EPISODE I: LOCKED IN COMBAT!

Their mysterious Sith assassin enemy now fully revealed, and armed with a lethal double-edge lightsaber no less, the last Jedi standing, Obi-Wan Kenobi, faces his ultimate trial in combat against Darth Maul within the environs of the Theed power room. Another great behind the scenes image from EPISODE I.

DELETED SCENES: THE BIG LEAP!

As the enemy Invisible Hand vessel comes under fierce attack from Republic forces high above Coruscant, our trapped Jedi heroes and the newly rescued Supreme Chancellor Palpatine must traverse dangerous areas inside the vessel whilst continuing their perilous escape attempts, during one of many opening deleted scenes from Episode III.

EPISODE II: THE KAMINO DISAPPEARANCE!

Deep in the heart of the Jedi Temple Archives, Obi-Wan Kenobi ponders the intriguing mystery of the missing planet Kamino and wonders where it, and its system, has gone from their star maps. Further help will be needed to unravel this anomaly, in a scene from EPISODE II.

EPISODE II: WHAT NEXT?

The Battle and Super Battle Droid armies have temporarily closed down their conflict against the remaining brave Jedi fighting within the vast Geonosian Death Arena, under the orders of Count Dooku, now fully revealed as the Separatists' clever and dangerous leader. As our heroes count the cost of their intervention against the enemy, what further evil will Dooku unleash?

A classic angle showing the Jedi, and Padme, from EPISODE II.

'EPISODE III' AT TWENTY: GRIEVOUS BODILY HARM!

Multi-saber murderer!

No longer the coward, the evil General Grievous decides to stand and fight, putting his unique and lethal lightsaber skills to bear against his ongoing enemy Obi-Wan Kenobi, whilst the environs of the sinkhole city of Utapau now resound to the fire of warfare with the newly arrived Clone Troopers. Another great moment for the cyborg villain in his final scenes during Episode III.

Obi-Wan proves a match for the Droid General.

"Since Dooku gets killed off early, I needed to have a villain besides the Emperor, who is the ultimate villain, the real key villain. I needed another person. A MacGuffin for the Jedi to go chasing around the universe. I also wanted to foreshadow what was going to happen to Anakin. So here we have an alien who's been put into a droid suit, he's a half-alien, half-droid. I wanted him to be quite a lot different from Darth Vader. Dooku was foreshadowing the idea that the Emperor would take a disgruntled Jedi and turn him into a Sith Lord. So with each film we kind of foretell a little of what is going to happen with Anakin. In this case, Grievous is that mechanism."

George Lucas - Empire magazine - June 2005

An Ode to Grievous | StarWars.com

A close-in shot of the malevolent alien/droid warlord.

'EPISODE III' AT TWENTY: A JEDI'S CONCERN...

A concerned Obi-Wan Kenobi in Padme's apartment on Coruscant.

Before being called to leave Coruscant to search for General Grievous on Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi makes a morning visit to Senator Amidala at her apartment. The reunion is a warm one at first, but Obi-Wan's concerns for his moody former Padawan are clear - Anakin's personality and feelings are especially clouded, not just by his troubled obligations to the Jedi, Obi-Wan and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, but also in his relationship with Padme, a situation of which Obi-Wan is fully aware that the couple are in love and will keep secret, maintaining their friendships. He asks Padme to keep an eye on Anakin and offer support during his important absence.

Ultimately cut for time and pacing reasons in 2004/5, the intriguing character-based scene (shot around July 2003), bizarrely never made it onto any DVD or Blu-ray deleted scene extras (especially strange as Padme actually references the meeting to Anakin in the film). 

Old friends happily reunited.

A page from the filmed but deleted sequence filmed at the FOX Studios, Australia.

Multiple camera filming of the scene.

The Jedi Council contact Kenobi informing him of his urgent mission to Utapau.

'EPISODE III' AT TWENTY: BRIDGE BATTLE!

On the bridge of the Invisible Hand, our Jedi heroes, plus Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, have the dreaded General Grievous in their hands and spring a trap to finally capture him so as to end this long-running Clone Wars, of which all kinds of hell erupts in the best Star Wars lightsaber action tradition. 

A great shot showing the on set lightsabers and the blue clad stunt doubles playing Grievous's lethal Magna Droids.

'EPISODE III' AT TWENTY: THE SLAYING OF SHAAK TI!

Facing the wrath of General Grievous.

