Lucasfilm has given us another new look at the upcoming episode of The Clone Wars. This time we have a preview of the last chapter in the Citadel Saga, which is the penultimate story arc in Season 3 of The Clone Wars.

From the official press release:

After their ship is destroyed, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi must find a new means of escape from the Citadel. They lead the freed prisoners – including the Republic’s Captain Tarkin – across the planet’s perilous landscape as Plo Koon commands a Jedi armada through Separatist defenses in a daring rescue attempt. It’s the thrilling conclusion to a three-part Clone Wars storyline in “Citadel Rescue” – airing at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT Friday, March 11 on Cartoon Network.

For Stephen Stanton, assuming the iconic role of Tarkin – made famous by Peter Cushing in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope – was not a responsibility to be taken lightly. Using the first Star Wars film as a starting point and a foundation, Stanton immersed himself in the legendary actor’s filmography and early TV work, while at the same time dissecting the character for clues to Tarkin’s personal trajectory.

“Peter Cushing’s original Tarkin was the epitome of someone who had succumbed to the dark side. [He] is that quiet, elegant, grandfatherly kind of villain that you want to believe in with all your heart. And when you do, he turns on you with a smile and says ‘You’re far too trusting’ – and then destroys everything that you hold dear,” says Stanton. “But since I don’t believe anyone is born evil, I approached the younger version of his character from the standpoint of a career military man who fervently believes that what he is doing is the right thing. That gave me a certain amount of latitude to ask questions of the character – like, what was he like before he embraced the dark side? On one hand, I am using Peter Cushing’s voice and performance as a template, so I want to keep the essence of what he did. But on the other hand, I’m creating the voice of a young Tarkin – who no one has heard before. I think these new episodes challenge our ideas of who Tarkin was in A New Hope more than it reflects his character and what we know about him at the end of his days.”

Accused of “holding Vader’s leash” by the captive Princess Leia in Episode IV, Tarkin has the distinction of being the one Imperial officer with some authority over the menacing Sith Lord. He commands Vader with haughty impunity, publicly dressing down the master of the Force. According to Stanton, that relationship had to start somewhere.

“The relationship between Anakin and Tarkin – and ultimately Vader and Tarkin – is what is being explored now in The Clone Wars,” he says. “Who exactly is this Grand Moff and why is he able to exert control over Lord Vader? It was never fully explained in the films, but we’re getting some hints of how it all might have started. For myself as a viewer, I think Tarkin recognizes a kindred spirit in Anakin. It’s the choices they make and why they make them that will determine their destination. How their story evolves should be quite interesting.”

With the release of All Star Superman on DVD and Blu-ray last week, Grant Morrison took time out from his home in Scotland to answer questions about the film and the release.

So without further ado:

Question: Did you have, and did you want, creative input into the script?

Grant Morrison: Once I knew someone else was going to do it, I kind of wanted to let it happen and not interfere. I’m always excited to see how others translate things from page to screen. I didn’t even know Dwaynen (McDuffie) was involved at first, but I’m so glad he did it. I was happy to see what the story might look like from someone else’s perspective and he did a fantastic job.

Question: Overall, how did you feel your story translated from page to screen?

Grant Morrison: I really loved it, which was why I wound up raving about it on so many of the DVD extras! Dwayne worked in a staggering amount of story, and he was able to give it this wonderful, strange episodic flavor where it seemed as if every day could bring some incredible and unexpected new challenge into Superman’s life. I didn’t really expect half of the material from the book to be in there, and loved the way it was
organized and edited because it made the whole thing a very different experience for me.

Question: Were you disappointed that anything was cut out?

Grant Morrison: You’re always a little disappointed when some favorite detail doesn’t make the cut, but what did make it was so well-done and faithful to the source that I can’t really say I was upset. It’s a long book that could easily make a six-hour movie, so I’m amazed “All-Star” incorporated as much of the story as it did, more than anything else.

Question: Were you particularly pleased with the way certain things were condensed?

Grant Morrison: It was impressive that Dwayne was able to condense entire issues of 22 to 24 pages into tight, satisfying eight- or ten-minute complete scenes. To take a whole issue and make it into an episode that felt complete in itself inside a larger narrative was ingenious and was a great way to translate the book’s serial structure into a feature film. I hope Dwayne knew how much I appreciated his work on this.

Question: Are you a fan of animation?

Grant Morrison: I couldn’t say I’m a giant animation fan, but I love the obvious stuff from around the world. I always liked the Fleischer animation, the Superman cartoons and the old features they did. I’m not a major animation fan but I do think the good stuff in any field stands the test of time.

