Star Wars

[Ponyone]

From breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment

Lucas to make more Star Wars?


21/08/2004 - 22:18:27

Star Wars creator George Lucas could be poised to make three sequels to the original space opera trilogy, according to insiders at Lucasfilm.

According to fan site Theforce.net, employees at Lucas's company Industrial Light and Magic have all been made to sign non-disclosure agreements to promise not to talk about the possibility of episode's seven, eight and nine being made.

Now industry insiders are predicting the director will make the follow-ups, which pick up where 1983's Return of the Jedi left off, despite insisting he would never be lured into filming them.

A posting on the site says, "You didn't hear this from me, but you might be curious as to why everyone at ILM just signed NDA's saying that they will not discuss Star Wars episodes 7, 8, or 9.

"Since they're not being made, why the NDA's? Of course, since when has Lucas been consistent?"

[Ponyone]

From - www.supershadow.com

According to the opening-text crawl that begins Episode 3, the Clone Wars continue to rage between the Old Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems (The Separatists). The opening-text crawl also reveals that the enemy Separatists have taken Supreme Chancellor Palpatine hostage. Next, we see an epic space battle (the largest space battle ever seen in a Star Wars film) taking place over Coruscant between the Republic military forces and the Separatist’s military forces. General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and other Jedi Knights enter the battle with clone troopers in star ships.

Obi-Wan is now a Jedi Master and Anakin is a full-fledged Jedi Knight. During the battle, the Jedi use a new version of the Jedi star fighters, which have been augmented for battle. Obi-Wan and Anakin make it their primary objective to free Palpatine from the Separatists. Palpatine is being held prisoner in the flag ship of the Separatist armada. This just happens to be the biggest and most heavily fortified star ship in the Separatist’s fleet.

After much excitement, Obi-Wan and Anakin pilot their ships inside the Separatist ship holding Palpatine. Soon after landing, General Grievous (the half-man and half-machine leader of the droid armies) comes after Obi-Wan and Anakin. The two Jedi manage to flee from Grievous and his battalion by using giant tubes. Obi-Wan and Anakin then proceed to an elevator and eventually run into Count Dooku. A tremendous light-saber duel erupts between Obi-Wan and Anakin vs. Dooku. Grievous enters the fight and manages to hurt Obi-Wan.

However, realizing that he might be captured or killed, Grievous leaves the Separatist flag ship as the ship gets pounded by laser fire from the Republic star ships. Next, Anakin duels with Dooku alone as Obi-Wan is sidelined with his injury. Palpatine watches this duel while being imprisoned in a chair. Palpatine also speaks during this dramatic duel. Anakin manages to slice off one or both of Dooku's arms. Anakin then pauses to give Dooku a chance to beg for his life.

Next, Anakin uses two light sabers to cut off Dooku's head. Palpatine lets out an evil cackling laugh after watching Anakin destroy Dooku. To avoid destruction, Anakin races to the control area of the Separatists star ship so that he can safely land the heavily damaged ship. Anakin successfully lands the ship on the surface of Coruscant and emergency vessels arrive to quench the fire that is overtaking the ship.

Mas Amedda and Palpatine’s royal guards arrive and take Palpatine to the Galactic Senate. As Palpatine disembarks the ship that carried him to the Senate, Palpatine is greeted by a group of Senators and Jedi Knights. Palpatine enters the Senate and Padme Amidala is waiting for Palpatine. Padme is wearing clothes that hide her pregnancy. Her marriage to Anakin remains a complete secret. Before the Senate, Palpatine announces that the Separatist leader (Count Dooku) is now dead and that the Separatists are in disarray. Palpatine advises that the Republic must strike against the Separatists while the Separatists are in chaos.

For Obi-Wan’s next mission, the Jedi Council orders Obi-Wan to hunt down General Grievous. Anakin is upset that the Jedi Council does not adequately acknowledge the fact that Anakin destroyed Dooku all be himself. With great cleverness, Palpatine feels Anakin’s great anger and uses this to Palaptine’s benefit. Palpatine asks the Jedi Council to allow Anakin to be his bodyguard. Anakin is eager to serve Palpatine because Palpatine has long been a great supporter of Anakin’s career.