Having landing, against all odds, on General Grievous's command ship during the epic Battle of Coruscant, Obi-Wan and Anakin are en route to discover what bas happened to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and his Jedi protector in Shaak Ti. Ti's fate is soon revealed, however, as the two Jedi soon prove helpless in preventing their friend from being slain by the brutal lightsaber-wielding evil of the Separatist droid leader, General Grievous.

The original slaying of Shaak Ti was one of a large number of scenes for the movie set aboard the Invisible Hand involving Anakin and Obi-Wan which were either deleted, trimmed down or reshaped/re-filmed. This original introduction to Grievous was replaced with an all-new sequence for the character partly filmed in additional photography that would be set on the vessel's bridge. 

Derek Thompson's June 18th, 2003 storyboards for the scene.

Shaak TI referencing in the original Episode III filming script from Nick Gillard's collection.

Concept art for the scene.

Anakin and Obi-Wan stop in a corner and witness the captured Shaak Ti.

Actress/Supermodel/designer Orli Shoshan on set as Shaak Ti. 

The shocking death scene.

Orli remains in the dead position as the technicians mill around the FOX Studios set.

Obi-Wan and Anakin prepare their next unexpected move.

'EPISODE III' AT TWENTY: THE DUELLISTS!

Once good friends, now opponents in light and darkness, the epic end of a friendship, of spiritual brotherhood, between Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former apprentice now hero Anakin Skywalker, is brilliantly rendered in this great art that touches on this front and centre storytelling aspect that would capture fans imaginations with Episode III's soon descent into fiery darkness and violence.

If anyone knows who the artist of this piece is, please get in touch.

CLASSIC ART: SIR ALEC GUINNESS... MORE THAN JUST A JEDI!

The original onscreen Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi, as played by the inimitable and iconic Sir Alec Guinness, whose subtly heroic personality and kindly, life-experienced manner in the beloved role is well captured in this splendid art by Mark Raats.

The Very “Strange” Requests Sir Alec Guinness Received After Star Wars | Vanity Fair

"When we were making it in England, some of the set people didn't understand George (Lucas) at all. They would come up to me and say, “What's with this American chap?” I'd tell them, “I think he's rather marvelous, and I can promise you that the film may never be heard of, but it's rather good.”

Sir Alec Guinness - 1978 interview quote

 

“He plays a kind of wizard in STAR WARS, but as far as I was concerned there’s magic to him all of the time.”

Mark Hamill - Starlog magazine - 1977

“Me in a movie with Alec Guinness! I thought if he laughed at me just once, I’d pick up my bags and go home.”

Harrison Ford - unknown source interview quote

 

AGE OF THE SITH! CELEBRATING TWENTY YEARS OF 'EPISODE III'

Art by Mike Mayhew for Marvel Comics.

It was the finale to the Prequel Trilogy that had to deliver the dramatic/action-packed goods to worldwide audiences eager to see the bridging between the worlds of darkness encapsulating both once Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker and his alter-ego Darth Vader. And for the most part, creator George Lucas delivered the epic goods in ways that we sometimes never expected, amidst a sea of CGI spectacle and lightsaber duels. Revenge of the Sith, now celebrating its iconic Twentieth Anniversary this May 19th, 2025, with its strong tone, fast pace and overall fine performances, has aged well in comparison to this current era of mostly disappointing superhero/sci-fi blockbusters being made, and a packed story continuing to inspire fans who love its doom-laden essence of tragedy seen-in with the rise of the evil Emperor Palpatine, as the fearsome Sith finally achieve their brutal aims against the Republic and their Jedi enemies.

But A New Hope is certain...

It was great to see how well the film did in its Anniversary re-release last month (April 2025), taking its box office final tally to nearly one billion whilst beating out modern films (like The Accountant 2) to a point that was astounding. Another incredible testament to the talent and imagination of George Lucas and his filmmaking team back in 2003.

Wookiee Basketball, Kid Han Solo, and a Kenobi Dummy: 20 Fun Facts about Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith | StarWars.com

Sam Jackson and Hayden Christensen at the El Capitan cinema launch night screening.

'JEDI' AT 40: A JEDI REDEEMED...

The faith that Luke Skywalker had in his father Anakin, that he could indeed be turned back to the good side of the Force, ultimately pays off, with the late Darth Vader's destroying of the cruel Emperor Palpatine leading to the former Jedi's deserved redemption, alongside Anakin's happy reuniting with his once friend Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda within the netherworld of the Force.

A lovely art pin-up piece for the Marvel adaptation of Return of the Jedi from 1983, by one of the modern comic era's greatest artists', Bill Sienkiewicz.