Question: Which of your stories do you think would best translate to animation next?

Grant Morrison: I don’t really think of the stories being done as films. When I’m writing them, I’m focused on what makes a good comic rather than a potential movie. Having said that, seeing All-Star Superman left me quite keen to see some more! I think it would be fun to see what they could do with “Final Crisis” or one of the Batman stories, like “Batman R.I.P.” in that dark Bruce Timm style. I’d love to see something done with “Doom Patrol” or “Seven Soldiers.” Go for it.

We’re working on getting an interview with Morrison about Batman, but only time will tell.

I was shot over this link to My Modern Met who were given some pretty incredible photos from a television shoot National Geographic put together over the weekend. They put a team of scientists and engineers together and recreated the balloon lifted house.

UP is a tremendous film from Pixar with beautiful imagery and when applied to real life it is no less stunning.

My Modern Met has the specific details:

Yesterday morning, March 5 at dawn, National Geographic Channel and a team of scientists, engineers, and two world-class balloon pilots successfully launched a 16′ X 16′ house 18′ tall with 300 8′ colored weather balloons from a private airfield east of Los Angeles, and set a new world record for the largest balloon cluster flight ever attempted. The entire experimental aircraft was more than 10 stories high, reached an altitude of over 10,000 feet, and flew for approximately one hour.

This was all for a television show that National Geographic is premiering in the fall of this year called How Hard Can it Be?

I can’t wait to see this in action on film. My Modern Met has plenty more pictures where these came from and it’s quite a thing to see.

While we wait for this show to premiere, you can always watch UP. You can get the 4 disc Blu-ray set on Amazon for less than $20.

Friday brought us another excellent episode of Young Justice, and this one may have been my favorite of the season so far. The episode begins with a massive fail in a training simulation (Correction: this was a real altercation with Clayface, not a simulation. Props to Harry and c15- very observant robots who pointed out my error in the comments section below), after which Batman scolds Aqualad, “The team performed admirably. The problem was you. You’re the leader, and your head wasn’t in the game.”

He’s right, and Kaldur takes the opportunity to get his head straight with a brief respite to Atlantis to see the girl he left behind. And, of course, there’s trouble afoot as Black Manta tries to attack the city and steal a giant starfish creature.  Loads of action, and we get to see some of Aqualad’s undersea cohorts kicking butt under the ocean as well, as well as pushing the limits on Kaldur’s powers.

But what really impressed me here were all of the little character vignettes. While each team member is off, we get a glimpse into their personal lives. M’gann and Superboy share an awkward moment. Three generations of the Flash (Wally West, Barry Allen, Jay Garrick – here an old man) at one dinner table. Artemis discovers she’s received a prestigious Wayne Enterprises scholarship (but if she’s the ward of Oliver Queen, isn’t he not hurting for cash himself?  Hmmmm….) Robin is taking after his mentor, brooding about his training failure and nascent jealousy of Aqualad as team leader, and Bruce Wayne challenges him to a new form of training exercise (I won’t spoil it- it’s a nice moment).

All of this works to highlights the excellent supporting voice cast, which I’ve heaped praise on before. Again, Bruce Greenwood’s Batman/Bruce Wayne is top notch. George Eads as The Flash reminds me how wasted he is on CSI.

There’s also a great reveal at the end of the episode revealing Black Manta’ true motivations. For a cartoon whose target audience seems to be kids and teens, there is some tight storytelling going on.

My only complaints? 1- Doesn’t look like a lot of opportunity to drop in The Flaming C, which is fast becoming one of my favorite jokes. 2- Not sure how many more episodes we’re getting. This is too good. But we may have to wait for more.

3 1/2 stars.

Remember that feeling you got watching the first half hour of Revenge of the Sith?  The one that made you feel like Obi-Wan and Anakin had spent a lot of time together having adventures during the war?  I never felt like we had enough of that feeling, but tonight’s middle episode of the Citadel trilogy really went a long way to fill that void.

Tonight’s episode was pure, unadulterated high adventure and I enjoyed the hell out of every minute of it.

The writers seem to be bleeding more and more classic Star Wars feeling into the episodes than they’ve ever done before.  And not just the writers, the sound designers as well.  From the familiar sound of the mouse droids to the whine of the STAPS and Artoo’s beeps and whistles, everything about the audio seemed knocked up a notch.  Getting back to the writing, though, this episode felt like a perfect blend between the escapes, chases, and Tarkin from A New Hope and that overriding sense of friendship in a tight spot that the first two thirds of Return of the Jedi oozes.

