Tag Archives: Clone Wars

Grizzly Book Review: Star Wars – Darth Plagueis

The Darth Plagueis novel was very unlike many other Star Wars literature I’ve read. It was light on action and heavy on political machinations by the Sith as they tipped the force inexorably in their favor. I was under the impression that Plagueis died well before Palpatine started his foray into politics but alas I was very wrong. I also assumed that the book would start with Plagueis training Palpatine from the start and again I was proven wrong. The book not only chronicles the apprenticeship of Sidious to Plagueis but also touches on the relationship between Plagueis and his own master Darth Tenebrous. There are a few other Darths mentioned throughout, but learning further about the Sith succession line is only a small portion of what makes up a fantastic book by Star Wars veteran James Luceno.

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Darth Maul Officially Returns to Star Wars in The Clone Wars

It looks like after much speculation and geek debate, Darth Maul will be returning to the Galaxy Far Far Away via the Clone Wars this season. After hinting towards his return at the end of the Savage Oppress story arc in Clone Wars Season 3, supervising director Dave Filoni confirmed recently over at Entertainment Weekly that Maul would be back in force with the full blessing of plaid clad billionaire George Lucas:

Filoni was as surprised as anyone during a Clone Wars story meeting when Star Wars creator George Lucas asked Filoni to figure out a way to bring Darth Maul back. He had introduced a similar warrior, the powerhouse Savage Oppress, in the third season of Clone Wars because of the lack of a Maul-type antagonist.

Oppress plays a major role in the return of his “long-lost brother,” Filoni says, and fans can expect Darth Maul to reignite his rivalry with Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Knight who cut him in half.

Filoni expects a strong reaction from fans, but he promises he didn’t bring back Darth Maul for a short-lived stunt.

“There’s a lot of ground that has not been covered as far as Darth Maul is concerned, so there’s a lot of room to grow with him,” Filoni says. “It’s all balanced with, ‘Boy, we’ve gotta make this really good because this is a really big deal.'”

And of course the official teaser for the return of the soft spoken horned Sith:

So what the hell, I guess if they can make this work then I’ll try my best to enjoy it. I was very skeptical and thought it verged on sacrilege when they announced Darth Maul’s brother would be showing up on the Clone Wars but I ended up enjoying the living crap out of that. The best episode of that season featured the best three way lightsaber fight I’ve seen. And with three dark side users no less….

Maul is just in time for the big 3D re-release of Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in 2012 and I’m sure that’s just around the time we’ll be getting the episodes he’ll be showing up in. The only questions I have are simple, the first one being the most irrelevant. Which planet is he supposedly exiled on? It’s somewhere in the Outer Rim according to Mother Talzin, and I’ll be a little let down if its effin’ Tatooine because there couldn’t be a more overused, boring planet. My second question is how in the bloody hell is this dude still breathing? I’m sure force-users (Dark Side especially) can withstand some brutal hits, but homeboy was sliced in two by my buddy Obi-Wan. So will he be rocking the robot leg look that he made look so fashionable in the non-continuity story from Star Wars: Visionaries? Maybe some sweet type of hover chair? That would be God awful but it wouldn’t be the first time us Star Wars fans were completely put out.

My last question is who will be voicing him? More specifically will it be Sam Witwer? For those of you non-hardcore Star Wars geeks, Sam Witwer is the guy who played Vader’s secret apprentice, Starkiller (Galen Marek) in the awesome Force Unleashed video game and it’s less than satisfying follow up the Force Unleashed 2.

He’s already had a stint in the Clone Wars in Season 3’s Mortis trilogy as the uber dark side using Anchorite The Son, which he completely owned. The guy also does an excellent Emperor Palpatine voice as evidenced in the Force Unleashed video games. It’s already been confirmed that Witwer will be returning to voice a character for this season 4 of the Clone Wars but it’s just a question of whom. Check out this little snippet from Witwer via Theforce.net that reveals absolutely nothing about whom he will play:

“Sam Witwer: I’ve already returned to The Clone Wars to do voiceover.

