Sci-fi Nerds rejoice ! Last Tuesday George Lucas announced the upcoming release of a new Star Wars animated series to air on Cartoon Network with reruns on TNT. The Series, simply titled Clone Wars, will be an expansion of the previous animated 20 episode Micro Series that aired on Cartoon Network just before the release of Episode III. The computer animated Series will feature the events of the Clone Wars and be at least 100 episodes. Old favorites such as Obi Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Yoda will be present along with lesser know characters such as Kit Fisto and Shaak Ti. New charaters will also be present including Anakin Skywalker's padawan learner, a Togruta named Ashoka Tano. An appearence of Boba Fett has also been hinted. The series will also be followed by the 2009 Live-action series that will tie together the Original Star Wars Trilogy with the Episodes 1-3 and depecit the Birth of the Empire, the birth of the Rebellion as well as the continued hunt for the dying Jedi that all took place in the twenty year gap between Episodes III and IV. Boba Fett is said to have a major role in the seris and there may be cameo roles by actors from the films. Events also suggest some backstroy will be given to Princess Leia (Based on Lucas denying a writer the rights to write a novel on her backstory because he wished to keep the opportunity open for the live action series), and that Jedi Quinlan Vos will be appearing (Based on Lucas telling writers of the Republic comic book series not to kill off the character). George Lucas has also said that if the Live and Animated series' are successful enough, new movies and TV series may be born some of which may take place during the Knights of the Old Republic Era or the Sith Wars. Its a good day for Star Wars fans.
Just to note though there will not be anymore trilogys the opportunity of further films will be stand alone spin offs. Bobba Fett will be having a major role in the series but it will not be the main role. Also Plot and style According to George Lucas at Celebration III, "a lot of the issues from the films are connected, but you won't necessarily see a lot of the people that are connected." McCallum says on the writing and plot of the series: "We are just starting to interview writers and trying to really figure out which direction to go to. He envisions somewhere like 100 hours between Episode III and Episode IV with a lot of characters that we haven't met that have been developed in some of the novels and other things. We are really excited about that. Finally, we could have the opportunity to answer everybody's questions once and for all by the time we finish the series." In a recent interview, when asked about the show, McCallum replied, "Think about bounty hunter that’s all I can tell you." The series is set between the founding of the Empire to the events of A New Hope, referred to as "the dark times" by Obi-Wan Kenobi in the later film. It is during this period that the last of the Jedi will be hunted down, the newly-formed Galactic Empire will rise to power throughout the galaxy, and the first Death Star will be constructed. Nevertheless, most of the stories will be told from the perspective of minor characters from the Star Wars galaxy. Lucas has described it as "one show that will split into four shows, focusing on different characters." Boba Fett may play a significant supporting role in the series, with Daniel Logan reprising his role from Episode II: Attack of the Clones. According to Lucas, several of the major characters from the films may have small appearances or cameos as well. During the events of the series, the Rebel Alliance will gradually form into a full resistance against the Empire. Darth Vader will also hunt down and destroy the remnants of the Jedi Order that failed to be killed in Revenge of the Sith. The Alliance will ultimately win its first major battle against the Empire, referenced in the opening crawl in A New Hope. Recent Star Wars productions have revealed all that is known at this point about the period the series will take place in: The Evasive Action: Prey webstrips reveal that an unknown number of Jedi escape Order 66 and are hunted for a time by Darth Vader. At some point, Palpatine orders Vader to focus on helping build the Empire, and leave the remaining Jedi to others. Yoda is in self-imposed exile on Dagobah, while Obi-Wan becomes a hermit on Tatooine after taking baby Luke Skywalker to live with Owen and Beru Lars. The Last of the Jedi: The Desperate Mission reveals that Obi-Wan resides there until contacted about Anakin's one time rival, Ferus Olin. He then goes on one final adventure off-planet before returning to Tatooine. He may have some further planetbound adventures, but otherwise mostly watches over Luke, from a distance. A.C. Crispin has stated that she proposed a book series dealing with Princess Leia Organa between Episode III and IV, but that "Lucasfilm didn't approve the idea of a Leia backstory because they want to keep that era of the SW continuity untouched for the television series they're considering." On the style of the series, McCallum has stated "It is going to be much darker, much grittier, and it's much more character based." Lucas has described the series as "bare-bones" and "action-heavy", and has stated that it will be for more mature audiences like TV shows Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. Characters Lucas stated at Celebration III that cameos by main characters are not totally out of the question. A teaser image shown at Toy Fair 2007 features a close-up of Boba Fett's helmet. Frank Oz (Yoda), Ian McDiarmid (Palpatine), Jimmy Smits (Bail Organa), Wayne Pygram (Grand Moff Tarkin), Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Temuera Morrison (Clone Troopers/Imperial Stormtroopers) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) have expressed their interest in occasional appearances. Lucas himself instructed the writers of the Star Wars: Republic comic book series not to kill off the Quinlan Vos character. Lucas had originally written a scene for Revenge of the Sith involving Vos, but ultimately, he only got a mention in the film. Boba Fett has been announced to be a major character of the series. Daniel Logan is expected to reprise his role as the young Boba Fett, however no official announcement has been released.
