'ATTACK' AT 20: THE PERILS OF THE GEONOSIAN DROID FACTORY!

Looking down into droid hell!

Tracing an open vent giving access to the interior of Geonosis, Anakin and Padme's arrival on the insect world, in a bid to free the captured Obi-Wan Kenobi, is soon fraught with danger, as a group of the hideous flying pest aliens force them into an even more bizarre and hostile nightmare environment: a self-operating battle droid construction factory!

Newly arrived on Geonosis.

Something lurks in the walls!

Anakin repels attacking Geonosians before he and Padme descend into the conveyor pit.

Padme sees danger ahead.

Anakin begins his rescue attempt.

Threepio is having a very bad day captured by the larger Droid work force.

A blind, headless Threepio enters the conveyor belt.

A Geonosian insect flies in to attack.

Anakin repels several Geonosians.

One gets industry splatted!

Pinned down, Anakin's lightsaber is wrecked.

Padme is caught in a vat to be filled with liquid heat.

A flying Artoo to the rescue!

Padme is freed...

... but soon captured.

Jango Fett arrives to capture Anakin.

CONCEPT ART

Anakin and Padme look down at the factory below in a live action plate/animatic merged with Ryan Church's conceptual artwork for the heavily reworked and expanded action sequence.

“I had done a painting of Obi-Wan’s view down into the (droid) factory. It was very red and impressionistic, smoky and hellish. That painting was a little over the top and simplified in terms of colour, but George liked it and decided to add the chase sequence (to the film) as a result of it.” 

“The droid factory is a super-threatening environment, a place by robots for robots. Soft, living flesh doesn’t belong there.” 

Ryan Church - Star Wars Insider issue 66 - 2003

Padme is trapped on the conveyor belt. Conceptual art by Ryan Church.

Anakin enters the fray to rescue Padme. Conceptual art by Ryan Church.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Originally, Anakin and Padme arrived on Geonosis with little interference at first, their entry to another level cut off by a chasm. In homage to Luke and Leia's swing from A New Hope, our Prequel heroes would traverse their own chasm in a similar fashion before being taken to Count Dooku and his cronies. By the time of the film's late 2000/early 2001 post production editing, Lucas abandoned this filmed material, instead seeing better potential in the idea of expanding an in-development scene briefly showing the Geonosian droid foundry and using it as the basis for an ambitious action sequence that would lift up that part of the film's plot and pacing before the epic arena finale. Filmed in March 2001 (and with extra inserts filmed later in the year), literally with the actors' captured against all blue screen in London, this new sequence also involved Threepio (now the equivalent Jar Jar Binks-esque rogue comedy element), whose greater involvement led to further post production changes/re-shoots for the shaping of his scenes with Artoo in the Geonosian Arena action. 

Early Geonosian concept with very large wings and accompanying animal size reference, by Terryl Whitlatch.

The final look of the disgusting Geonosians.

Dermot Power costume design for this sequence and for the arena.

Arrived on Geonosis, Padme originally wore a hat for scenes that were ultimately abandoned and re-shot. The hat was also present for location filming in Tunisia.

Preparing to film another abandoned (and re-filmed) scene, originally supervised by ILM talent John Knoll, where Padme would encounter a Geonosian.

Anakin and Padme prepare to swing across a chasm ( a revised nod to the original Luke and Leia scene of A New Hope) where they would be brought by the Geonosians to Count Dooku. The playful banter scene between the two was altered and re-filmed.

Walking a Geonosian corridor in re-filmed material.

"Every Anakin you see is always me, never a double. Although it could be a digital me-you never know when they’re going to do that..” 

Hayden Christensen - SFX magazine - April 2002

Threepio and the remote controlled Artoo film their additional corridor scenes, also in London.

Padme confronts a stuntman who will become a Geonosian during London-based blue screen filming in 2002.

"They made me look so cool. They put me on a conveyor belt with nothing - it was all blue around me. So I basically had to run and dodge things completely making stuff up. And then they painted stuff around me that looks like I'm jumping through things. I look so great. It was pretty exciting."

Natalie Portman - Lucasfilm promotional interview - 2002

Natalie Portman in action.

A Padme stunt double also films the scene and can be seen briefly in wide shot during the finished movie.

Threepio filming his conveyer belt scene.