Trailer Blazer: 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'

Greg Fri, Aug 15, 2008 at 10:58 AM EST

I tend to agree with Logan above, if they can take the time to do this new animated movie, then it is time to get on with the 3rd trilogy that occurs after Jedi. It starts with "Splinter of the Mind's Eye". I do think the animated movie looks interesting, but I wish it could have done with live actors. Does anyone know if it is the voices of the original actors? Like does Christopher Lee still do Count Dooku's voice? I'll still go see this film. Perhaps if we all support it, then they'll get busy with "splinter" soon!!!!

Skyrunner Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 11:52 PM EST

I think it may be time to throw in the towel. I have been a SW fan for 30 years. The thought of a Fast Food promotion, action figure collection, books, and comic books based on a cartoon movie, about a war, that was a smoke screen for the Sith rise to power. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Wed, Jun 11, 2008 at 10:00 AM EST

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Johnboy Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 06:31 AM EST

What is the matter with everybody? If any of you were this pessimistic and overly analytical when the original films came out, you would have bagged them too. Just shut your minds off and forget about comparing and analysing every aspect of the film. Just enjoy it for what it is, an expansion on a great story and a great world that we can escape into and forget about everything else. Lighten up.

Logan Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 04:20 AM EST

Well whatever would prefer to see real
actors not a cartoon and a new story oh! well what a waste of time ,well unless ur a kid, instead of the past
let's go toward the future like the next episode (Splinter of the Mind's Eye) that would be #7 not this crap.?????????????????????????

sammo Tue, May 20, 2008 at 02:47 PM EST

the clone wars micro series was really well plotted and it built up to the finale really well, and a animated anakin will have better acting than Hayden Christiansen so this looks good, childish but good, the prequel series was rubbish but it made me (age 13) really interested in star wars so then i watched the originals which i absolutely loved however this film might just save the prequel trilogy.

steve continued.. Thu, May 15, 2008 at 02:00 AM EST

I know people think that the idea of Jabba having a son is stupid... but i hope the movie doesnt focus too much on Jabba. Sidious is the one pulling everyone and eveything into totally chaos. JABBA"S SON IS JUST ONE OF THE MANY WAYS SIDIOUS CAN TURN THE HUTT"S AGAINST THE JEDI . WHY? YOU ASK. REMEMBER THE HUTTS ARE POWERFUL AND RICH IN FUNDS $MONEY$. IF SIDIOUS CAN CONVINCE (SO TO SPEAK) JABBA THAT THE JEDI HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS SONS KIDNAPPING. THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER POWERFUL FOE THE JEDI WOULD HAVE TO FACE AS FOR BEING RICH WOULDNT IT MAKE SENSE THAT THE HUTTS COULD FUND THE SEPARTISTS.... WHO AGREES WITH ME?

Khal Shariff Tue, May 13, 2008 at 01:47 AM EST

I think this looks very interesting and skews a little younger, and includes girl characters.
Know what? Speed Racer is truly original , magnificent cinema, and critics wailed on it. Some people don't get it, some people don't want original content. Now you might think I'm going to justify another Star Wars prequel for this reason. I won't. I think "Clone Wars" looks great, and I appreciate that they did not go for realism, but rather artwork. I just hope people are ready for it. If it makes a decent profit, it's worth it. It doesn't have to be a "Blockbuster." The Cartoon Network's treatment was very interesting and inspiring. I hope people go see it. Brand counts for a lot, and I think maybe with Speed Racer they overestimated the brand loyalty of some cool 90s cult shirts, but when all is said and done, the critics did Speed Racer in. I truly believe it this time. With Clone Wars, I bet it pulls off some way-good reviews. Lucas does put a lot of effort into the quality.

Tony Mon, May 12, 2008 at 11:29 PM EST

When I first saw this new TV series I thought it was going to suck because of the animation looked so dumb they didn't have to make it look like that but when I saw this trailer it doesn't look too bad even though it has a stupid plot. I hated the cartoon ones before they were terrible! I couldn't watch it, it was just as bad as the christmas special.

