EPISODE III: WAR IN THE HEAVENS!

An army of Republic Cruisers begin their attack on enemy forces, launching waves of fighters and accompanied by a Jedi Starfighter, in this terrific fan artwork linked to the Prequel saga, capturing the epic flavour of intergalactic war that the saga does so well.

If anyone knows the name of the excellent artist here, please get in touch.

'THE CLONE WARS': DAY OF THE CLONES!

The ultimate force for intergalactic conflict has been assembled on Coruscant, handily created by mystery forces years in advance of the ensuing Separatist crisis now brewing, and right under the very noses of both the Republic and the once all-knowing Jedi Knights. The Clone Wars have indeed begun...

An atmospheric and important moment from The Clone Wars animated series, so well recreated from the end of Episode II.  

'EPISODE III' AT TWENTY: A CONFLICT IN THE STRATOSPHERE!

A space battle like no other in the Prequel saga.

"War! The Republic is crumbling under attacks by the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere.

In a stunning move, the fiendish droid leader, General Grievous, has swept into the Republic capital and kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Senate.

As the Separatist Droid Army attempts to flee the besieged capital with their valuable hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a desperate rescue mission to rescue the captive chancellor..."

EPISODE III title crawl text - 2005

The Jedi Starfighters commanded by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.

Republic fighters ready to attack and escort the Jedi to their destination.

Enemy Tri-fighters.

Obi-Wan and Anakin navigate their way through the battle in these two animatic storyboard script pages from the archive of Nick Gillard.

"This was the most complicated space battle in any Star Wars movie in terms of number of elements and variety of things depicted. It was also a little different. There has been a space battle in all six of the pictures; but, for the first time, we set a space battle in the upper regions of the atmosphere - in this case, Coruscant's atmosphere. So it was almost in space, but not quite. We used that as an excuse to do smoke, fire, drag, flak bursts and a lot of other things you can't do in space."

"There is a progression in the space battle. We start at one place, thread through a bunch of ships, and end up at Grievous' ship at the other end. Layout determined what ships were where, and every shot began with that basic space arrangement."

John Knoll - Cinefex Magazine 102 -2005

Speeding through the epic battlefield.

Penetrating a massive explosion.

The Jedi Starfighters tackle all obstacles.

Republic Cruisers close in.

Several epic battle shots from the sequence between locked-in Republic and Separatist forces.

BEHIND THE SCENES: DARKNESS ON THE BRIDGE!

On the bridge of the Emperor's (Ian McDiarmid) former Republic Cruiser, the Sith Lord's loyal enforcer Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) joins him and Captain Tarkin (Wayne Pygram) to monitor the progress of the Death Star prototype's construction, in a partially built set at the Fox Studios, Australia for the memorable near-closing moments to Episode III.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: A LEGAL BLOCKADE?

'Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute. 

Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo.

While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict...'

EPISODE I opening title crawl - 1999

CLASSIC IMAGE: BEYOND A SMALL INCIDENT...

Supreme Chancellor Valorum's discreetly sent 'negotiators' arrive at the Trade Federation Blockade of Naboo, but difficult events will only spiral for the worse. More terrific concept art setting up the opening to EPISODE I, by Doug Chiang.

THE 'SITH' AT TEN: INTO CONFLICT!

As war drums echo into the heavens, a Republic cruiser advances towards an incredible eye-stretching inner space conflict high above the Galactic Core world of Coruscant, as the stage is set for the final battles of the three-year long Clone Wars, during the Revenge of the Sith.

'THE CLONE WARS' SEASON ONE. AFICIONADO's TOP FIVE EPISODES. NUMBER FIVE - 'SHADOW OF MALEVOLENCE'

In the run-up to the anticipated release of Season Five of THE CLONE WARS, as well as the ultimate Seasons One to Five box set celebrating animated action/adventure in the best STAR WARS tradition, we at AFICIONADO thought we'd go back to the show's 2008 beginning and, in a continuing tradition, chart our five favourite episodes from that all-important, ground-breaking launch year.

So, in ascending order, here's five reasons why we love our first choice- number five: an early entry for the series and still one of its best, showcasing classic space battle action and the further cementing of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano's unique friendship, and their relationship when it comes to decisive combat, proving a duo to be reckoned with as they take on the terror that lies within the Shadow of Malevolence.

