy Tartakovsky, and art director Paul Rudish! TUCWS will be sure to be there and we'll update the site with highlights from the chat. For more details go HERE. If you're not a member of Hyperspace, what are you waiting for?! Sign up!

UPDATE

As we promised here are the highlights from the chat:

• There might be more than 20 episodes.

• We will hear the voices of Luminara Unduli, Barriss Offee, Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura.

• Fans will get the chance to vote on the design of one Jedi who will be illustrated for episode 20.

• Each Episode continues right where the last one left off, with no time lapse.

• The commentary available to Hyperspace members will go more in depth about the technical aspects of making the series, while the commentary track available at CartoonNetwork will be more for the kids.

• And in case you were hoping...there's no appearance made by Boba Fett

Go HERE to check out the latest Databank update! It includes updates to Yoda's profile, and new profiles for the ARC Troopers, Sora Bulq, Jabiim, Muunilist, and a trio of NEW Jedi!

And last but not least, Starwars.com updated with a look at Star Wars Insider #72. Among other things the issue features interviews with Ewan Mcgregor, Christopher Lee, and Trisha Biggar, as well as some new images from Episode 3.

As an aside, our main man T'bone might be featured in the mag since his fan film, Silent But Deadly 2 was an award winner. Be sure to check it out. Find out how to subscribe to Insider by clicking HERE.

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.

There has been buzz on the Internet regarding Escape From Dagu being omitted from various "official" Clone Wars timelines out there. Escape from Dagu, a Clone Wars paperback adult novel by William C. Dietz slated for a March 2004 release was announced HERE on starwars.com back in July.

We took the liberty to directly contact a representative from Del Rey regarding this situation. This is what the rep had to say:

"[Lucasfilm] sent out a note about that several months ago. It was pretty low-key news for us at the time because we were being presented with the opportunity to do the Galaxies tie-in instead and that's what Lucasfilm decided to go with."

This obviously sucks for Clone Wars fans, but it offers up a bit of variety in Star Wars publishing. With the NJO finished, I suppose fans will be looking for some reading in eras other than the Clone Wars (or perhaps it's just more marketing for Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided).

Got news or questions? E-mail us at Clonewars@starwarz.com. Discuss these stories at The Galactic Senate.