Meanwhile, Bail Organa is seen at a meeting in Padme’s residence. The focus of this meeting is to have Palpatine relinquish his emergency powers. Powers which Palpatine promised to relinquish at the end of the Clone Wars. In other parts of the galaxy, the Jedi and clone trooper forces continue to battle the Separatist military in various star systems. On Kashyyyk (the Wookiee home world), Yoda oversees clone troopers during an important battle. Meanwhile, back on Coruscant, Mace Windu manages to piece together the Sith conspiracy and comes to the conclusion that Palpatine is evil.

Windu arrives at Palpatine’s office to air his suspicions directly to Palpatine. Anakin is present with Palpatine as Windu asserts his belief that Palpatine is up to no good. With massive hate, Palpatine unleashes a strong current of dark side lightning at Windu. With great skill, Windu deflects this lightning with his light saber. Here and now, Anakin is left with the most important decision of his life. Will Anakin save Windu from Palpatine or will Anakin strike down Windu and save Palpatine?

Palpatine claims that the Jedi are corrupt and deceitful. Furthermore, Palpatine states that the Jedi themselves have always sought to undermine Anakin’s destiny. The choice is clear for Anakin. Anakin and Mace Windu engage in a very dramatic duel. Palpatine helps Anakin during the duel. Anakin finally slays Windu.

Next, Palpatine finally reveals to Anakin that Palpatine is indeed a Sith Lord. Palpatine cleverly convinces Anakin that the powers of the dark side will bring Anakin’s great promise to fruition. On a new planet never before seen in a Star Wars movie, Obi-Wan (with his contingent of clone troopers) finds General Grievous. A spectacular battle erupts between Obi-Wan and his forces vs. Grievous and Grievous’ battle droids. The battle is waged on a high cliff top with a breathtaking view around them. What follows next is a chase sequence, whereby Obi-Wan (riding a computer-animated lizard-like creature) chases after Grievous, who is riding a device that looks similar to a Hailfire droid.

The chase comes to an end and Obi-Wan and Grievous launch into a light-saber battle. During this battle, Grievous’ arms split in two and Grievous is suddenly wielding four light sabers against Obi-Wan. Eventually, Obi-Wan finishes Grievous off with blaster fire from a gun. While dying, Grievous' eyes are ejected from their sockets. Back on Coruscant, there are demands that Palpatine must surrender his emergency powers since the Clone Wars appear to be at an end. Palpatine states that he will not give up his emergency powers. Palpatine now claims that he must keep his emergency powers to battle the threat posed by the Jedi Knights.

Palpatine claims that the Jedi are traitors to the Republic and that the Jedi were actually conspiring with Count Dooku to defeat the Grand Old Republic. Palpatine insists that the Jedi are to blame for the millions of deaths and the destruction of many star systems during the Clone Wars. Also, Palpatine relates the story of how a Jedi Master tried to assassinate him. Luckily, Anakin was there to save Palpatine from this would-be Jedi assassin. Palpatine retains his tyrannical powers and announces the creation of his Empire.

[Ponyone]

Next, Palpatine orders the Republic military to find the Jedi and destroy them all. Those opposed to Palpatine (Padme, Bail Organa and Mon Mothma of Chandrila) hold a meeting to discuss what has just transpired regarding Palpatine’s extreme power grab. They decide to take no action at the moment and to see how things will develop. An assassination attempt is made on Bail Organa’s life. Bail makes his way to a landing platform where his red speeder is waiting for him. To avoid laser fire, Bail hides behind his speeder. Bail successfully escapes from Coruscant.

After this attack, Padme leaves Coruscant for Naboo for her own safety. Now the clone troopers receive their orders to hunt down the Jedi. Obi-Wan has to kill a clone trooper, who had become Obi-Wan’s friend during the Clone Wars. The decimation of the Jedi by the clone troopers is seen occurring in several star systems across the galaxy. The Jedi are vastly outnumbered by the clone troopers and have no chance to save their lives. With many clone troopers at Anakin's side, Anakin attacks the Jedi Temple and kills all the Jedi younglings and any Jedi who tries to protect the younglings. Palpatine dispatches Anakin to the planet called Mustafar (which is a lava planet) to destroy the remaining Separatist leaders. Then, Anakin heads to Naboo to speak with Padme.