1. The Malevolence. Getting the series off to a terrific and threatening start, our heroes are having a bad time of it from the Separatist's sinister and effectively deadly new Ion weapon, birthed in the equally formidable ship The Malevolence, of which you couldn't get a more malevolent captain of a vessel than its Jedi blood hungry droid General Grievous. Truly a threat this side of the formidable Death Star, and one that Anakin and Ahsoka must face with genuine courage and skill within the Force.

2. Y-wing bombers. The first true nod to the Classic Trilogy era within this first animated season, and its a real crowd-pleaser, as Anakin and Ahsoka command their bomber fighter squadron on the long journey to sneak attack General Grievous. Unlike their appearances from STAR WARS to JEDI, these vessels are in their prime as warships, their outer shells now fully covered, their interiors fully manned. It's a delight to see the vessels back in the STAR WARS universe and especially in the Prequel era, their dedicated Clone Troopers crews delivering prime Classic Trilogy battle speak. as the craft blaze into action in the episodes thrilling final battle.

3. Ralph McQuarrie tributes. Right from the start, and a fine tradition now carried over into the upcoming REBELS series, the master STAR WARS universe illustrator's unused work from 1975- 1982 is adapted and refined for use anew on the animated series, and it all looks wonderful. Inside the space lane known as the Balmorra Run, our heroes have a close-up encounter with the large and beautiful creatures known as the Neebrays, looking much like the flying whales seen in McQuarrie's conceptual art for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in 1978/79 (and also later adapted as another species for EPISODE II). Their presence brings a wondrous if dangerous sequence of unforeseen jeopardy to our heroes during the story's mid-point.

4. The return of the Kaminoans. Unlike their original and vital to the plot appearance in EPISODE II, our favourite Rishi Maze-based alien cloners presence are not seen en masse yet, nor on their world, in animated form until Season Three's opening episodes, though they make a brief but key contribution here, providing hints of their use in storylines to come, too. In Shadow, they are custodians to a medical space station, one of many in areas near galactic war zones, where wounded clones are in varying stages of treatment- now under continual threat of target practice from General Grievous. A unique part of the Prequel Universe, it's a treat to see a return from those gentle but technologically advanced big necks...

5. "I have a bad feeling about this." That classic line, the one that crosses all boundaries and STAR WARS films, makes it presence felt for the first time within the animated TV series- uttered by no less than a Battle Droid!

Coming October 15th to UK DVD and Blu-ray: STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS- THE COMPLETE SEASONS ONE TO FIVE.

AFICIONADO REVIEW: 'STAR WARS: COMPLETE VEHICLES' BOOK

Inside the belly of the beast! A snowbound AT-AT graces the cover of the new COMPLETE VEHICLES. Images: DK BOOKS.

STAR WARS: COMPLETE VEHICLES (CROSS-SECTIONS BOOK)

Written by Kerrie Dougherty, Curtis Saxton, David West Reynolds, Ryder Windham

Illustrated by Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore 

(Additional Illustrations by John Mullaney, Jon Hall)

Published by DORLING KINDERSLEY

Reviewed by Scott Weller

The incredible and diverse legacy of the STAR WARS saga's iconic land and spacecraft, as vital a part of George Lucas's opus success as the series main lead heroes and heroines would prove to be, continues to make an indelible mark on the imaginations of fans young and old within the splendid pages of DORLING KINDERSLEY's latest supreme, end note Cross Sections book, uniquely bringing the spectacle and wonder of the galaxies from the Prequel and Classic Trilogy universe together in one very satisfying and detailed place. COMPLETE VEHICLES, out now, is a marvel of modern industrial art and beauty within technological achievement, as DK's incredible visualists, primarily Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore (with additional work from John Mullaney and Jon Hall) show everything we want to know, and much, much more besides, about what makes the Empire and Rebellion, Republic and Separatists key technologies for war and peace work. There's a wonderful continued sense of continuity linked to the "Used Universe" that Lucas always wanted captured in and out of the saga, and this book exemplifies that heightened domain of plausible realism in a fantasy universe that still makes its mark as the greatest sci-fi movie experience yet.

A detailed look at EPISODE I's introductory Republic Cruiser.

