Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones

Opening crawl

Plot summary

Set a decade after the events of The Phantom Menace, the Galactic Republic faces a crisis. The peace is threatened by a Separatist movement spearheaded by the former Jedi Master Count Dooku, also known as the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus. This situation pushes the Galactic Senate to consider a Military Creation Act, aiming to establish a standing army for the Republic's defense. Senator Padmé Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo, intends to oppose the Act upon her return to the Senate, despite the dwindling number of Jedi available to maintain order in the galaxy.

Upon her arrival on Coruscant, Amidala barely survives an assassination attempt that results in the death of her decoy, Cordé. In response, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine assigns Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, to protect her.

That night, the assassin Zam Wesell launches another attack on Amidala, but the Jedi thwart her plan. They pursue her through Galactic City, eventually subduing her at the Outlander Club. As Obi-Wan and Anakin question her outside the bar, she is fatally struck by a saberdart fired by a mysterious man, preventing the Jedi from discovering her employer's identity. Returning to the Jedi Temple, the council tasks Obi-Wan with tracking down the assassin's killer. Meanwhile, Anakin is assigned to safeguard the Senator and escort her back to Naboo. Anakin embraces this opportunity, eager to escape Obi-Wan's criticism and be on his own. Moreover, he has developed feelings for Padmé and looks forward to spending time with her. In Amidala's absence, Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks assumes her senatorial duties, despite the Senator's frustration at missing the Senate's decision on the fate of the Military Creation Act.

Obi-Wan's investigation leads him to Kamino, a planet mysteriously absent from the Jedi Archives. There, he uncovers a clandestine clone army being created for the Republic. Prime Minister Lama Su informs him that the army was commissioned nearly ten years prior by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, despite Obi-Wan's belief that Sifo-Dyas had died before that time. Jango Fett, a bounty hunter, was chosen as the genetic template for the clones. Obi-Wan encounters Jango on Kamino and suspects him of being the assassin he is pursuing. He attempts to apprehend Jango, resulting in a fierce duel. Jango utilizes his blasters and missile equipment, ultimately defeating Obi-Wan by sending him into the ocean below. Believing him dead, Jango departs Kamino with his son Boba. Unable to capture Jango, Obi-Wan attaches a homing beacon to his ship, Slave I, and tracks him to Geonosis.

Meanwhile, Anakin and Padmé spend quality time together on Naboo, enjoying each other's company. Anakin confesses his profound love for her, promising to fulfill her every wish. However, Padmé resists, citing the impossibility of their relationship due to her senatorial position and his Jedi status. This rejection angers Anakin and creates internal conflict between his desires and his Jedi obligations.

Anakin is also disturbed by a premonition that his mother is in danger, prompting him to take Padmé to his home planet of Tatooine, defying Obi-Wan's orders to remain on Naboo. Upon arrival, Anakin seeks out his former owner Watto, who reveals that his mother married Cliegg Lars, a moisture farmer. They travel to the Lars moisture farm, where they meet C-3PO and Anakin's step-brother, Owen. Cliegg reveals that Shmi was kidnapped a month prior by Tusken Raiders. Anakin searches through the night and finds her tied and battered in a Tusken camp. She dies in his arms. Consumed by rage and grief, he slaughters the entire Tusken community, including women and children. On Coruscant, Yoda senses a disturbance in the Force as the massacre unfolds (Qui-Gon Jinn's voice shouts "Anakin, Anakin, no!" during this scene). Anakin returns his mother's body to the homestead for her funeral.

On Geonosis, Obi-Wan overhears a meeting between Count Dooku and the leaders of the commerce guilds, discovering their involvement in the separatist movement and the creation of a new droid army. He also learns that Nute Gunray orchestrated the assassination attempt on Amidala to avenge the Trade Federation's defeat at the Battle of Naboo. Obi-Wan transmits his findings to the Council via Anakin and Padmé's ship, but he is surrounded by droidekas and captured before completing his report.

Having learned of Dooku's army, Jedi Master Mace Windu leads a battalion of Jedi to Geonosis. Unbeknownst to them, Anakin and Padmé also head there to rescue Obi-Wan. Meanwhile, Representative Binks urges Chancellor Palpatine to assume emergency powers, enabling him to deploy the newly discovered clone army into battle.