Anakin tells Padme that he is headed to Mustafar to destroy the Separatist leaders. Also, Anakin tells Padme that the Republic is coming to an end, that Palpatine will turn the Republic into an Empire and that Anakin has already killed some Jedi Knights. Moreover, Anakin claims that the Jedi are traitors and very corrupt. The Jedi can no longer be trusted. Padme believes everything that Anakin tells her and she supports Anakin 100 percent. Anakin continues to dearly loves Padme and still believes he can trust her and only her.

Meanwhile, Yoda happens to be on Kashyyyk when the clone troopers turn on him. Chewbacca and other Wookiees save Yoda from the clone trooper betrayal. While on Kashyyyk, Yoda finds an ancient Sith manuscript. Yoda believes he must go to the Jedi Temple and meditates on future events. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan hides on a new world. The leader of this world graciously welcomes Obi-Wan and promises to help Obi-Wan’s plight. On this world, Obi-Wan finds out about Anakin turning against the Jedi. Obi-Wan decides to head for Naboo.

On Naboo, Obi-Wan finds Padme at her villa. At first, Padme does not trust Obi-Wan and refuses to tell Obi-Wan anything. However, eventually, Padme tells Obi-Wan that she is pregnant with Anakin’s child. Padme tells Obi-Wan of Anakin's future plans and that there still remains some good in Anakin. Obi-Wan plans to leave Naboo without Padme, but Padme is able to hide on Obi-Wan's star ship without Obi-Wan realizing this. Obi-Wan tracks Anakin's star ship to Mustafar.

During his meditations, Yoda comes to the conclusion that if he can destroy the Sith Master, then the Sith Apprentice will automatically be destroyed. Sidious confronts Yoda at the Jedi Temple. Yoda engages in a terribly violent fight with Sidious. Yoda ends up losing this battle. Next, Obi-Wan arrives on Mustafar, but Anakin has already eliminated all the Separatist leaders. Obi-Wan and Anakin begin to argue. Suddenly, Padme appears believing she can help them both. Anakin is upset with Padme because she led Obi-Wan right to him. Anakin feels betrayed. As a result, Anakin becomes very angry, loses self control and ends up putting the Force choke on Padme. Padme hits her head when she falls to the ground. Obi-Wan ignites his light saber. The legendary duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin has begun and it begins amongst the dead bodies of the Separatist leaders.

This duel is very epic in nature. It takes place in several locations. Volcanoes erupt and the ground shakes. One location is a mechanical room. In another location, they hang from cables and finally end up at a volcano crater. Obi-Wan manages to cut off Anakin's other real arm. Amazingly, Anakin continues to duel Obi-Wan using his mechanical arm. Later on during the duel, Obi-Wan cuts off one of Anakin’s legs (perhaps even both of Anakin's legs are severed). Anakin slips on the slope of the volcano and plummets into molten lava. Next, Obi-Wan leaves the area and takes care of Padme, who was badly hurt by Anakin’s Force choke. Clone troopers arrive and rescue Anakin. These clone troopers then board a star ship with Anakin and take off.

After the Obi-Wan vs. Anakin conflict, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Bail Organa and Padme are traveling on the Tantive 4: Blockade Runner for Alderaan. However, an emergency stop on a new world has to be made when Padme becomes gravely ill. The Skywalker twins are removed from Padme. Subsequently, Padme does die after giving birth to the Skywalker twins. Elsewhere, Anakin heals inside mechanical armor. Anakin regains consciousness, awakens in his black Darth Vader armor and is told that he is responsible for Padme’s death. Anakin is so distraught that he destroys the room he is in with the Force. Anakin is also upset at finding out that he has become more machine than man as a result of his duel with Obi-Wan. In his anger, Anakin Force chokes many people and uses the Force to throw droids around the room. Next, Palpatine gives Anakin the moniker of Lord Darth Vader.

A funeral is held in Padme’s honor. Some of her handmaidens and Sio Bibble attend the ceremony. From the afterlife, Qui-Gon Jinn communicates with Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan (with Bail Organa and Yoda’s input) decides to hide the Skywalker twins on Tatooine with Owen and Beru Lars. It is Bail Organa in his Tantive 4: Blockade Runner that carry Obi-Wan and the Skywalker twins toward Tatooine. Yoda arrives on Dagobah via an escape pod from the Tantive 4 as the remaining Jedi Knights scatter all across the galaxy trying to escape the Imperial onslaught. Yoda plans to wait patiently until it is time for Yoda to do his part in bringing down the Sith. However, Bail’s star ship comes under fire from Palpatine’s forces. Bail’s ship is boarded by Palpatine’s minions. Obi-Wan and young Luke escape aboard an escape pod headed towards Tatooine. Bail Organa claims young Leia to be his own child. Also, Bail Organa makes certain that C-3PO's memory will be erased. On the bridge of a star destroyer Palpatine, Vader and Tarkin are seen standing and looking out into space. They are watching the death star being constructed.