Riley: Oh really?

Sam Witwer: I am currently, as we speak, working on episodes, many episodes for a character that I have not played… well… it’s… what can I say without getting fired?

Riley: We don’t want you to get in trouble or anything.

Sam Witwer: I’m told the announcement is gonna happen in a couple months.

Riley: Nice tease!

Sam Witwer: It’s an amazing character. It is an amazing, amazing character. I’ll put it to you this way. I was driving over to a buddy’s house and Dave Filoni calls me up, gets me on the phone, and he says, “Listen, so we want you to come back to work and we need you to play…” and he tells me the character’s name. And I almost had a car accident. And he says, “Can you do it?” And I’m like yes. And then I worried about later whether I could do it or not. But I was like yes, yes, I will do that. So it is a tremendous opportunity and I can’t wait for you guys to find out about it.”

Now I wouldn’t call Darth Maul an amazing character or anything. Amazingly bad ass maybe, but character wise there wasn’t much to him. Even if you read any expanded universe material based on him it’s nothing to blow any skirts up. But Witwer did almost had a car accident, so that’s promising. He better not have risked his life on the account of finding out he was playing Wicket of the Ewoks or Uncle Owen…

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 4 Trailer – New Footage!

If the first trailer for season 4 of the Clone Wars didn’t quite do it for you then wait, there’s more! Now there’s another trailer that shows quite a bit more than just the spectacular (And physics defying) battle underwater on the Mon Calamari homeworld of Dac. Sorry fellow geeks if they stray from EU continuity by just calling the planet Mon Calamari. So take a look at the trailer below so we can sift through all of the goodness and I can push all of the things I’M interested in for Season 4 onto all of you! Enjoy!

Once again, the underwater battle looks breathtaking, but all of the other stuff bodes well for a good season. Of course we’ll get another trailer showcasing the second of the season during the show’s break in winter. Now to the most interesting stuff to me:

Grievous v.s. Ventress

Ventress wasn’t on very good terms with the Confederacy last time we saw her. Her attempt to kill Dooku with his new apprentice failed so now she’s all on her own. So is Grievous sent to eliminate her once and for all so Tyranus has no loose ends? And will Ventress accomplish something to get back into her former master’s good graces? I think so.


Savage Oppress

Ok he wasn’t in the trailer but don’t act like this subject isn’t the Bantha in the room. It appeared in the end of his episode arc last season that Savage had a brother and it sure the hell looked like Darth Maul. So it looks like that might be covered in the second half of the season and I can’t wait! Is Maul going to have robot legs? Will he be a holocron gatekeeper? A Dark Side force ghost? The anticipation is killing me. I want to see Savage in action again because he was a sight to behold in Season 3. I’m wondering who will end up killing him…

The Jedi… With two double-bladed lightsabers!

Seriously doesn’t this whole thing seem a little overkill?! Yes, but I love it. This Jedi better be able to do some damage. And he’s the same species as Dex from Attack of the Clones so that’s something new.

The Togruta Slaves

Unless I’m wrong it looked like there was a lot of talk about slaves when they showed numerous Togruta people lining up. (same species as Ahsoka) I’m interested because we all know how Anakin despises slavery and he looks to be getting pretty pissed in this trailer. Also they kind of covered the Togruta getting enslaved in the Slavers of Zyggeria clone wars book, but I guess it wouldn’t be the first time they deviated from continuity. And I may be completely wrong about the Togruta being slaves.

Ackbar’s Back!

And that’s all I have to say!

So here’s to double-double lightsabers, light-whips, Mon Calamari and Grievous fighting gungans! Be sure to tune in on September 16th at 8:00pm for two episodes: ‘Water War’ and ‘Gungan Attack’ and I’ll be sure to review it!

Star Wars: Clone Wars Season 4 – Actress Katee Sackhoff as a Mandalorian!

katee sackhoff

Battlestar Galactica alum Katee Sackhoff was reported to be in the fourth season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network, but it left a lot of us wondering exactly who she would be portraying. Turns out, it’s to be the show’s first female Mandalorian!