Last episode Anakin and Obi-Wan rescued Master Piell and Captain Tarkin from an impregnable fortress, or from their cells at least.  This episode is spent trying to make their way out, but they’re foiled at every turn by Commander Sobeck (voiced unrecognizably by the always brilliant James Arnold Taylor.)

Perhaps the most fun of these episodes is the fact that Artoo is commanding a squad of reprogrammed Battle Droids.  Artoo always works better with a droid next to him that can talk and this trio of droids is no exception.  It’s charming and funny, and serves a number of turning points in the story that are at once logical and tremendously fun to watch.  And I love that they call him Commander.

The violence in this episode was noticeably more brutal than in episodes past.  I’ve no problems with that, in fact, I love it.  It was sort of fun to watch my kids gasp at moments when things get particularly nasty, between Sobeck cutting clones in half with blast doors or shooting them in the face at point blank range.  It was brutal and had an emotional impact on all of us and I was grateful for it.  All of the best movies and stories for kids have a grim darkness to them and this episode was no exception.

The part that I was most shocked by was that there was a particular clone who bought the farm this episode and I let out an audible yelp when he died.  He’s a clone.  I shouldn’t care so much, but I’ll be damned if this didn’t hit me right here.

Speaking of dying, is it just me, or does the preview for next week seem to heavily imply someone is going to die?  I wonder if they’re going to kill Master Piell, who has turned into a very, very cool character.  Would his death here at the Citadel send EU purists into a tail spin?  Only time will tell.

Overall, this was a very fine episode.  The animation was up to the high quality standards that have come to be expected from the crew, the story was tight, and it was beyond fun.  Who could ask for more?

However, the part I’m struggling with the most with this story arc is that it’s the penultimate one of the season.  And that means I’m going to have to suffer through the summer once more without new episodes.  They should double the season orders for the show and put it on year round.  Or just get this to alternate with the live action show and Seth Green’s cartoon.  Maybe I’m just greedy, but I want a new Star Wars adventure every week.

The last episode of The Clone Wars was easily one of my favorites of the season and I can’t wait to see what the next episode hold. It certainly feels like more old-school adventure films are coming to play and I couldn’t be more excited.

From the official press release:

Having freed the prisoners, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker search for a way out of the impenetrable Citadel prison. The brutal warden has more traps, perils and pitfalls in store for them, however, and the heroes must overcome their own differences in order to escape. After surviving their own daring break-in, it’s time for a “Counterattack” – the second chapter of a thrilling three-part storyline, airing at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT Friday, March 4 on Cartoon Network.

While Taylor is best known for providing the voice of The Clone Wars’ Obi-Wan Kenobi, he does far more for the series than just the staid and dulcet tones of that temperate Jedi Master. In the Citadel trilogy alone, he voices three very distinct characters – on both sides of the action-packed prison escape. In addition to Obi-Wan’s voice of reason, Taylor breathes life into Jedi Master Plo Koon and even the sadistic Citadel warden, Osi Sobeck.

“Most of the time, we work as a cast and we say our lines in sequence. Some actors need to kind of stay in the mode of the character, but [on The Clone Wars], we’re all very comfortable with just switching back and forth,” he says. “So when we did these sessions, it was a lot of fun. There was a point where I was doing all three [characters] in a scene, jumping from voice to voice. I love doing that stuff. I’m a ham. The fun thing about Osi – we’ll see, but I’m sure people have realized who I am actually doing. It’s not an impersonation, but it’s inspired by someone in particular – and as we went through the episode, it grew and changed. We’re not making fun; we’re paying homage to his acting beats and his style, but we’re not trying to fool anybody. Hopefully people will enjoy that and have fun with that, because that’s what we were doing.”

With so much fun going on behind the scenes, Taylor is understandably enthusiastic about being part of an ongoing project he enjoys so much. And while the sessions themselves are always so entertaining, he’s also quick to express his appreciation for the finished product, taken on its own merits.

“I watch the show because I’m a fan,” he says. “I love visually how it looks. I watch it from a study perspective, and I watch it because of the vital Star Wars elements that are in these episodes. I like these fun, swashbuckling, action episodes. That’s what was so fun about these; the [recording] sessions are like that, too. OK, we’re moving, you’re shouting, you’re fighting. The action ones, I can sink my teeth into immediately. I mean, come on, it doesn’t get any more Star Wars than that.”

Kara “Starbuck” Thrace herself, Katee Sackoff, confirmed that she will be doing voice work on upcoming episodes of The Clone Wars via Twitter. She’s done a lot of work with Seth Green and Matt Senreich on Robot Chicken and they’re working on a Star Wars property on their own, so her new connection to The Clone Wars isn’t all that surprising.

