Following up on last week's Set Diary on Shaak Ti's on-again-off-again death scenes, Pablo Hidalgo pens another entry on some fan-favorite Jedi missing from the final cut of Episode III--including Barriss Offee and Bultar Swan. Click HERE to read it.



He also tells us more about the process by which Quinlan Vos came close to being in the film, and reveals that Tsui Choi (the little Jedi from Ratts Tyerell's species, the Aleena) nearly made it onto the Council. Choi was introduced in 2000's Jedi Council: Acts of War miniseries and resurfaced during the Clone Wars in Republic #50 and Jedi: Dooku.

 

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

The latest in Gentle Giant's line of limited-edition Clone Wars maquettes are available for preorder at Shop.Starwars.com. They are Anakin Skywalker from Season III (a.k.a. Volume Two) (ships in October) and Barriss Offee & Luminara Unduli (November). CLARIFICATION: These are not StarWarsShop exclusives as I mistakenly believed at first, and are in fact available at a number of other places. Apologies for any confusion.



Also, the Volume One and Two posters are on sale for $9.99.



Check out their Clone Wars section to see some other nifty items such as animation cels and Republic or Separatist checkbook covers.

 

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

In a partial but noteworthy vindication for fanfic writers and nerds everywhere, StarWars.com has granted Hyperspace members a chance to contribute to some future entries in the Official Databank. Click HERE to read the full original news story.

"Each week, members of Hyperspace: The Official Star Wars Fan Club will have the opportunity to leave their mark on the Star Wars expanded universe. Fans can develop an original backstory for characters, creatures, locations, vehicles, and more seen in the Star Wars films. If your backstory is selected, it will become part of Star Wars continuity and be included in the starwars.com databank.

[...]

The story that best fits within Star Wars continuity will be selected from the finalists and incorporated into a databank update. The provider of the backstory will be credited in the databank.

Please note that entries may be rewritten to for style and accuracy, and similar entries may be combined....."

Yes you read that right--an opportunity to contribute to official Star Wars Expanded Universe continuity. It's the best of both worlds, I think: fan imagination and official "control".

In the StarWars.com forums, Leland Chee elaborated that the final entries will be included in the Holocron continuity database.

This week's character is the opera patron played by John Knoll.

 

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

Collecting site GalacticHunter.com has obtained more photos of the next wave of Unleashed figures from Hasbro (this time in the packaging). The notable figure in this wave is Asajj Ventress, and the other two are Darth Vader and Yoda vs. Sidious. Click HERE to view what will surely be the hottest Unleashed figures to date! UPDATE 6/27: JediDefender.com reports that this new wave of Unleashed has been spotted at Toys R Us in Southern California.

 

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

Artist Robert Hendrickson has posted JPGs of his illustrations for the short story Omega Squad: Targets from Star Wars Insider #81. See them HERE. While you're there, check out his portfolio including art based on Star Wars, Star Trek, and Indiana Jones.




Incidentally, Karen Traviss mentions in her blog that she purchased the original pieces of artwork.

 

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

The Official Site has posted a glimpse into the upcoming DK book The Ultimate Visual Guide, due out in October. As you can see from the article, the book includes sections on the Battle of Geonosis and the Battles and Campaigns of the Clone Wars.

Also, TOS's Pablo Hidalgo has written a new Hyperspace Set Diary on the fate of Jedi Master Shaak Ti.

 

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

Finally, check out the following Neal Stephenson editorial which ponders Star Wars, the contrasting phenomena of "geeking out" and "vegging out", and ends by relating Star Wars to modern world affairs (put away the torches and pitchforks, folks, it's not political in the way you're thinking).

He mentions the degree to which the exposition in the prequels depends on the ancillary materials (i.e. Expanded Universe) and touches on the Clone Wars series and books. Follow the link to read it.

 

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

Rebelscum.com has obtained the awesome cover art for Republic #81! Click on the picture below to go to Rebelscum.com and see the full size image.

 

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

Karen Traviss has released some details on her upcoming Hard Contact sequel in her blog. Here's a taster:

1. The timeline runs from one year up to 18 months after Geonosis, i.e. it doesn't take in the events of Revenge of the Sith.

2. The cast will specifically include both Omega and Delta Squads: Sergeants Kal Skirata and Walon Vau: Jedi Generals Etain Tur-Mukan and Bardan Jusik: and ARC Trooper Captain Ordo, N-11.

3. It takes in hazardous urban operations as well as the theatre of war special ops stuff we saw in Hard Contact.

Follow the link to read the rest.

 

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

StarWars.com has announced that Karen Traviss is writing a sequel to her popular novel Republic Commando: Hard Contact. The new book, which will be titled Republic Commando: Triple Zero, will hit bookstore shelves sometime next Spring.

set a year after the battle of Geonosis, and follows the continuing missions of Omega Squad. As the Clone Wars casualties mount, the commandos find themselves deployed on increasingly dangerous missions that take them beyond the battlefield and further into sabotage and intelligence operations in the heart of Separatist territory. Newly-promoted Jedi Generals Etain Tur-Mukan and Bardan Jusik are also catapulted into front line combat roles and find themselves identifying strongly with the clone soldiers under their command, who turn out to be anything but predictable cannon fodder.

Omega Squad survives a close brush with disaster to end up in the most potentially dangerous hot spot in the galaxy - pursuing a Separatist terror group in the skylanes and underworld of Coruscant itself, known as Triple Zero in the Grand Army's slang because its galactic chart co-ordinates are 000. And, as any soldier knows, urban operations on your own turf can be the most deadly of all. So it's just as well that Omega Squad find themselves working with Delta Squad, and teamed up again with Etain and Jusik - as well as their legendary training sergeant Kal Skirata, and his secret military intelligence unit of "Null" ARC troopers, the black ops team that even the Kaminoans thought were too dangerous to unleash. It's a critical mission unlike anything any of them have ever tackled - and it tests their friendship and courage to the limit.

Source: StarWars.com

 

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

We've updated yet another section of our Database. This time we have updated the Republic characters section with information on the Clone Commanders!

If any of the information is incorrect, or if you have pictures of the Clone Commanders that we currently have no image for let us know.

Database: Characters: Republic (Clone Commanders Updated)

 

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

It seems that Republic #81, and possibly 82 and 83 since they are part of the sam arc, will be set during the Clone Wars! Read the description of Republic 81, which DarkHorse.com posted on their website:

The first issue of a three-part story that begins during the events of Revenge of the Sith, and reveals a battle that was not shown in that film!

The Separatist attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyyk demands a strong response from the Republic, and Jedi Masters Luminara Unduli and Quinlan Vos arrive with their clone armies. But there may be more behind the Separatist attack-and more to the Wookiee's defense-than the Jedi know.

Old friends, new enemies, and lots of action!

Source: Republic #81 at DarkHorse.com.

 

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

The paperback edition of Jedi Trial hit bookstores last Tuesday. It includes a preview from Timothy Zahn's upcoming book Outbound Flight.

Additionally, StarWars.com has announced that Labyrinth of Evil and Revenge of the Sith (novelization) will be rereleased as a combined omnibus trade paperback. (Sue Rostoni has clarified in the StarWars.com forums that this means the larger size, like a 4" x 7" format.) Individual mass market paperbacks will also be coming out at some point.

This omnibus will include an exclusive CD-ROM of behind the scenes material--see the article for details. The release date is November 22nd, the same day as Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader, the immediate followup to Revenge of the Sith penned by James Luceno.

 

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