EP Sato Mon, May 12, 2008 at 12:18 PM EST

I'm with Nat X. The Marvel Comics Star Wars series lasted for four years after Episode VI and focused on the universe after the death of the emperor. Seems to me that if Lucas wants to continue in his own wacky brand of politics, he'd do best to describe the new post imperial galactic government and show it in the context of the new rebel planets, the new Senate (and the old Senate families who rose to power during the empire), and the lingering old Imperial ships and outposts that weren't a part of the armada destroyed at Endor.

But why bother with something new right? It's much easier to rehash the lamer part of the series with stuff that happened "in the middle". Heck, Disney's made dozens of straight to DVD "Beauty and the Beast" movies that all take place during the time that Belle was at the Beast's castle. Nevermind that the story was settled in the first movie...

Cruball Mon, May 12, 2008 at 11:46 AM EST

Hutts are hermaphrodites and I doubht lucas is gonna try and explain that on screen.....not to mention hutts arent that friendly with their children.

Nat X Mon, May 12, 2008 at 11:24 AM EST

Argh, the reason Eps 1-3 can't match the originals is because politics and fighting by themselves are not interesting. With the originals, you had a geeky "everyman" raised out in the sticks who learns how to kick arse. You have comic relief in a swaggering pirate who also knows how to kick arse. Add a tough chick who can also be hilarious... Man, the prequels were dry and tedious compared with the true Star Wars movies. Attempts at humor or romance fell flat. I totally didn't care about the characters. So, Clone Wars? No thanks. How about adapting some of the novels that take place AFTER Return of the Jedi?

Incense the Haters Mon, May 12, 2008 at 10:22 AM EST

I could care less about world-wide grosses, who cares if LOTR was more popular in Zaire?

I know dozens of people who saw the prequels more than once in the theatres, so if they did not like them then why did they go back again? The only way films crack $300-400 million is if people like them enough to go more than once, which was the case with the prequels.

The sad part is that the prequel-haters and critics, minimized by the prequel's HUGE success, are not content with moving on, and they will always have to whine about how they "would have done this" or "Lucas shold have done that".

Newsflash: George Lucas owes you nothing, and anyone who says he "raped your childhood" needs to get out of their parent's basement and stop blaming the flanneled one for not making the exact movie they expected after 20 years of anticipation. The haters are pathetic, and the vast majority of the Star Wars fanbase could care less what they think.

RP Mon, May 12, 2008 at 09:45 AM EST

@invalidname: I agree and I was really disappointed that the vision didn't come up in the movies at all.

@Incense the haters: Just because people went to see the movie doesn't mean that they enjoyed it. I'm sure many people liked the movies ok but how many people REALLY liked the prequels? I would argue the real measure of whether people liked a movie is how many people saw it multiple times in theaters and how many people bought the movie. (And for the record both LOTR and HP did better than the SW prequels world wide).

Rich Mon, May 12, 2008 at 09:19 AM EST

Remember when the Star Wars universe used to be this big sprawling thing with infinite possibilities? Then Lucas decided that everything in the prequels had to relate to something in the original trilogy (Jango Fett=Stormtroopers; Chewbacca helps Yoda battle on Kysshyk; Annakin grew up on Tatooine, etc.) and that was that. A key part of the clone wars is the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt's kid? Please.

RP Mon, May 12, 2008 at 09:15 AM EST

I've of an opposite mind from MikeknaJ: the only thing that might get me to see this in theaters is the fact that it's a WB movie. That means it might have been done by the same people who did "Clone Wars" for Cartoon Network. If it does turn out to have been created by the same people I'll give it a shot. Otherwise I'm with Gary Susman and Rebel_Joo. I don't care about the plot and I don't like the style of the animation.