Of course this is nothing new to expanded universe readers, but it’s great that the female Mando’s are getting some due on the show. And she appears to be a member of the ‘Death Watch’ no less!

Interesting… I suppose that means we’ll probably be graced with the Jon Favreau voiced Pre Viszla as well. Check out the trailer below:

So yup, everyone’s favorite little Separatist Lux is back and it would seem he’s got a batch of ‘Death Watch’ Mando’s with him. Wonder how this will complicate his and Ahsoka’s relationship. The Clone Wars Season 4 is still a ways off into the Fall, but hopefully they keep coming out with little tidbits at Comic Con for us to chew over. All I can say is Ackbar is back!

Clone Wars Season 3 Finale: Padawan Lost & Wookie Hunt

The Clone Wars finale is finally here with the episodes “Padawan Lost” and “Wookie Hunt”. And be forewarned, Chewbacca doesn’t show up until the second episode, so keep your lightsaber holstered for a minute. I’m about to cover both episodes in a single review – prepare to have your mind blown!

*Warning: Spoilers Ahead. Turn back while you can!*

The best way to describe this episode is: Star Wars meets a blend of Surviving the Game, Running Man and Hard Target. We start off the planet Felucia again, and this is the third time unless I’m mistaken. I really wish they would change-up planets instead of revisiting all of the same ones. That aside, Felucia looked awesome down to the last detail of tiny bugs crawling over the plant life.

Felucia…again.
Owned!

As Anakin, Plo Koon and Ahsoka are leading an attack on the Separatist base, Ahsoka gets stunned and taken captive by a Trandoshan who leaves the planet for parts unknown. If you’re wondering what a Trandoshan is, it’s the same species as Bossk from The Empire Strikes Back and season 2 of Clone Wars. They are also the mortal enemies of the Wookies, their popular pass-times being: Hunting the walking carpets and using them for slave labor.

Ahoska awakes aboard a transport, another prisoner aboard telling her that these Trandoshans capture people, and then release them in order to hunt them for sport. After being dropped off weaponless on a moon called Wasskah in the Trandosh System, Ahsoka is scattered from the other prisoners by blaster fire from the Trandoshans. It’s not long before Ahsoka is found by three others who have been there for a long time. They reveal themselves to be Jedi younglings, stating that the Trandoshans hunt them because they are far less dangerous than a Jedi Knight. Kalifa, seems to be the group leader, with the grumpy Twi-Lek Jinx and the more calm Cerean O-Mer as her companions. They explain to Ahsoka the situation they are in and try explaining that it is best to run and hide to survive instead of fighting the Trandoshans. As one might predict, Ahsoka isn’t too keen on that advice.

The Padawans from left to right: O-Mer, Jinx, Kalifa and Ahsoka

After finding one of the Trandoshans and giving him a good old-fashioned group beat down, the padawans flee into the jungle once more. That night, inspired by Ahsoka’s defiance, they decide to search for the Trandoshan base and make a stand. This doesn’t go very well as the padawans become seperated, resulting in the death of the Trandoshan leader Garnac’s son at the hand of Ahsoka. Kalifa is in turn killed by the papa lizard in a very emotional scene. This is where Ahsoka promises to look after O-mer and Jinx as her newly found friend slowly passes on.

“Excuse me, you have a laser bolt coming out of your chest.”

If there was ever a time that this was not considered a kid friendly show, these two episodes would be it. Especially in the first episode. To start off, the bloodthirsty Trandoshans are hunting freakin’ kids for sport with all intentions of displaying their bodies in a trophy room. They shoot and kill three of the hunted on-screen, and one of the hunter’s falls onto a spike and gets impaled before our very eyes. It’s all well and good for me as an adult, but for kids watching the show they may have some nightmares. Personally I wish all of the episodes were adult themed as this one was. Now, let’s get to Chewbacca.

