CLONE WARS Hitting Theaters First

By: Jarrod Sarafin, News Editor
Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Source: Official Star Wars site

The upcoming new season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars will debut in theaters on August 15, 2008 before it begins airing on TNT and the Cartoon Network in the fall. Here's what Lucasfilm had to say in their press announcement at the official Stars Wars website.

A new era of Star Wars entertainment begins in 2008 when Star Wars: The Clone Wars, from creator George Lucas, premieres as an all-new feature film in August, followed by the television series debut in the fall, in a partnership announced today between Lucasfilm Ltd., Warner Bros. Pictures and Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes audiences on incredible new Star Wars adventures, combining the legendary storytelling of Lucasfilm with an eye-popping, signature animation style. Star Wars: The Clone Wars will open in North American theaters Friday, August 15. International release dates will be announced soon.

"I felt there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell," said George Lucas, executive producer of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. "I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the art of animation forward."

The theatrical debut of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is only the beginning of all-new Star Wars adventures that continue in the fall when the long-awaited television series premieres on Cartoon Network, followed by airings on TNT. Details regarding international broadcasts will be announced shortly. Star Wars: The Clone Wars showcases an entirely new look and feel to the galaxy far, far away -- combining the expansive scope of the Star Wars Saga with state-of-the-art computer-generated animation. Each week, viewers will see a thrilling, 30-minute "mini-movie" created by the talented artists at Lucasfilm Animation.

On the front lines of an intergalactic struggle between good and evil, fans young and old will join such favorite characters as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padmé Amidala, along with brand-new heroes like Anakin's padawan learner, Ahsoka. Sinister villains -- led by Darth Sidious, Count Dooku and General Grievous -- are poised to rule the galaxy. Stakes are high, and the fate of the Star Wars universe rests in the hands of the daring Jedi Knights. Their exploits lead to the action-packed battles and astonishing new revelations that fill Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

"Warner Bros. and Turner are uniquely positioned to deliver on the enormous potential of The Clone Wars because together they offer a world-class opportunity: the theatrical and home-video distribution of Warner Bros. and the broad reach of the Turner Networks," said Micheline Chau, President and Chief Operating Officer of Lucasfilm Ltd. "This terrific combination hits the key demographic groups, ranging from kids to adults, that make up the Star Wars audience."

Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, added, "This is a breakthrough project -- returning Star Wars to the big screen in a completely new way while beginning an exciting new chapter in George Lucas' legendary saga. We immediately felt that it would be a fantastic theatrical event and are thrilled to be bringing it to moviegoers."

"Nothing like this has ever been produced for television," said Stuart Snyder, President/COO Turner Animation,Young Adults & Kids Media. "For 30 years, Star Wars has shown that it appeals to a huge breadth of fans. The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network will be appointment television for everyone in the family. We're thrilled to be working with Lucasfilm again and very excited to be playing a role in bringing this remarkable adventure to viewers."With a new story each week, Star Wars: The Clone Wars continues the tradition of thrilling stories, astonishing visuals and extraordinary music that have always been the hallmarks of the Star Wars Saga.

Lucasfilm Animation, which is based in Marin County, Calif., with a studio in Singapore, has produced more than 30 all-new episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and production continues on even more exciting episodes.

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Comments/Responses

daforce • Feb 12, 2008, 12:01am •

...and the quest for more money continues.....

mlaforcer • Feb 12, 2008, 12:56am •

Exactly...What bothers me is Lucas has said that Star wars is dead except for the animation series and the live action tv series and that no one would ever continue this saga in the theaters, him or no other director, so why the theater? for more money and that's cool as a business man who is in the business to make money but what about us ST fans who want another Star Wars movie or three...This guy is indeed a greedy son of a gun and does not care about his fans or those that love this story...
I will watch this new ST clone wars but not until it hits TNT...
George, give up your stubbornness and let some young or well known director to give us another trilogy with good acting and something more than COLORS, OK? Fantastic!