Across 200 pages, and featuring four brand new cross-section artworks specially for this volume, the best and the brightest, the singular and the many are beautifully realised in the highest printed production standards possible. Personal favourites from the dense and grand Prequel Trilogy include EPISODE I's Pod Racers, with all the colourful craft and their equally colourful and often bizarre alien occupants from the Boonta Eve Classic, EPISODE II's exciting and zippy Jedi Starfighters and heavy weapons packed Republic Assault Ships, whilst EPISODE III, edging its design style ever nearer to the more grimy and guerrilla war-esque original movies, shows us the Republic and Separatists fighters that would eventually transmogrify into the X-wings and TIE fighters of old, alongside incredible and formidable dreadnoughts like fiendish droid General Grievous's immense Invisible Hand, looming large and brutally over that film's opening conflict above Coruscant. There's also smaller vehicles covered that are hard to see in the films, like the Republic Swamp Speeders, seen on the jungle world of Felucia as the epic and devastating ORDER 66 events begin, and even one important craft from a deleted scene-Yoda's all-purpose escape pod from the original conclusion of REVENGE OF THE SITH,  a moment which finally made its appearance on the 2005 DVD.

The odd but beautiful Millennium Falcon in the spotlight.

On the Classic Trilogy side, there isn't one vehicle presented in the book that's not to be savoured. From A NEW HOPE's swift Rebel Blockade Runner and mighty pursuant Imperial Star Destroyer whose first entrance changed movies and movie making forever, to former farmboy Luke Skywalker's trusty and rusty Landspeeder (one of the four new arts in the book). Then on to bigger and better things like the immense and truly evil-looking Death Star, finally destroyed by movie's end, but not before a second just as dangerous planet killer was on the drawing boards from the evil Emperor for the start of RETURN OF THE JEDI. In between them, there's the rich tapestry of metal, steel and duracrete marvels seen in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, from air traversing Rebel Snowspeeders to ground-pounding TIE bombers, and Darth Vader's immense Super Star Destroyer-part of a "Death Fleet" which also includes such hero killers as the lumbering AT-AT "Walkers" and their smaller but equally effective cousins, the "Chicken-Walker" AT-ST's. With the unique cross-section spread features, assisted by some great images from the LUCASFILM ARCHIVES, we finally get to see how some of these great marvels function on land, sea and space-how the TIE fighters depart Imperial vessels, the interior of the AT-AT with its ready to disembark Snowtroopers, and a unique perspective of JEDI's impractical yet flyable "bumblebee" that is the distinctive B-wing fighter, whose squadron sadly had an all-too brief an appearance during the vital end game that is the Battle of Endor.

General Grievous's Clone-crushing Wheel Bike from EPISODE III.

Now transferred to a slightly more accessible size for younger readers (with a handy Vehicle Technical Data section at the back), and with a warm and nostalgic foreword from ILM's legendary effects man and Prequel "wizard" John Knoll, make the COMPLETE VEHICLES a firm part of your STAR WARS book collection, in what will surely be a great primer for  the incredible mixture of old and new marvels ahead with EPISODE VII, coming in 2015.

AFICIONADO RATING. Spanning nearly twenty years of work, COMPLETE VECHICLES is a true labour of love and testament to STAR WARS from DORLING KINDERSLEY and LUCASFILM. 4.5 out of 5

Get hold of STAR WARS: COMPLETE VEHICLES here: Star Wars: Complete Vehicles: DK Publishing: 9781465408747: Amazon.com: Books

CLASSIC IMAGE: TO PROTECT CLONE INTERESTS...

A protective fleet of Republic cruisers line up in orbit above the water world of Kamino, whose people make the vital, all-important Clone Troopers that protect the galaxy-and whose critical participation in the war makes it a tempting, prized target for revenge fuelled, Sith manipulated Separatist forces in their bid to take control.

A great visual moment from the excellent THE CLONE WARS Season Three episode ARC TROOPERS, now available on WARNER BROTHERS DVD and Blu-ray as part of its box-set.

CLASSIC IMAGE: DEPARTING FORCES!

Here's a shot that has only been shown briefly in one of the early CLONE WARS episodes opening narration moments and was, as far as I'm aware, not fully part of an actual story itself (I reckon its an unused shot from the first CLONE WARS theatrical movie from 2008), showing Republic Warships and fighter escorts leaving Coruscant and soon going into battle.

It's a fantastic image from a great series...