These guys need to be returned to the Jerk Store

In ‘Wookie Hunt’, Ahsoka narrowly escapes from the Trandoshans, but finally meets up with O-Mer and Jinx who are about to give up upon hearing of Kalifa’s death. Ahsoka has other ideas and inspires the remaining two Padawans to join her in attacking the next transport that will drop prisoners. The scene with the Padawans attacking the transport was very cool, one of the Trandoshans was even using a shotgun that Trandoshan slavers used in the Republic Commando video game. After the ship crashes spectacularly, the younglings stumble upon Chewbacca who was the only prisoner aboard. Ahsoka can conveniently understand the Wookie and he shows some of his technological prowess by putting together a communication device to contact his fellow fuzzballs. I won’t spoil anymore of the episode by telling you who lives and dies by the end of the episode, but I can say to expect some Wookie rage, a couple familiar characters, and some Trando-bashing by the end of it all.

“I SAID GOOD DAY SIR!”

This finale was about as good as I expected from the previews and even went in a different direction than I thought with the whole hunting aspect. Chewbacca could easily have been any random Wookie, but I liked that they gave the fans a familiar face for the end of the season. It definitely beats out the Boba Fett finale from last year, which I was a bit let down by.

The Trandoshans were a very nice addition to the Clone Wars series. The sounds they made kind of reminded me of the raptors from Jurassic Park 3 (but in a good way) by the way they called for help with high-pitched screeching, and the way they growled in attack mode. They sure were a sadistic lot of scumbags. Garnac, their leader, had quite an extensive trophy room consisting of many notable species from the Star Wars universe, and a couple of cool ones for the fans including a Mandalorian Neo-Crusader helmet from the Old Republic and what appeared to be a crystal skull from Indiana Jones.

The voice acting was a bit hit and miss with the Trando voices themselves being a bit over the top. But the padawans Kalifa, Jinx and O-Mer were very nicely done. And I give Clone Wars veteran voice actress Gwendoline Yeo extra props, because in real life she is smoking hot!

Gwendoline Yeo – voice of Kalifa in The Clone Wars

We were also treated to a quick preview of season 4 of the Clone Wars coming out this Fall. Shots included underwater battles involving the Mon Calamari species (Ackbar!), another Anakin/Dooku fight, and what looks to be a bad-ass Gungan fighting General Grievous, if you can believe that. There was also plenty of shootings and a couple explosions so you can’t go wrong there!

Clone Wars Season 3 and the Returns of Qui Gon Jinn & Chewbacca – “Laugh it up, fuzzball.”

The third season of the Cartoon Network hit Star Wars: The Clone Wars, started out way below light speed for me. After about three decent episodes, packed with clone training and droid blasting, the seasons momentum crashed with a few stagnant weeks of political intrigue. Two of these episodes focusing almost solely on the Mandalorians and their pacifist [Ed: Lame] ideals.

Eventually though, after an agonizing break in episodes, it started to pick up with the introduction of Savage Oppress. (Terrible name, I know. Grievous, Whorm Loathsom. Savage Oppress. See the pattern?) Savage Oppress is Count Dooku’s newest Sith apprentice, and he’s kicking all sorts of sphincter.

That was followed up then by the ‘Mortis trilogy’. Although ultimately a bit unnecessary, it kept me interested with Liam Neeson reprising his role as Qui Gon Jinn.

Now with ‘The Citadel’ episodes they have brought in the future Grand Moff Tarkin, who was portrayed in A New Hope by the legendary Peter Cushing. It is interesting to see the interactions between him and Anakin, seeing as how they will most definitely be colleagues in the near future.

Now as much as I enjoyed seeing young Boba Fett last season, and the introductions of Greedo and Tarkin this season, nothing really compares to how excited I am to see the next big return: Chewbacca. The legendary wookie is set to grace the screen once more in the two-part finale of season 3. Check out the video below to see him in action.

VIDEO NO LONGER EXISTS 

So get ready for some good ole’ Chewie, Padawans and Trandoshan slavers to wrap things up on April Fools Day! I can’t wait.