Clone-ing Around
The next chapter in the Star Wars saga reaches our screens this week, with the animated feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars. TV Guide chatted to George Lucas, legendary creator of the galaxy far, far away, and met the film's director Dave Filoni.
It has been 30 years since George Lucas introduced that galaxy far, far away in Star Wars. Six feature films later, the Skywalker family saga is brought to life in George's animated feature, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which will be followed by an animated TV series of the same name.
In Star Wars mythology, the Clone Wars took place between Episode 2 (Attack of the CLones) and Episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith). The wars lasted for three years in which Anakin became a veteran Jedi fighter and bonded with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda.
In the animated feature, two new major characters are also introduced - Ahsoka Tano, Anakin's new Padawan apprentice, and the evil villainess Asajj Ventress, the trusted assassin of Count Dooku.
TV Guide caught up with George Lucas in an exclusive interview at the home of LucasFilm Anaimation - the Skywalker Ranch in northern California.
TV Guide: Whaer does this film fit into the Star Wars saga?
George Lucas: The CLone Wars are first mentioned in the original film in passing, when Obi-Wan mentions to Luke he fought in them. When I was filming Episode 3 (Revenge of the Sith) I thought, "Too bad I can't do something about the Clone Wars, but it has nothing to do with Anakin Skywalker." So I decided when I was finished with the feature films, I'd go back and explore the Clone Wars in an animated TV series. But we took TV to such an extraordinary level that we realised we had to start with a feature film.
TV Guide: What can Star Wars fans expect?
George Lucas: For audiences, it's slightly more Star Wars light. It also gives us a chance to explore Jabba the Hutt's family and make some of the clone troopers real characters. We can also introduce new characters like Ahsoka and Asajj Ventress and let Anakin breathe before he gets so angst-ridden later in the story. So we see him in his normal state as a Jedi fighter and someone travelling through the universe trying to do good with his friends.
TV Guide: Will the characters look like the actors?
Dave Filoni: The only actors who lend their voices to their own film characters are Christopher Lee for Count Dooku, Anthony Daniels for C3PO and Samuel Jackson for Mace Windu. Samuel Jackson does the voice for Mace Windu because he created the role by asking George Lucas to put him in Star Wars. But the other voices we wanted talent that would play the actual characters, not the actors who portrayed the characters. Matt Lanter, who voices Anakin, is best-known as Geena Davis' son in the series Commander in Chief and also had recurring roles on Heroes and Shark. James Arnold Taylor, who voices Obi-Wan Kenobi, provided the voice of Fred Flintstone in the cartoon series and voiced numerous video games. We heightened the looks in a more graphic style and we took a bit of Mark Hamill in his haircut and some of Hayden Christensen mixed together.