I can't quite put my finger on why I don't like the animation (I liked it for the "Clone Wars" series and I generally don't dislike CGI) but it just looks off.

invalidname Mon, May 12, 2008 at 08:29 AM EST

BTW, the best thing I think I've seen come out of the prequels is Genndy Tartakovsky second "Clone Wars" animated series for Cartoon Network, particularly a remarkable sequence where Annakin has a vision of animated cave drawings that presages his fall to the dark side, concluding in a blink-and-you-miss-it image of Darth Vader.

invalidname Mon, May 12, 2008 at 08:24 AM EST

I saw this trailer before "Speed Racer" this weekend and was surprised by how cold it left me. As a kid, I could recite the dialogue to "The Empire Strikes Back" before falling asleep at night, but the prequels have bored and annoyed me and this trailer seemed loud and lifeless. Honestly, what most sparked my attention was realizing that WB, not Fox, is releasing it.

Nick Mon, May 12, 2008 at 07:57 AM EST

If none of you have read any of the Extended Universe books, and just seen the 6 movies, you are really missing out. There is a TON more out there, and all the books are written by excellent scifi authors...including Timothy Zahn. There are MANY stories in the Clone Wars and many battles, and many instances where the Jedi come close to discovering Palpatine as the culprit...including being discovered by Clone troopers who end up getting killed by Palpatine's force electricity. Read the books, and you will be eager for more Star Wars movies and animations like me. They really can make a New Jedi Order trilogy featuring the original cast of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, etc. since its based in the future where Han and Leia are married with Jedi kids, as does Luke getting married and has kids. They would suit the age perfectly.

chuck Mon, May 12, 2008 at 02:08 AM EST

i really think this idea stinks. i've been a huge star wars fan all my life, but after the last trilogy, i have very little faith in lucas to deliver.

i love star wars but lucas needs to leave it to others now to carry on the dream...he is actually holding the whole frachise back.

the best thing that happened to star wars was empire, not directed by lucas. there are alot of fan boys he has inspired to direct film (ie kevin smith) if he comissioned new films with directors with passion, i believe it would re-energize the whole franchise again. marvel comics is the epitome of this idea.

george, if you are reading this, let other people take star wars and run with it.

oola Mon, May 12, 2008 at 12:15 AM EST

Im with you and I'm a fan.

Incense the haters Sun, May 11, 2008 at 06:41 PM EST

The prequels were excellent, and Revenge of the Sith got overall better reviews than Return of the Jedi.

Regardless, this debate has been moot since 2005 - Domestically the prequels made more than the 3 Lord of the Rings movies did in the USA, and pound per pound have performed better than the Harry Potter, Narnia films, etc. Obviously, ALOT of people like these movies.

Consider, the visitors on AICN and other fansites/blogs that whine about the SW Prequels are only a tiny percentage of the fanbase, and as the failure of "Snakes on a Plane" and other internet-hyped movies proved, their true influence is vastly over-rated. The media never understood this, but the box office numbers were all I needed to see to know that Lucas was vindicated for making the movies he wanted to make.

Accept it, the vast majority of fans accept the prequels, and the prequel's success and the fact that you are here arguing over a spin-off is all the proof necessary.

bird Sun, May 11, 2008 at 06:28 PM EST

I loved the TV eps of The Clone Wars, and while the familiar music, sound effects and voice acting are exciting, I am SO NOT loving the new animation look.

StaleCake Sun, May 11, 2008 at 02:37 PM EST

TO NEIL: I'm not in the habit of correcting in comments, but since your post is based on writing, the word is "drivel", not "dribble."

Andy Sun, May 11, 2008 at 02:16 PM EST

So I liked the part when it said we would see Star Wars like we've never seen it before. Weren't the last 3 prequels nothing but cgi too? Burn.