EPISODE I: WHAT HAPPENS ON TATOOINE...

All cover arts by Timothy Bradstreet.

The Phantom Menace's critics may often have complained that the film didn't have much plot for our main heroes to be involved in, but the drama taking place on Tatooine with our stranded heroes looking for a hyperdrive generator, and the introduction of Anakin, would open the doors to exciting side story potential that would be adeptly explored in comics via a special one-shoot, four-issue set of Dark Horse Comics. 

Released in Summer 1999, each separately showcased Queen Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in some impressive work filling in the story gaps on the aforementioned desert planet, executed by a fine team of writers (including Ryder Windham and Henry Gilroy) and artists (including Martin Egeland and Steve Crespo). It's no surprise to me that the series was so well received by fans and later reprinted as part of Disney's Expanded Universe merchandise, via Marvel Comics.

 

Original Dark Horse Comic cover that would be re-used by Marvel.

A fifth mini-story also appeared exclusively for Wizard magazine.

CLASSIC IMAGE: THE FLIGHT FROM NABOO BEGINS...

Now liberated from droid guards by her new Jedi protectors in Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, the young Queen Amidala, flanked by her trusted handmaidens, must make a brave decision that will see her removed from her world, her people, her society, as a phantom menace makes its powerplay via the Trade Federation's unforeseen invasion of Naboo. From this worsening scenario playing out, Qui-Gon's instincts also reveal that she will be killed if she stays. 

A great scene from Episode I, and an important moment for the series key female heroine/s.

A brief look back at the film from actor/writer/director Sofia Coppola, who played the handmaiden Sache, who can be seen in the above image second to the far right.

Sofia Coppola Looks Back at Forgotten Star Wars Cameo, Relationship With George Lucas

Sofia Coppola as Sache (seated right) as a security officer (Carmine Coppola) checks communications. A scene shot on location at Caserta Palace, Italy. 

For more on the invasion of Naboo linked to Queen Amidala and her enigmatic Handmaidens, check out last year's popular hardback release from E. K. Johnston, Queen's Peril.

Get it here: Star Wars: Queen's Peril: Amazon.co.uk: Johnston, E K: 9781368057141: Books

CLASSIC IMAGE: HELP FROM AN OLD FRIEND...

The trail for the elusive assassins threatening Padme Amidala's existence has seemingly gone cold for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Thankfully, an old friend experienced in life and work throughout the cosmos - Coruscant based Diner owner Dexter Jettster, is at hand to help his investigation further along, and sending Obi-Wan into new, mysterious realms...

A fun sequence from EPISODE II.

Out from the kitchen!

It was nice to see Dexter make a return to the saga in the recent Brotherhood novel, once more offering key advice and help to Obi-Wan beyond the knowledge and 'wisdom' of the Jedi Order's capabilities.

Filming the diner scene with actor Ranald Falk in 2000, at Fox Studios, Australia.

Clones at 20 | Rob Coleman on Bringing Yoda, Dexter Jettster, and More to Digital Life | StarWars.com

The maquette of the chosen Dexter Jettster head (based loosely on American star Ernest Borgnine) is brought to the FOX Studios, Australia for actors reference in the scene. 

Ranald Falk and Susie Porter (Hermione Bagwa) enjoy the monster face as shown by George Lucas.

And inspected by an ever-curious Ewan McGregor.

CELEBRATING TWENTY YEARS OF 'THE CLONE WARS' ANIMATED MICRO-SERIES!

Capturing the epic qualities of the Star Wars Prequel saga, and the two core Jedi Knights so intrinsically linked to it in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, this great cover art by Ben Caldwell for The Clone Wars comic strip adventure compilation of 2003/2004 is a standout piece of art and perfect in celebrating the landmark Twentieth Anniversary of the terrific Genndy Tartakovsky conceived series of 2003-05.

CLASSIC ART: SYMBIOTIC JEDI!

The unique bond between Master and Apprentice Jedi in the Force has never been better exemplified nor more conflicted on screen than the one between the charismatic veteran Qui-Gon Jinn and his dutiful student in the raw, Obi-Wan Kenobi, during the exciting and tragic events of EPISODE I.

The duo are well rendered here by the ever-popular, and much-missed artist and talent, John Alvin.  

Liam Neeson says Star Wars magic is being diluted by its spin-offs | EW.com

Liam Neeson is back as Qui-Gon Jinn in new Star Wars show Tales of the Jedi | GamesRadar