After arriving on Tatooine, Obi-Wan requests that Owen and Beru Lars take care of young Luke. Obi-Wan tells Owen and Beru that Anakin died fighting in the Clone Wars. Understandably, Owen blames the Jedi for Anakin’s fate stating that the Jedi never should have taken Anakin from Tatooine in the first place. Owen and Beru decide to raise young Luke as their own child and seek to never see Obi-Wan again. Obi-Wan now goes by the name Ben and stays close by to watch Luke grow up. Fade to black. Roll end credits.

www.supershadow.com

[The Duke]

Although it would be rather interesting to see how Lucas would portray the events following "Return of the Jedi", I am not exactly positive that he should film them, and do not believe that he will. If he was to film episodes 7, 8, and 9, would they be as successful as the previous 6? I, as well as many other die-hard "Star Wars" fans, would rush to see them, but I am not so sure about the rest of the general public. However, there is a certain level of curiosity to see how Lucas would display the events in film, and how he may use events in the novels, if at all, to assist in his film making.

[The Duke]

As far as the proposed plot summary for Episode III, it seems as if it amy be accurate, but I remain skeptical. The major plot events, such as Padme's death, Anakin's transformation, the Jedi purge, etc. definitely will take place, but will they take place as presented in the plot summary? Everyone has their ideas, and it is exciting to read them all, put them all together, and to see how things come out.

I am interested to see how Chewbacca's role will pan out in this film, even though it is a minimal one. There is supposed to be a battle on his home planet, but how he will enter into things, I am not sure.

And will Billy Dee Williams appear as a young Lando? Just kidding.

O.k., I'll shut up now!

[stallion]

Awesome plot summary. I'm excited to see the movie, although it no doubt ends on a low note. The summary sounds very accurate, but then again, I know next to nothing about the new movie. I would like to see Episodes 7-9, but it seemed like everything came full circle with Return of the Jedi. The whole overarching story of Anakin starting out innocent, being corrupted by evil and finally reconciling with his humanity has been resolved. That, in essence, is Star Wars, or at least the main part of it. With that resolved, the only reason to make the new movies would be to continue the story of the characters established in 4-6. But none of the actors could play their characters, considering most of them would be far too old (unless it's supposed to take place 25+ years in the future). I'm not sure I would want to see a Star Wars with new actors playing Luke, Han, Leia, etc. Had this been done even 15 years ago, I'd be for it. Now, I think they should just leave it alone, unless Lucas is going to take the story in a whole new direction, perhaps long after the characters of 4-6 are dead. Who knows.

[LotB]

You can see a four minute long trailer that includes bits of Episode III at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00003CXCT/qid=1093913590/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-8017951-4317630?v=glance&s=dvd , the page for the forthcoming DVD release of the original trilogy. In this trailer, you actually get to see Anakin wearing a black cape and lightsaber dueling with Obi-Won Kenobi at about 3:20. There's supposed to be a lot of good stuff in the boxed set; I guess I'll know when it arrives since I pre-ordered the sucker.

[muthagoose]

Seeing as how the release of the original Star Wars Trilogy is being released next week for the first time on DVD, here is the latest on the set...

Lucasfilm spokesman Jim Ward told SCI FI Wire that the company strongly defends Star Wars creator George Lucas' right to make controversial alterations to his beloved original trilogy of films in the upcoming DVD release. "It comes down to what [Lucas] has said constantly, which is that he very strongly believes in an artist's right to have his work presented in the way he wants it presented," Ward said in an interview at the press preview of the DVD set in Los Angeles. "In terms of your own personal art, and how you want it to be presented, the artist has that right."

