4 Things to Expect from The Clone Wars TV Show (and 3 Things Not To)

Who knew, back in 1977, when Luke Skywalker casually asked Ben Kenobi "You fought in the Clone Wars?" that such an innocent, off-hand question would spin-off into one of the biggest multimedia franchises in fanboy history? Yes, George Lucas' Star Wars: A New Hope did spawn arguably THE biggest franchise ever - take your blood-pressure pills, Trekkers - but that had an entire movie, starring Harrison Ford and Alec Guinness, as it's foundation. The Clone Wars, possibly the most popular Star Wars tangent since Boba Fett, was founded by that one sentence, a lot of fan love, and Lucas' legendary inability to let go of a good idea. Years later, after we witnessed the beginning of the wars in Attack of the Clones and their end in Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars have inspired novels, comic books, video games, toy lines, animated series - you name it.

And, believe us, Clone Wars fans have a LOT to be excited about in the near-future. Picking up where Genndy Tartakovsky's beyond-cool Clone Wars 2D-animated series left off in 2005, Lucasfilm is actively in production of a 3D-animated, 100-episode, PG-13 rated Clone Wars TV series that's scheduled to air on the Cartoon Network and TNT. If that wasn't cool enough, it was announced weeks ago that the Star Wars: Clone Wars series would kick-off with a theatrically-released feature - that's right, a SEVENTH Star Wars feature film - that will hit theatres on August 15, following Anakin and Obi-Wan during their wartime tours of duty.

Now, if you guys in the Stormtrooper helmets can stop hyperventilating, there are some hard questions we need to ponder about The Clone Wars series. As we mentioned, we've already seen the wars begin and end in the prequel trilogy, which begs the follow-up, "Are there really that many more stories to tell about the Clone Wars? Particularly when we already know the fates of so many of the major players in the conflict?"

We all know what happens to Obi-Wan, Anakin, Palpatine, Dooku, and the rest, so what can we expect from the TV series that will offer us something new? As our Jedi cups runneth over with these new announcements of theatrical features, we here at The Deadbolt have assembled a quick list of 4 things you can definitely expect from Lucas' new Clone Wars series and 3 things that... well... don't get your hopes up.

4 THINGS TO EXPECT FROM THE CLONE WARS SERIES:

1. New Recruits for Both Sides of the Force

Okay, we know what happens to Yoda and Palpatine after the Clone Wars, but that shouldn't make the series any less dramatic. World War II movies are still exciting even though we all go into them knowing the fates of FDR and Hitler. How do they accomplish that? By showing us the famous conflicts through different sets of eyes. This isn't to say that we won't be seeing Mace Windu or General Grievous from time to time, but the best way to expand the scope of The Clone Wars is to show us new perspectives on the battle, and it sounds like Lucas is prepared to do just that.

While speaking at the 2007 William S. Paley Television Festival, Lucas told Creative Screenwriting that some episodes would focus entirely on such lesser-known (though fan favorite) Jedis as Kit Fisto or Shaak Ti and was quoted from the event as saying that other episodes would feature a cast of only Clone troopers. Lucas also made news when the official Star Wars website announced that a new Jedi, the young Ahsoka Tano would be joining the cast as a previously unmentioned Padawan trainee who served under Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars. (Wonder why she wasn't mentioned in Sith? We're all assuming she dies, right?) Also, expect Asajj Ventress, the Darth Maul-esque female Dark Jedi to play a big role in the series, as well as Captain Rex, a Clone Trooper friendly will Obi-Wan and Anakin.

2. The Lighter Side of Anakin Skywalker

We're not saying that The Clone Wars is going to show us the softer, fuzzier side of the man who would be Vader, but it definitely looks like the new series will display Anakin's war-time heroism and bravery, front and center, to show us the definite contrast and depth of his fall from grace in Revenge of the Sith. In a video on the official Clone Wars website, Supervising Director Dave Filoni discusses how the series will touch on the newly-promoted, full-fledged Jedi Knight's "good side", particularly through his relationship with his comrade/former mentor Obi-Wan and his new Padawan Ahsoka.

While Attack of the Clones and Sith often featured Anakin at his worst (slaughtering Sand People or... you know... ALL of the Jedi, kids included), you can expect The Clone Wars to show him at his best, setting up why people like Obi-Wan, Padme, and the rest of the Jedi placed so much trust into that sad, flawed man. And, besides, as we know from Sith, during the Clone Wars, Anakin has to save Obi-Wan's skin ten different times - well, nine, if you don't count that business on Cato Neimodia - so he can't be all bad... for now.

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