Neil Sun, May 11, 2008 at 03:07 AM EST

What a pointless article. Poorly written and sarcastic. Why not just post the trailer without the dribble written by some tuppenny journalism major? Writing about "feelin'" a trailer? Writing about how certain fictional alien species reproduce (as if it matters to anyone but the prurient)? What, the EW budget doesn't allow for writers over 12 years old? A complete lack of research, a complete lack of context (why not talk about how this film is bucking the trend of marketing cgi animated animals films?). Why do these so-called writers have to write in a voice that sounds as badly as people speak? Why not aim higher?

Ah, EW, you never fail to disappoint. Entertainment? Weakly.

The trailer looked good. Nicely devoid of hokey jokes and sarcasm. This means the film will do well among the true fans, but maybe not among the lowest-common-denominator crowd.

Susan Sun, May 11, 2008 at 01:01 AM EST

The only prequels going these days are the Batman ones,since they're giving depth to characters like Bruce Wayne&the Joker.

I also liked "Revenge of the Sith." For the prequels,it was the strongest,and the ending is quite powerful. Lucas should've stopped there.

It's a shame,really. George Lucas has an immense amount of talent. The original Star Wars trilogy will always stand as a cinematic sci-fi masterpiece. It's sad to see him frittering away his time&talent on prequels that are nothing more than video games.

The plot premise-saving Jabba the Hutt's son,throwing in a female Jedi warrior for the sake of political correctness&tossing in a villainess only diehard fans care about-is ridiculous. I was a Star Wars fan once. I'd watch Clone Wars out of my love for B movies,however!

Steven Sat, May 10, 2008 at 10:17 PM EST

I always though a TV show following the chronicles of Ani and Obi would be a good idea. I'll give this a chance because only the first prequil sucked (and it was a lot more than Jar-Jar that killed that movie) and I imagine they can do something interesting. And while it may be a stretch trying to fit Jabba into the movie for the sake of bringing back an old face, it could be good.

J. Sat, May 10, 2008 at 07:04 PM EST

This trailer inspires me to yawn, "Who cares?" And Jabba's son? The plot surrounds Jabba's son!? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Sounds like th premise for a mediocre video game. Go back to the drawing board and give us something note-worthy if you're going to charge us money for this.

MikeknaJ Sat, May 10, 2008 at 05:31 PM EST

I'll see it. You know what really bothered me about this trailer? Seeing the Warner Bros logo at the start, instead of 20th Century Fox. It's just wrong.

Rob Grizzly Sat, May 10, 2008 at 04:32 PM EST

I hate the animation.
I hate that the movie is even animated at all.
I don't care about Jabba's kid. i hate that this is all still prequel material (didn't those suck?) Who cares, we know how it all ends up, anyway.
It annoys me when people claim being a "true" fan means eating up anything and everything with a Star Wars name attached, without thinking twice.
God forbid a "true" fan actually have standards and expect quality stories.
These prequels have ruined what I once loved. Are we going to follow Anakin on every little freakin adventure he had from now on? I miss Luke and Leia

erik Sat, May 10, 2008 at 04:11 PM EST

Marc wrote:
"There's a certain element of suspense that'll be missing since we know how things will ultimately turn out for all the pre-exisiting characters"
WHAT? Since Episode I you knew the outcome of the majority of the characters in Star Wars. You knew anikan would become Darth Vader, you knew Obi Wan would survive and go into hiding, you knew Yoda would survive and go into hiding, and the rest of the Jedi would die. Where was the surprise in Episode I - III?

blah Sat, May 10, 2008 at 03:56 PM EST

The reason the reblic cares about Jaaba is the CIS has cut of many trade routes but Jaaba has his own secert ones so if you have an allinance with Jaaba you can most likely use his trade routes.

Pat Sat, May 10, 2008 at 02:47 PM EST

EW doing what it does best - trashing a movie before it comes out.