The DVD set of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi includes changes to the 1997 so-called "special editions" of the movies, which were released theatrically. Those films in turn significantly altered the original release versions of the movies. But Ward, vice president of marketing and distribution at Lucasfilm Ltd., said, "With the '97 version of the film, or what he feels is closer to his original vision, he couldn't accomplish [certain things] back in 1977, and people either like it, or they don't. We respect that point of view. But at the end of the day George feels very strongly about artists' rights."

SCI FI Wire obtained an early copy of the DVD set and confirmed reported changes that have been made to the films since the 1997 release, when Lucas used state-of-the-art computer technology to make what he considered improvements to the original movies' visual effects. The new changes, detailed below, are largely revisions to earlier edits or changes made to include actors and character developments unveiled in the prequel films Episodes I-III. Among the changes:

•In Episode IV: A New Hope, the controversial confrontation in the cantina in Mos Eisley has been changed yet again. The villainous Greedo now fires shots at Han Solo (Harrison Ford) at the same time Solo fires back. In the original film, Solo fired first; in 1997, Lucas changed the scene to have Greedo fire first.

•Also in Episode IV, 1997's added computer-generated footage of Jabba the Hutt appears to have been improved, with more fluid motion.

•In Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the hologram image of the Emperor has been altered to feature Ian McDiarmid, the actor who played the Emperor in Return of the Jedi and appears in all three prequel films. The scene's dialogue has also changed to clarify the progression of Luke Skywalker’s training as a Jedi, as well as to acknowledge the relationship between Luke and Vader. In the original release of Empire, the Emperor's image was played by an unbilled old woman wearing prosthetic makeup, with chimpanzee eyes superimposed in post-production into darkened eye sockets, the official Star Wars Web site reported. The original voice was provided by Clive Revill.

•In Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker is added as a ghostly image in the final scenes of the film, alongside Yoda and Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan Kenobi. But Sebastian Shaw remains as the face of Darth Vader/Anakin in the scene in which Luke removes Vader's helmet, and not Christensen, as had been rumored.

The star Wars Trilogy DVD set hits retailers on Sept. 21.

[muthagoose]

The Star Wars Trilogy

Special Features:
"Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy"

Audio Commentary by George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Irvin Kershner (ESB Only)

The Legendary Characters of Star Wars

The Birth of the Lightsaber

The Force is with Them: The Legacy of Star Wars

Teasers, trailers, TV spots, still galleries, poster galleries

Playable Xbox demo of the new Lucasarts game Star Wars Battlefront

Battlefront Trailer

The Making of the Episode III Videogame

Episode III Preview – The Return of Darth Vader

DVD-ROM Weblink

Other Info:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround Sound EX
THX Certified
English, French, and Spanish Dolby 2.0 Surround
Running Time: A New Hope: 123 Minutes, The Empire Strikes Back: 129 Minutes, Return of the Jedi: 136 Minutes, Bonus Material: 236 Minutes

Synopsis:
This is the first time that the Original Trilogy has been released on DVD. Episode IV – A New Hope was originally released in 1977. Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back was originally released in 1980. Episode VI – Return of the Jedi was originally released in 1983.

The George Lucas Changes:
But let's get down to the real item of interest – the latest changes. In case you weren't aware, George Lucas has tinkered with the films yet again. There have been more changes since the Special Editions of 1997. Some of the changes are very minor. Others are pretty dramatic. Here's a quick rundown of what you'll find as far as changes go and my thoughts on them:

Greedo Still Shoots First – Unfortunately, this scene still looks terrible. It was bad enough to make Greedo shoot first in an effort to make Han seem less cold blooded, but now they have made Han dodge the shot. As the blaster bolt comes towards his head, Han jerkily moves to the left. No matter how they tinker with it, it still looks bad.

A New Jabba – This modification to A New Hope actually looks better than it did in the Special Edition.

Longer Cellblock Hallways – This is one of those minor changes that you might miss if you didn't know about it. If you look carefully, you'll notice that the cellblock corridor is much longer than before. I don't have any real opinion one way or another on this one.

A New Emperor – In the Empire Strikes Back, the old Emperor has been changed. Originally it was an old woman with chimpanzee eyes and the voice of Clive Revell. Now it is Ian McDiarmid in his full Emperor makeup. For the sake of continuity, I think this is a good change. However, there's a much more significant modification to this scene. The dialogue has now been changed so that it appears that Darth Vader never knew of the existence of Luke Skywalker. The Emperor now reveals to Darth for the first time that Luke is his son. The implication of this is that in Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Anakin doesn't know about the existence of Luke. In the past fans always assumed that Darth Vader knew Luke had been born or at least thought he had been hidden or was dead. This ends up being one of the biggest modifications to the story in this edition. (It also ends up killing a few Expanded Universe stories where Vader learns earlier that his son blew up the first Death Star.)