RaithManan • Feb 12, 2008, 01:07am •

Actually its good strategy. Considering Cartoon Network's crazy programming schedule with cartoons being on for 5 weeks and disappearing for 2 months the next GENERALLY WITHOUT NOTICE....More than likely this is the premiere episode that'll probably air on tv anyway. Just the theater is just a smart ass idea. Considering we gotta sit through 15 minutes of tv commercials and a 4 minute overblown Army music video in movies before we get to the trailers nowadays...might as well show the series premiere on the big screen. Don't be surprised if that happens down the road in the future theaters watching a 10 minute clip to the latest season opener of Lost or something. You still need to make money to continue movie operations. Now if you wanna stop someone from making money...start with the drunken monkey divas Lindsay, Britney and Kirsten. Take away their priviledges from buying booze. In fact stop the Yanks and BoSox...better yet stop Joan Rivers from making money to spend it on plastic surgery. Wait on second thought, let her keep making money for her surgery so I can continue to laugh at her never-ending crusade of surgery ugliness. Clearly I'm still in a foul mood from my comments in the Rivet Rant topic.

mckracken • Feb 12, 2008, 01:49am •

"I will watch this new ST clone wars but not until it hits TNT..." mlaforcer said, gripping his money and his wallet tightly.

As Mckracken sighed heavily and cried, "lets all play the BULLSHIT game...Ok... I'll go FIRST... mlaforcer, I'm calling BULLSHIT on YOU!!"
theres no way in hell you'll wait till TNT mlaforcer, and why is Lucas a greedy bastard for releasing the pilot into theaters where we can all enjoy it on the big screen 6 months early? If he saturates the TOY market with endless and pointless Clone Wars figures and models and busts... yes... I'd say he was milking his audience... but why bitch about Clone Wars coming to the Theaters? Geesh, exactly how many movie tickets do you pay for during the course of one summer anyway?
Cant you give Lucas $10 to enjoy his Clone Wars on the big screen, instead of waiting 6 more months and watching it on TNT??????
I know I could.
I mean normally, when news of Lucas pinching the wallets of his fans comes out, I'm on that bandwagon... but not this time... this is cool news... I dont know what you want from the guy except free television each week, and it sounds like we're getting a shitload of free STAR WARS television in the Fall, and a theatrical release in August 15th 2008...
so stop yer bellyaching and yer whining. you can stop buying the toys and the Mon Mothma lifesize bust and the wookie cd case because thats just unnecessary crap you dont need to spend money on (or give money to Lucas) but this is the movies... larger than life and on the bigscreen... hell I'll be there opening night... forget TNT with commercials, you know theres no way you're going to resist another theatrical experience in favor of TNT and Cartoon Network... give ME a friggin break.

ponyboy76 • Feb 12, 2008, 03:10am •

"I felt there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell," said George Lucas. Translation George Lucas - " I felt there was a lot more money to be made off this franchise and I know how Star Wars fans can`t resist" --waving his hand over the world-- "You will go out and pay to see Clone Wars in the theater. You don`t need to wait until it comes out on TV"
Mlaforcer " I will go out and pay to see Clone Wars in the theater. I don`t need to wait until it comes out on TV"

Flat • Feb 12, 2008, 03:39am •

I have no problem continuing into my 30's to give George Lucas at least 10% of every paycheck in one way or another. That just seems to be the way life is and I've gotten used to it. For me the problem here is that I just don't care about cartoons. I still haven't bothered to see the first Clone Wars cartoon (although I hear it's really good). So bring on the live action -- or at least the live actors surrounded by CG aliens and environments.

Whiskeymovie • Feb 12, 2008, 03:47am •

Maybe what he is really saying is, "Dude, I know Epidoes 1&2 were kind of weak,,,,so, I am releasing this in the theatres to try and make up for that!".....nah, i'm sure he is like Gene Simmons, and a total money whore. I will still go see this, It is STAR WARS after-all.

TayDor • Feb 12, 2008, 03:50am •

Wait wait wait...

Did he say, "Anakin's padawan learner"?????????

Holy crap. Now that's a tale I want to see. How f***ed up in the head is that kid going to be after having Anakin as his Master?

LOTRSUXS • Feb 12, 2008, 04:22am •

Well, crap, now i have to pay to watch the clone wars on the big screen? Oh wait, i don't, i get to see it for free, so hell, im down with it.. By the way, what they are not saying but most likely will happen, is that this new "film" will only be shown on theatres that have a digital projector, and just like the hanna montana film, they will charge a little extra for the presentation...

mike10 • Feb 12, 2008, 05:23am •

I remember when Buck Rogers and the original Battlestar Galactica were shown in movie theaters before they aired on TV so I'm ok with this and will go see it for the large screen and sound.
I agree with other people that Mr. Lucas really needs to find a director he likes and let them make a new live action trilogy. It would be sad to have to wait for him to pass away and then have some hack ruin Star Wars like the way Rick Berman ran Star Trek into the ground with over saturation and one good story for every four produced.

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CLONE WARS Hitting Theaters First

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