Category Archives: The Clone Wars

George Lucas wins first Emmy for Clone Wars

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Emmy win

It took a little while, but George Lucas finally got himself an Emmy win.

With Carrie Fisher presenting, Lucas, Dave Filoni, and other Clone Wars staff took home the award for best animated series. The show won another Emmy for David Tennant, who played the Jedi mentor droid Huyang in the show’s final season.

It’s certainly a well deserved win for the Clone Wars staff. While the show may have ended earlier than many fans would have hoped, there’s no arguing it went out on the highest note possible.

The Clone Wars bonus content could be ten episodes

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Clone Wars composer Kevin Kiner was on the Full of Sith podcast recently to talk about the show. During the course of the interview, he mentioned that he’s working on scoring the remaining bonus content for the series. According to him, there may be ten episodes that fans will be able to see.

We have about ten shows that we’re still working on, that are going to be part of this special material. And even hopefully there is going to be a soundtrack record as part of this special material. We’ll see they’re in negotiations about that so we’re not positive that’s going to happen.

Keep in mind things are still up in the air and there could be more or less content ultimately available.

One bonus content ‘Clone Wars’ arc features Plo Koon and the mystery of Syfo-Dias

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tcw_s5logo_smOver at USA Today, Dave Filoni discussed some of the remaining Clone Wars bonus content.

One of the arcs stars Jedi Master Plo Koon (voiced by James Arnold Taylor), who finds a lost lightsaber while on a mission on a sandstorm-laden planet with a platoon of clone troopers. It’s the beginning of a mystery, and one that will make the Jedi question their role in the Clone Wars and the universe itself, according to Filoni.

“The Jedi have been fighting a war with an army that was commissioned by one of their own, Jedi Master Syfo-Dias,” he says. “But who was Syfo-Dias, and what happened to him? The dark lord of the Sith has woven an intricate web to ensnare the Jedi, but it is not full-proof and sometimes a small clue, and a bit of chance, can lead to the unraveling of the best-laid plans.”

No word yet on when or where the content will air. If I had to guess, it will be a direct-to-DVD arrangement.

Report: The Clone Wars bonus content to be two arcs, layoffs at Lucasfilm Animation

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tcw_s5logo_smFans are still reeling from the sudden winding-down of The Clone Wars. Over the weekend there was a Save The Clone Wars protest on Twitter that garnered nearly 7,000 tweets aimed at Disney to get them to reconsider their plans on ending the popular animated series. Fan sentiment is there for more TCW material, but the question is how much will fans get? Lucasfilm promised that bonus content would be released, so at the very least fans would get something more than the season five finale. According to TFN, it sounds like  there will be two additional arcs.

A source in the know tells me that Lucasfilm is only finishing two story arcs from the material that they had planned for The Clone Wars Season Six. Among the story arcs that will not emerge in this post-cancellation era is one that dealt with Boba Fett and the other bounty hunters who have menaced the heroes for several seasons. This story arc, which my source tells me was almost done, would have shown us the fates of Cad Bane and Aurra Sing.

Based on this report and the mere fact this material is being called “bonus content,” I doubt that there’s going to be much in the way of meaningful conclusions for lingering questions in this era. At least in an animated format, anyway. This could be an area where the Expanded Universe comes in to fill the void, either in comic or written form.

Additionally, it appears that layoffs occurred at Lucasfilm Animation last Friday. While it’s not unusual for an animation studio to experience layoffs after the conclusion of a project, it’s still a disappointment to fans and the employees involved. With any luck, they’ll be able to land work quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney proper comes calling for their services when it’s time to escalate work on the next Star Wars animated series.

The End of Clone Wars, Delayed Detours, and A New Animated Series

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Today, March 11, Lucasfilm announced “A New Direction for Lucasfilm Animation.”

What does this all mean? In simple terms:

  • We’re getting a new animated show set in a previously unexplored (in TV or film) era.
  • The Clone Wars is no longer producing new episodes for Cartoon Network.
  • The Clone Wars will continue with new story arcs that will wind down the story and give a concrete end to the series. (No news yet on how that content will be released, but I’m guessing online or Blu-Ray/DVD releases.)
  • Detours is postponed indefinitely (Personally, this is what I’m upset about. It looked hilarious.)

Who wants to bet their first-born child that the animated series takes place in the post-RotJ era?

Read the entire announcement and after the jump. You can also see a video from Dave Filoni over at the official site.

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The Clone Wars Ending and Silver Linings

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tcw_s5logo_smIf the rumors and reports are to be believed, The Clone Wars has aired its final episode. What was billed as merely the season five finale has, unfortunately, become the series finale. Understandably, people are upset. With the promise of a sixth season that was nearly finished with its production and the talks of a seventh on the horizon, fans, perhaps justifiably, feel as if they have just been prematurely robbed of something they love.