Boba's New Voice – In ESB and ROTJ, Boba Fett's voice has been replaced by that of Temuera Morrison's (aka Jango Fett and the Clonetroopers). It's a minor change, but for the sake of consistency I think it's welcome.

Anakin Sans Eyebrows and New Eyes – In Return of the Jedi when Darth Vader is unmasked, a couple of modifications have been made to Anakin Skywalker. His bushy eyebrows have been removed and his eye color has been changed. This is yet another change for the sake of continuity and it will make more sense after Episode III. A burn victim wouldn't have eyebrows anyway, so it makes sense.

Naboo Celebration – Added to the celebration at the end of Return of the Jedi is a brief scene showing Naboo, thus revealing that the planet wasn't destroyed at the end of Episode III.

The Jedi Temple – In the Coruscant Celebration scene, you can now see the Senate and the Jedi Temple still standing in the background. In the Expanded Universe, it was always assumed that the Temple had been destroyed.

The Ghost of Hayden – Probably the most notable of any of the changes in this edition is the addition of Hayden Christensen at the end of Return of the Jedi. He replaces Sebastian Shaw as the ghost of Anakin at the end of the film. While it seems like more blasphemy, Lucas explains in the commentary that when you become a ghost in the Force, you retain the form of your true self. Anakin's last form of his true self was as a young man, not as a burned up old guy, hence the modification. This may make more sense after Episode III, but it's definitely a controversial change. It will take me a while to buy it.

Other Changes – There are other minor changes here and there in the films. In ESB, Han's jacket which magically appeared in the carbon freezing scene has been removed. In ROTJ, the Rancor matte lines have been cleaned up. In ANH, the Dianoga (trash compactor monster) has had its eye tweaked a little. I'm sure there are other changes that will be found along the way.

The Extras:
One thing becomes immediately apparent when looking at these DVD extras – this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are a million things that could have been added to this disc that weren't. There are no deleted scenes. Mark Hamill doesn't contribute to the commentary. Some of the old "making of" TV specials aren't here. There's nothing on the merchandising. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Lucasfilm is holding back.

Now on to the highlights of the bonus features:

"Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy" – This 2 ½ hour documentary by Kevin Burns covers the making of the complete Star Wars Trilogy. It starts with Lucas making THX-1138 and ends with discussion of the 1997 Special Editions and Episode I.This documentary is worth the price of the DVD set by itself.

Audio Commentary by George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Irvin Kershner (ESB Only) – On the commentaries for these films, each of the contributors were recorded separately.

The Legendary Characters of Star Wars – This featurette goes into great detail about the development of the core Star Wars characters. They talk about how Han Solo was originally a green, gilled alien. There are details about the evolution of Luke Skywalker from female to male. They talk about how Darth Vader got his trademark look. If you're a hard core Star Wars fan, then it's not much that you haven't heard before. But again, the interviews, art, and behind the scenes footage that flashes by makes it all worth it. And like in the other documentaries, there were a few pieces of art that I didn't recall seeing before. Be sure to watch the credits for some really funny outtakes.

The Birth of the Lightsaber – In this feature Lucas, Hamill, and others get into the origin of the lightsaber. They talk about how the idea came about, how they achieved the effect on set, how ILM added the glow, and how Ben Burtt created the sound effect for them. There's some cool behind the scenes footage here, too, the highlight of which is a look at the final lightsaber battle in ROTJ. It's shown without the effects and Hamill is shown beating Darth Vader and then his own lightsaber breaks and flies off onto the set. And like the other feature, there are some hilarious outtakes during the credits.