On Geonosis, Count Dooku attempts to sway Obi-Wan to his side, arguing that the Republic and Jedi have lost their way and must be opposed. He references his past as Qui-Gon's master and suggests that Qui-Gon would have joined him if he were alive. Obi-Wan refuses, asserting that Dooku is mistaken and that Qui-Gon would never have aligned with him. Anakin and Padmé arrive on the planet but are swiftly captured by Jango Fett and sentenced to death, joining Obi-Wan in the Geonosis arena for their execution. Before facing their fate, Padmé and Anakin confess their love for each other. Count Dooku, Nute Gunray, Rune Haako, Poggle the Lesser, Jango Fett, and Boba Fett observe the proceedings from the stands. The trio is forced to battle a reek, a nexu, and an acklay while chained. Mace Windu arrives with his Jedi strike team, engaging Dooku's droid army in the arena. Spotting the Jedi, Jango Fett descends to the arena floor and confronts Windu. After a brief struggle, Windu kills Jango when his jetpack malfunctions. The Jedi, though valiant, are overwhelmed by the droid army's superior numbers and face defeat. Yoda arrives unexpectedly with the Republic's new clone army, rescuing the surviving Jedi.

A larger battle ensues outside the arena between the Republic's clone army and the Confederacy's droid army. Nute Gunray and Rune Haako flee in Gunray's ship. The clone army gains the advantage, forcing the droid army to retreat. Poggle the Lesser entrusts Count Dooku with the early plans for the Death Star. Dooku attempts to escape, but Obi-Wan and Anakin pursue him to a secret hangar. Anakin disobeys Obi-Wan's orders and attacks Dooku, who uses Force lightning to knock him unconscious. Obi-Wan cautiously approaches Dooku, who claims his powers surpass Obi-Wan's and unleashes Force lightning. Obi-Wan blocks it with his lightsaber, and the two engage in a lightsaber duel. Despite Obi-Wan's skill, he is outmatched by Dooku, who taunts him about his perceived lack of ability. Dooku defeats Obi-Wan. As Dooku prepares to deliver a killing blow, Anakin intervenes, blocking the strike. Dooku toys with Anakin before severing his right hand and Force pushing him next to Obi-Wan. Yoda arrives as Dooku is about to escape, and the two Force masters engage in a fierce battle. Dooku, realizing he cannot defeat Yoda, attempts to collapse a pillar on Obi-Wan and Anakin as a distraction. Yoda diverts the pillar, allowing Dooku to escape in his solar sailer. He meets with his master, Darth Sidious, who is pleased that the war has begun as planned.

In the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan, Mace, and Yoda discuss Dooku's warning about Darth Sidious controlling the Senate. Yoda is skeptical but agrees to monitor the Senate closely. Meanwhile, Chancellor Palpatine oversees the deployment of the clone trooper forces.

Back on Naboo, Anakin, now with a mechanical arm, and Padmé have a secret wedding, witnessed only by C-3PO and R2-D2.

Development

John Knoll shared with Star Wars Insider that the transition to digital cameras posed the biggest challenge for his team at the start of Attack of the Clones' production. Nevertheless, Knoll recognized the advantage of digital cameras, which allowed for immediate playback, and he enjoyed filming with them. In a 2005 interview with Temuera Morrison on The Tem Show, Rick McCallum revealed that New Zealand was initially considered as a filming location before Australia. However, due to the concurrent filming of The Lord of the Rings in New Zealand, complications arose. Despite the filming challenges, Lucasfilm Ltd. casting directors scouted talent in New Zealand, recruiting actors such as Bodie Taylor and Daniel Logan.

In December 2001, rumors circulated that members of *NSYNC had filmed cameo appearances in Attack of the Clones. The story gained traction, with reports claiming that Joey Fatone, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick were cast as Jedi and Naboo citizens by producer Rick McCallum. Lucasfilm later confirmed the reports but denied that George Lucas had done so as a favor to his daughters Katie and Amanda, who were fans of the band. Justin Timberlake clarified that he and Lance Bass were not involved, but that Joey Fatone's brother Steven Fatone was. Many Star Wars fans reacted negatively, viewing the incident as further evidence of the franchise "selling out," similar to their reactions to Jar Jar Binks and the Ewoks. On January 12, 2002, a Saturday Night Live sketch satirized Attack of the Clones, depicting the movie pausing for *NSYNC to perform a song titled "I'm a Jedi Knight in these Jedi Days." Joey Fatone later announced that the singers' scenes had been cut due to the negative fan response. However, Lucasfilm's Lynne Hale refuted this, stating that Lucas had the final say and that "the final edit of the film is what he determines it will be."

