The Clone Wars Remaining Episodes to be Presented in Two Story Arcs?

TheForce.net is reporting that the remaining un-aired The Clone Wars episodes will be released as two separate story arcs. Although it hasn't been officially announced by Lucasfilm, their source has proven to be a highly reliable one over the past few weeks.

I'm curious to see what format these story-arcs might take - whether they will be DVD bonus content, or whether demand will be high enough to see them released as television specials or stand-alone DVDs.

As a continuity fiend, there's only one thing I want from these story-arcs, and that's for them to avoid taking Anakin and Obi-Wan's story right up to the opening of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. To my mind, chapters 22-25 of the original Clone Wars micro-series do this perfectly, and provide a fitting epilogue to the longer-running CGI series.

A Penny from a Long Time Ago...

American coins are cool - despite the infuriating fact that five-cent coins are larger than ten-cent coins, and that you end up with pocketfuls of almost worthless shrapnel in the form of one-cent coins. Of particular note are the wide variety of quarters available - there's a different design for every state, district, and national park.

For that reason, I often find myself flicking through my change to see if I've stumbled across anything interesting. Yesterday, I found this.

It's a 1977 penny. That means that this coin was made in the very same year as the original Star Wars film and has been circulating for the entire life of the franchise. To me, that's pretty darn awesome.

Lego 75006 Jedi Starfighter & Kamino Mini Planet Set

Today I managed to track down the third and final Lego Mini Planet Set in the latest series - 75006 Jedi Starfighter & Kamino. I picked it up from Toys'R'Us for $12.99US ($15.70NZ).

Hints on the Next Star Wars Television Project

In all of our hype surrounding the cancellation of The Clone Wars, another brief comment in the same press release seems to have been largely overlooked:

Lucasfilm has decided to pursue a new direction in animated programming. We are exploring a whole new Star Wars series set in a time period previously untouched in Star Wars films or television programming. You can expect more details in the months to come.

It's far too early to speculate on what this might be - and the mention of "a time period previously untouched in Star Wars films or television programming" is rather unhelpful. If we ignore the Droids and Ewoks series, and the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, then this leaves open everything before, after, and between the movies - excepting the gap between Episodes II and III.

Could this be a new CGI vehicle for the long-awaited Underworld live-action series? Or a repackaging of the recently delayed 1313 game? Or even a combination of both?

It's an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan!

Dave Filoni on the Future of The Clone Wars

Dave Filoni has posted a video on YouTube in which he gives us some more details on the "winding-down" of The Clone Wars. Also shown is an incredibly interesting glimpse of an as yet un-aired episode.

This video seems to imply that The Clone Wars will be skirting very close to - if not overlapping - the events of Revenge of the Sith. Bring on Order 66!

Ended, The Clone Wars Have

Following up on yesterday's rumour, we now have official confirmation via Lucasfilm that The Clone Wars - at least in its current incarnation - is officially over. The following comes directly from starwars.com:

After five highly successful and critically acclaimed seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, we feel the time has come to wind down the series. While the studio is no longer producing new episodes for Cartoon Network, we're continuing production on new Clone Wars story arcs that promise to be some of the most thrilling adventures ever seen. Stay tuned for more information on where fans can soon find this bonus content.

I still have mixed feelings about this announcement. As I noted yesterday, the series has been providing us with some icnredible viewing - particularly in the last season. It's good to know that we'll at least be getting a little more The Clone Wars action before saying goodbye entirely. Perhaps another movie-length feature to bookend the series would be appropriate?

The Clone Wars Cancelled?

Rumours are rife that The Clone Wars series has come to an end. While nothing has been officially announced by Lucasfilm, a number of sites - including jedinews.co.uk - are treating the news as legitimate enough to warrant a campaign to save the series.

As an avid watcher of the show, I'm really interested to see if this ends up being true. I know that Season 6 was well into the production phase, but that hasn't stopped shows from being cancelled before.

It's unfortunate though - as the show went from strength to strength in Season 5. That being said, the last few episodes really did culminate in what could be a fitting end for the series.

Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill Confirmed for Episode VII?

In an interview with Bloomberg Business Week this week, George Lucas may have very well spilled the beans on the original cast returning for the next instalment in the Star Wars saga.

The following is taken directly from the interview:

Asked whether members of the original Star Wars cast will appear in Episode VII and if he called them before the deal closed to keep them informed, Lucas says, “We had already signed Mark and Carrie and Harrison—or we were pretty much in final stages of negotiation. So I called them to say, ‘Look, this is what’s going on.’”

Most sources are taking this as definitive proof that Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill will be reprising their roles for Episode VII. These same sources seem to be skipping over the next part of the interview however:

“Maybe I’m not supposed to say that. I think they want to announce that with some big whoop-de-do, but we were negotiating with them.” Then he adds: “I won’t say whether the negotiations were successful or not.”

Maybe this is just George back-pedalling after realising he's said to much. On the other hand, it might be evidence that the involvement of the original cast is still uncertain. Considering that the production team are still only in the writing stages, this seems quite likely. I'll be treating this as unconfirmed until something more concrete is announced.

[UPDATE (12/03/12): Robert Iger - CEO of Disney - has quickly stepped in, telling CNBC that none of the original cast will be confirmed as returning until the story treatment for Episode VII is complete.]