The Force is with Them: The Legacy of Star Wars – This feature discusses how Star Wars and George Lucas affected various filmmakers in the industry. There are interviews with James Cameron, Ridley Scott, John Lasseter, Roland Emmerich, Peter Jackson, Dean Devlin, John Singleton, and others. They talk about how the storytelling, tone, look, and pacing of the film affected their own styles. They also talk about how ILM freed them to do amazing effects. While it's undeniable that Star Wars had a dramatic impact on these filmmakers, the video occasionally makes it seem like Lucas is taking credit for some of the films' successes. There's a ton of footage from Lord of the Rings here and it comes across as if they wouldn't have happened without Lucas. It was the same with Toy Story. The film points out that Lucas owned Pixar, but it fails to mention that it only really became successful after he sold it. Despite this, it's a fun video and it's interesting to hear some of my favorite directors talk about how Star Wars impacted them.

Teasers, trailers, TV spots, still galleries, poster galleries

The Making of the Episode III Videogame

Episode III Preview – The Return of Darth Vader – This was actually the first bonus feature that I checked out. It discusses the appearance of Darth Vader in Episode III. You see the helmet and costume being fabricated, Ewan and Hayden practicing their final battle, and finally Hayden donning the costume. If you look carefully, you'll see Vader is manacled to a board (ala Frankenstein) with Darth Sidious standing nearby. It's a great teaser for the final prequel.

Easter Egg, it's on the Bonus Materials disc under the Video Game and Still Galleries menu. To access it, you must hit "1138" or some variation of it. It's different on every player. On a Sony, you hit "11", then "3", then "8". On a Panasonic, you hit ">10", "11", ">10", "38". It may be different on other players, but if the box by R2 lights up, you're on the right track. This will lead you to a blooper and outtake reel that's 4.5 minutes long. You'll see Boba Fett hunt Wicket on the Death Star, Chewie catch on fire, Fisher delivering funny lines to Jabba, and more.

[LotB]

I find it interesting that I keep seeing the phrase "return of Darth Vader" everywhere in connection with this movie, even in official Star Wars literature and press releases.

It's the advent of Darth Vader, not his return, dammit.

[LotB]

You know, there is one facet of the Star Wars saga that I've always pondered. In the beginning of Episode 4, why can't Vader sense that Leia is his daughter? Or at least that "the Force is strong with this one?" Vader never had any trouble detecting Luke.

I suppose it had to be that way or the story would be ruined before it ever began, but still....

Any thoughts?

[LotB]

I finally broke down and read the Episode III plot summary at the beginning of this thread. I was trying to avoid doing that lest I spoil the movie for myself. After reading it, I'm pretty skeptical of its accuracy. The Padme death description in particular makes me raise a brow.

The story always was that Padme took baby Leia to Alderran and stayed nearby. Obi-Wan took Luke and went to Tatooine. In Return of the Jedi, during the scene in the Ewok village where Luke reveals their family lineage to Leia, Leia states that her mother died when she was very young, but she does remember her mother being beautiful and kind yet sad, or something to that effect. That statement to me, does not correlate with this plot summary's assertion that Padme dies upon giving birth. I'd have to say that she lives long enough for Leia to have at least known her for a year or two.

I suppose Lucas could have gone and changed things, but the above is how he originally wrote the story. In the end, we'll just have to wait and see.

[The Duke]

How accurate do you all think that the plot summaries are? Just curious as to what you all think. I think they seem fairly on target, but with Lucas, you never know.

[The Duke]

By the way, does anyone know/have seen or heard anything about the new Star Wars Battlefront game?

[Ponyone]

I believe it to be somewhat accurate but all in all - I think somebody put all of this together just as their "idea" of what will happen. It seems like they basically put everything together from the new and old movies and came up with this.

I did however read an Official Star Wars companion book a long time ago that sorta described the battle between Obiwan and Annakin. This was pretty close if I remember right and Obiwan does indeed win and severely injures Annakin, thus basically transforming him into Darth Vader. Padme I'm not so sure about. I think I agree with LOTB in that she doesn't die while giving birth - I actually think she will play some role in Annakin becoming Vader. There just seems to be something else big missing that turns Annakin to Vader...What do you think???

[CaticusRex]

Battlefront lets you play in any battle from the star wars universe from which ever side you choose. You can be a rebel soldier fighting the empire at Hoth or then become a empirial soldier smacking Ewok ass on Endor... seen several screen shots and it looks damn cool. They seem to be showing the commercials for it all over Spike TV! I have seen it several times tonight!