But who could she be playing?

I haven’t the faintest idea. But it’s fun to speculate wildly, isn’t it?

There are a number of characters we can clearly cross of the list, characters that have appeared on the show before that she might have been fit to play. Characters like Aayla Secura or Mon Mothma. Or characters that would have been awesome but are dead, like Zam Wessel.

But something tells me she’s going to play a really kick-ass character. Would they waste her on someone who was just a minor character? I doubt it.

But they’ve been making a habit of bringing in characters from the classic trilogy and bringing them into the show. The problem is, the only major, kick-ass female character from the classic trilogy (Leia) hasn’t been born yet.

Could she be playing a Bounty Hunter? Or a pilot? Or a Jedi?

Could they be borrowing from the Expanded Universe and bring in someone like Admiral Daala? They’ve already brought Tarkin into the mix, why not his lover?

Who do you guys think she’s going to play? We’re probably all wrong, so don’t feel bad about throwing ANYTHING out there. If nothing else, who would you like to see her play?

I was excited when the announcement came down that Chewbacca would be appearing on The Clone Wars, but the one clip that had been unveiled wasn’t incredibly revealing. Sure, it looked great and got me all pumped up for it, but we didn’t get to see much action.

With this new bumper for the Season Finale, we finally get to see Chewbacca cut loose and it’s quite a thing to see. I think for the first time we’re going to see the action-hero Wookiee in a bloodlust we’ve always wanted to see, ever since Han mentioned he’d pull peoples arms out of their sockets when they lose.

And is it just me or does it look like that first shot heavily references Chewbacca’s reveal in Jabba’s dungeon in Return of the Jedi?

The season finale of the third season of The Clone Wars airs in the United States on April 1st. I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.

(Thanks to the Star Wars Underworld for bringing this to my attention.)

Reports surfaced over the weekend that Darth Maul and Savage Opress would be appearing in the season finale of The Clone Wars.  I know before any announcements were made I’d been speculating about it myself, but nothing was definitive.  With the announcement that Chewbacca would be featured in the season finale, it seemed as though those speculations were wrong.

I’d been bombarded with links to the IMDb page for the final episode of Season 3 that pretty confidently states that Darth Maul and Savage Opress would be returning to the show.

To quote Obi-Wan Kenobi, “It doesn’t feel right.”

So I asked Lucasfilm for a comment, and this was the reply from Tracy Cannobbio, an official Lucasfilm spokesperson:

The IMDB listing for our S3 Season Finale contains some incorrect information – but while neither Darth Maul nor Savage Opress will be featured in the episode, we will be marking the Clone Wars debut of Chewbacca, one of the Star Wars Saga’s most iconic and beloved characters.

So, you heard it here first.  The IMDb listing and subsequent reports are bunk.

I’m not disappointed at all.  The clip they’ve already shown of Chewbacca so far looks fantastic and a season finale of The Clone Wars hasn’t let me down yet.

And if my speculations about “Wookiee Hunt” being the “Predator” inspired episode Dave Filoni told me about at Star Wars Celebration V, we all have a lot to look forward to.

This week’s Young Justice gave us the introduction of another classic DC Character, Doctor Fate, and his human alter ego Kent Nelson.  It also delivers some decent action over a character piece for Kid Flash. Remember in past reviews I’ve said I like the character stuff more more than just action sequences?

I take it back.

Or maybe it’s just character pieces about Kid Flash. Don’t get me wrong- I like his snark, his flirtation with anything that moves, but I really didn’t care about how he “only believes in science” and thinks there’s no such thing as magic. I just don’t care.

Also, too much of this show was about Doctor Fate. This show is supposed to be Young Justice, not “Random JSA Character Guest Star of the Week.” I love bringing in other characters from the DC Universe (and the more ridiculous and obscure the better), but this episode was almost entirely Doctor Fate and  Kid Flash. Again, don’t care.

But what was good about the episode? An emerging love (or at least flirt) triangle with Kid Flash, Artemis, and M’gann. The villains. I didn’t think I’d be taken with Abra Kadabra and Klarion the Witch Boy. But they were pretty fun. Also, something that Young Justice has done a great job with so far– little touches. Like elevator music in the Tower of Fate. It just made me giggle.

Overall, I don’t think this was their best episode, but given the overall quality of the series and their general batting average, it’s not all that bad. A mediocre episode of Young Justice is still better than 90% of everything else out there.