Marc Sat, May 10, 2008 at 12:51 PM EST

As a life-long SW fan, I found myself surprisingly blasé when they announced this animated feature. There's a certain element of suspense that'll be missing since we know how things will ultimately turn out for all the pre-exisiting characters. That said, seeing the trailer has actually sparked some enthusiam for me. The style of animation suits the material. But how weird is it going to be watching this thing and NOT hearing the 20th Century Fox Fanfare at the beginning? A Warner Bros. logo instead? That just feels wrong, you know?

James Sat, May 10, 2008 at 12:29 PM EST

As a die hard Star Wars fan, I can not wait to see this on the big screen. Of course its going to be awesome, and even if it isn't, I'll still say it is!

Sat, May 10, 2008 at 12:02 PM EST

The place to run is behind anakin and Obi-Wan

Maeve Sat, May 10, 2008 at 10:56 AM EST

I can't believe how bad that looks. I'm still irate over the fact that the Clone Wars weren't depicted in the prequels, so we never got a chance to see Anakin do anything cool.
And why would anyone care about Jabba's son? Ew. Now I have to think about Jabba having sex.

Freddie Sat, May 10, 2008 at 08:56 AM EST

I am still trying to wipe clean the memory of Hayden Christensen's atrocious acting.

Beth Sat, May 10, 2008 at 07:13 AM EST

I really didn't care for the latest Star Wars Prequel trilogy. I am happy with the original three. In the latest trilogy, the dialogue was as bad as ever, acting robotic, and all three movies contained the worst plots. I am not excited about this new venture because it will probably be the same thing. Great action, but that's it. The new rice cakes of Sci-Fi...just blah.

Kris Sat, May 10, 2008 at 06:42 AM EST

fett head dont talk in caps, it makes u look like a jerk. as for this clone wars series, my biggest concern is lack of character depth. sure from the movies we already know alot of the characters, but i think id like to see them talking. and as for what we have already seen with the hutts son taken, who cares? why should anyone care? the republic has this massive army to easily counter all hutt forces, and so they shouldnt even be a player in this time of star wars (20 BBY).

i hope they dont go too much on the hutts, even though that was the only thing talked about in the trailer.

steve Sat, May 10, 2008 at 05:35 AM EST

theres so many characters that have connections with each other. for example, in Episode1 (greedo who gets shot by han solo) is anakins friend, the scene where everyone is gathered around anakins pod racer. greedo is in that scene. what im trying to say is that Emperor palpatine uses everyone as a distraction(s) so that his evil plot wont be revealed. jabba has alot to do with the different connections. jabba was once anakins onwer, & the other reason why hes so important is because the hutts aka jabba were influential that the hutts controled the commerce on entire worlds scattered throughout the Outer Rim and elsewhere. jabba would benefit sidious in a few ways. 1. fuel anakins hate because he once was owned by jabba, 2. money, 3. he a distraction; sidious orders dooku to kidnap hutts son it tears the galaxy apart further. im sure there are more reasons im to tired to think of any more. i hope this helped email me if you want to discuss anything further.... =)

BrandonK Sat, May 10, 2008 at 05:24 AM EST

While I agree that it has a video game cut scene quality to it, I don't have a problem with that at all. I actually have grown to like the way it looks (for a while, I was weirded out by the eyes and hair of the people, but everything else looks awesome). My only concern now is that they're not showing much of people talking, and what they have shown looks janky. I really hope mouths line up with words somewhat convincingly...that's a bit of a pet peeve of mine.
Also, Genndy Tartakovsky's Clone Wars mini-episodes were bite-sized works of art that added up to a perfectly satisfying meal. I don't expect anything else to match them. I did enjoy all of the prequels, though, plus the original movies and some of the video games and books, so I reckon I'll enjoy this too!

Anthony Mallard Sat, May 10, 2008 at 04:04 AM EST

Bottom line ladies and gentlemen this is another piece of the story. Being 32 and just finding this on accident I can tell U that 4 true fans any piece of this story played out right b4 your eyes is a dream come true. 4 those of U that understand there was a day when we thought that it was done with Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi... With the idea that George wasn't going 2 do anything with it or let anyone else touch it. At this point I'll take claymation figures as long as I get 2 watch more of the story.