Now as for the "rumors" about the third movie I like what I read. I do agree with LotB that there are somethings that need answering, like the Padme death, but I still like parts of what I have heard. As for how Vader comes to be... wasn`t there a rumor when the first prequel came out that Obi-Wan and Padme fell for each other? I remember hearing people state thats why she is exactly , in age, right between Obi-Wan and Anakin?? Not sure but I thought I read that.

Maybe it wasn`t that Obi-Wan and Padme fell inlove too but maybe Anakin starts to think that and becomes jealous??

I don`t know...

[LotB]

Though I'm not much of a gamer, I may have to break protocol and buy this one. Because most nothing would be more satisfying than blasting the crap out of some Ewoks. The theme song to their knock-off cartoon is still stuck in my head from twenty years ago, and it still sucks.

[stallion]

I heard that Knights of the Old Republic game for Xbox was pretty bad ass. However, I don't have an Xbox so I can't say for sure. As far as I know, Vinny Cat and Muthagoose are the only ones who do.

[muthagoose]

I had Knights of The Old Republic. It was a decent game. I am not really into role playing adventures... that is why I think that the new game looks a little more appealing.

[Ponyone]

I found a Star Wars Spoof Site while cruising around the net...There are cartoon videos on here - most of them are kinda dumb but its worth checking out:

www.starwarsspoofs.com/

[muthagoose]

So I picked up Star Wars Battlefront for the XBOX yesterday. The game is really great. We got about 2 hours under our belts last night. The graphics on the XBOX are some of the best I have seen on that system.

Among some of the interesting things I have done so far... snipe Jawas, take out 3 Ewoks with one hand grenade, steal a snowpeeder and crash it into a generator on Hoth.

One minus on the game is that it is only 2 player, I am sure they had to do that to make the graphics render faster. But the load times are fast and i haven't yet noticed a slowdown while playing.

A plus for the game is that the give you 2 free months of XBOX Live with the purchase. You could use this to play online with others. I have wanted to check out XBOX Live for a while but the price is too steep for me.

I imagine that with the Network Adapter for Playstation 2 you can play online and it would be pretty badass. Also it is free to play PS2 online, so that is an advantage.

[LotB]

Goose - according to what I found at www.lucasarts.com/games/swbattlefront/ , you can have 24 players on a XBox, 32 players on a PC, or 16 players on a PS2. I assume you're talking about only 2 players just on the console itself. I suspect the PC version may be worth my further investigation...

[muthagoose]

According to the gang at IESB Filmmaker Kevin Smith could the man that'll be handed the keys to the Falcon should a new "Star Wars" TV series get off the ground.

An insider tells the site that "He [Smith] is well recognized with the fandom and he was worked on some capacity with Lucasfilm during a Hasbro commercial a few years back, he is also a very good writer. I just hope that he [George] doesn't just do the TV series for the money that it will make and end up giving us a weekly kiddie show, he needs to learn from the mistakes from Star Trek and give sci-fi fans a quality show".

[LotB]

It would be awesome if the show pans out. In the Star Wars universe, space travel has existed for thousands upon thousands of years, and the Jedi have been the Guardians of the Republic for 1,000 generations (1 generation roughly=20 years, so that would be 20,000 years the Jedi have existed), so it would be easy enough to set the show to take place 1,000 years before the birth of Anakin Skywalker, and introduce us to a whole new group of Jedi and their wacky adventures. Just one thought. There are other good ways it could be done as well.

[LotB]

When Obsessive Geek Fans Go Too Far...

Use the Force, Lamers!

Check out these phonebook listings for quite a few jokers who have had their names legally changed to Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and of course, Darth Vader. Especially pathetic is the guy who changed his name and could not even spell "Anakin" correctly. One Californian also chose not to spell "Vader" the same way it is in the films. Not sure if that's a mistake or not. We should get together sometime and place calls to some of these folks.

www.411.com/search/Find_Person?firstname_begins_with=1&firstname=&name=kenobi&city_zip=&state_id=

www.411.com/search/Find_Person?firstname_begins_with=1&firstname=&name=skywalker&city_zip=&state_id=

www.411.com/search/Find_Person?firstname=darth&name=vader&city_zip=&state_id=

www.411.com/search/Find_Person?firstname_begins_with=1&firstname=&name=vadar&city_zip=&state_id=

I can't help but suspect that "I. M. Skywalker" and "O.B. Kenobi" both of Brandon, Mississippi are in some way connected. There may be more connections; I didn't want to spend the time looking.