Release

Leading up to the release, Lucasfilm continued its series of web documentaries and experimented with promotional tools like Episode II Select and Ahmed Best's on-set videos. On May 11, 2002, TV Guide released three different covers to promote the film.

Merchandising

Sony released the film's soundtrack on April 23, 2002.

R. A. Salvatore penned a book version of the movie, featuring original scenes. The prologue depicts Anakin having a nightmare about his mother turning into glass and shattering while flying to Ansion with Obi-Wan. The book elaborates on the events leading up to Shmi Skywalker's capture by Tusken Raiders and Cliegg Lars's injury during his rescue attempt. These scenes provide greater insight into Shmi's life on the moisture farm and her relationships with Cliegg, Owen, Beru, and C-3PO. The book also includes scenes of Senator Amidala on Naboo before her departure for Coruscant, where she discusses retiring from politics and receives reports about unrest among spice miners on Naboo's moons. Furthermore, the book delves deeper into the father-son relationship between Jango and Boba Fett, adding emotional weight to Jango's death. (However, it contains inaccuracies regarding Jango, such as describing his armor as grey when it is white with blue accents.) This material is used in the first of the Boba Fett series of young adult novels.

Home video

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones was released on VHS and DVD on November 12, 2002. The VHS edition included six deleted scenes and a segment from Star Wars: Connections. Attack of the Clones marked the final VHS release for the Star Wars franchise in the United States, preventing a full VHS set for the Prequel Trilogy (although Revenge of the Sith was released on VHS in other countries). The DVD version contains elements edited or added by George Lucas, making it slightly different from the theatrical release.

• Disc 1 DVD Menu themes based on planets from the movie: Coruscant, Kamino, and Geonosis Available subtitles: English Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) Commentary by writer-director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll, Roger Guyett, and sound designer Ben Burtt DVD Credits with Blooper reels DVD-ROM content including website archive of HoloNet News[15]

• Disc 2 Main DVD Menu's theme is based on the Jedi Library Eight exclusive deleted scenes with introductions of George Lucas, Rick McCallum, and Ben Burtt "From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in Episode II": all-new full-length documentary about the creation of digital characters in Episode II "State of the Art: The Previsualization of Episode II": witness the vital role of the animatics team "Films Are Not Released: They Escape" sound documentary Three featurettes examining the story line, action scenes, and love story through behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and filmmakers 12-part Web documentary "Across the Stars" music video: an original composition by John Williams crafted exclusively for this DVD Exclusive production photos One-sheet posters International outdoor campaign Trailers and TV spots "R2-D2: Beneath the Dome" mockumentary trailer ILM visual effects breakdown montage Exclusive DVD-ROM content Production photo gallery College Want Ads Campaign gallery Easter egg (enhanced DVD-ROM multimedia content when you click on the weblinks of any of the posters in the image gallery, featuring downloadable wallpapers and messenger icons)[15] DVD-ROM content includes a free trial of Hyperspace

The film saw a release on Blu-ray during September of 2011.

On April 7 of 2015, the Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm made a joint announcement regarding the digital availability of the six Star Wars films that had already been released. Since Lucasfilm had kept the digital distribution rights for Episodes I through III and V through VI, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment put Attack of the Clones up for digital download on April 10 of 2015.

Despite The Walt Disney Company's purchase of Lucasfilm Ltd. in 2012 and the distribution rights to every Star Wars film made afterward, Fox was set to keep the original distribution rights to Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope in perpetuity across all forms of media worldwide, as they had co-produced and co-financed the film. Fox was also supposed to retain theatrical, nontheatrical, and home video rights worldwide for the franchise's five films that came after, which Lucasfilm had independently produced and financed, through May of 2020, at which point ownership would transfer to Disney. This complex relationship between Fox and Disney, particularly regarding Fox's permanent rights to Episode IV, created an issue for any future box set containing all nine films. On December 14 of 2017, The Walt Disney Company revealed that it would be acquiring most of Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox, including the film studio and all distribution rights to A New Hope. The deal was officially completed on March 20 of 2019. A Blu-ray box set that contained the nine main instalments of the Star Wars saga, remastered in 4K, was reportedly announced to be in development for a 2020 release on April 12 of 2019.

Credits