There’s really no way to try and completely diminish that if this is true*, it’s lousy news and incredibly disappointing for many TCW fans. There was little reason or the show to simply end in this manner, particularly if the reports that season six were almost finished are true. For Disney and Lucasfilm, it makes sense to have Star Wars on the air in some capacity until at least 2015 when the first of the sequel films hits the silver screen. For Cartoon Network, it makes sense to be able to make at least some money off of the finished season six episodes. Failing to air these episodes (if they are actually done) is an unfortunate and seemingly irrational outcome, but it wouldn’t be the first time Hollywood has behaved in a less than rational fashion.

*As my own note, I’m still not entirely convinced that this is the case. Even if The Clone Wars officially ends, I think there’s a distinct possibility it appears on another network as a re-branded show. At the very least, I just don’t see them permanently tabling all the work they’ve put into season six.

Still, as much as this may hurt if all of this proves to be true, there are some silver linings for TCW fans. To the jump.

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Report: The Clone Wars Finished?

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It’s late and I’m in a rush, so I’ll be brief. The rumblings today from multiple outlets seem to be indicating that The Clone Wars has ended. This potentially means that the season five finale is, in reality, the series finale. JediNews.uk has the details:

Although not yet officially confirmed, we’re hearing from several sources tonight that The Clone Wars as a TV show\series has ended.  It’s not yet clear what will happen to the unaired finished episodes, those partway through production or if they will try and tie the show up with a direct to DVD\Blu-ray movie (something that Disney are known to have done with some of their other properties).

As is my usual disclaimer, nothing is official until you hear it from Lucasfilm. For what it’s worth, a couple people with connections to Lucasfilm have talked to me today and indicated that this is indeed the end for the five-year-old animated series. Combine this with the already confirmed indefinite postponement of the 3D treatments for the prequel films and there’s perhaps a good chance that these reports have legs.

I’ve got a post slated for tomorrow morning with some more detailed thoughts. All I’ll say now is that this news, if true, is definitely less-than-ideal and a big bummer for a lot of people. That said, I think there may be some silver linings for fans. Look for that Monday morning.

Tim Curry Joins The Clone Wars Cast, Demands for Rocky Horror Mashup Increase

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Tim CurryWith the unfortunate passing of Ian Abercrombie last year, The Clone Wars has been in need of a new voice talent to play the role of Palpatine. It appears Lucasfilm has found the new voice to play him. Bryan Young over at the Huffington Post has the exclusive news that Tim Curry will be joining the cast.

I have been given the go ahead by Lucasfilm to reveal here exclusively that Tim Curry has joined the cast of Star Wars: The Clone Wars in the role of Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious. Tim Curry might be best known for his roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Clue, but he has been doing more than his fair share of excellent work over the last few decades and can now add “Future Emperor” to his resume.

While most people will be hoping for Rocky Horror references now that Curry is on board, I’m hoping for an episode that pays homage to another great film of his: Clue.

EW Looks at 100 Episodes of The Clone Wars

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tcwEW’s Inside TV has a look at The Clone Wars 100th episode set to air this Saturday and discusses the success the show has achieved against long odds.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars reaches a milestone moment on Saturday with its 100th episode, which is titled “Missing In Action.” The big number is an impressive feat if you consider that even the most sacred of sci-fi shows fall short of the triple-digits. Consider the fact that the original Star Trek ran out of power at episode No. 79 and Battlestar Galactica (the 21st century edition) and The Six-Million Dollar Man were judged to be scrap metal after 73 and 99 weekly episodes, respectively (and no, we do not have to count either brand’s made-for-TV movies).

Sure, the achievement of keeping a show on the Cartoon Network for the past five years is a different challenge than holding on to a primetime slot during the network days of Capt. James T. Kirk and Col. Steve Austin. Still, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has been an impressive with its visual ambition, persistent storytelling interest in knotty ethical quandaries, and the amount of pivotal new canon it’s introduced (such as the existence of the Overlords).

In addition, they’ve got an exclusive trailer offering peaks at the second half of season five. Head over to Inside TV to read the rest of the piece and watch the trailer.

Catch Nanci on We Talk Clones

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Last weekend Nanci was a guest on our sister podcast, We Talk Clones. (Brian was also scheduled to be a guest, but unfortunately caught the plague.) Nanci and the We Talk Clones hosts discussed the latest episode, “Bound for Rescue,” which was part of the Young Jedi arc.

You can download or stream the episode here, or subscribe to the show via iTunes or Xbox Music.