Mozz Sat, May 10, 2008 at 01:05 AM EST

This looks like a 2001 video game...computer animation has come a long way, Lucas should be moving it forward not making it look RETRO, Playstation 1.

BlueCarp Sat, May 10, 2008 at 01:02 AM EST

Wasn't Jabba a gangster? Why would the government give a crap about his son? How much power can Jabba really have?

Fett Head Sat, May 10, 2008 at 01:00 AM EST

UHH..SUSAN? IF YOU WERE ALREADY "PREQUELLED" OUT..WHY BOTHER WATCHING THE TRAILER NOT TO MENTION TAKE THE TIME...AT MIDNIGHT ON A FRIDAY TO POST A COMMENT? I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE GET UGLY ABOUT A MOVIE AND FEEL THE NEED TO POST A COMMENT....BUT I GUESS IN AMERICA THATS ONE OF YOUR FREEDOMS. LIKE I SAID BELOW, TRUE STAR WARS FANS WONT CARE, ITS ANOTHER MOVIE AND IT WILL BE FUN, LIKE ALL THE OTHERS...SOMEONE NEEDS TO GET LAID I THINK.

Susan Sat, May 10, 2008 at 12:07 AM EST

HILARIOUS trailer. Especially the premise! Glad to know that the Hutts reproduce without um,doing the Wild Thing. I was laughing all during the trailer--THANKS FOR THE LAUGHS! The premise is ROFLMAO.

I'm all prequelled out. Now,if the second "Hobbit" movie is all about Frodo&Galadriel's passionate love,then I'll see it.

Fett Head Fri, May 9, 2008 at 11:55 PM EST

I could give a frogs fatt patootie what people say about plot and how the film is animated. Its star wars and for the true fan its another chapter to look foreword too..hell yeah ill be going to see it. No ones forceing (pardon the pun) those of you who are having problems with script and animation to go see it...me personally, I cannot wait.

JMC Fri, May 9, 2008 at 11:42 PM EST

As to how Hutts reproduce, AC Crispin wrote about in his really awesome Han Solo Trilogy (not to be confused with the Han Solo Adventures Trilogy). Basically, when they want to become pregnant, they just change gender and spit out a baby asexually (and no, they don't literally spit).

JMC Fri, May 9, 2008 at 11:37 PM EST

My major thing is it looks too much like the intro scenes to a PS2 game. Cooler than PS1, not quite as cool as a movie movie should be. I kept expect them to stop and sink into a first person view.

Jeff Wincze Fri, May 9, 2008 at 11:26 PM EST

I think it looks terrific and I have no problem with heavy action and "thin" characterization. What do you want, Shakespeare?

Charles Fri, May 9, 2008 at 09:53 PM EST

I am looking forward to seeing more of Anakin as a "good" Jedi. I loved the close chemistry of he and Obi in the beginning of Episode 3. Although the ending is so sad (even though it was preordained) that I cannot bring myself to watch it anymore.

Timothy Ellis Fri, May 9, 2008 at 09:04 PM EST

In static shots, I wasn't too impressed with the character designs, but now having seen them in motion I am changing my mind. Everything looks great. The trailer was exciting. Can't wait for August.

Alex Fri, May 9, 2008 at 08:59 PM EST

It shall be the greatest story ever told...

Fri, May 9, 2008 at 08:29 PM EST

this must mean something...I am a huge Star Wars fan and my birthday is August 15.Connection...no...i don't know my feelings about the movie yet but i liked the animated ones so i hope it's voiced by the actors

Rebel_Joo Fri, May 9, 2008 at 06:39 PM EST

i, too, liked the animated series, but i have never been with this film. the trailer doesn't help. i just don't like the animation.

Shane Fri, May 9, 2008 at 06:32 PM EST

It looks and sounds, both in content and detail,like a trailer for an upcoming game rather than a movie.