EPISODE III: READY FOR LANDING?

Anakin Skywalker's legendary piloting skills are certainly being put to a formidable test as the wrecked Invisible Hand prepares to crash-land on Coruscant, of which Artoo and the rescued Supreme Chancellor Palpatine are likely very stressed accompanying passengers, in this interesting screen combination from Episode III.

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 III' AT TWENTY: TO DUEL A SITH LORD!

Lucas watches the new choreography between Ian McDiarmid and Samuel L. Jackson, hastily supervised by Nick Gillard.

With the Sith enemy finally revealed as none other than the Supreme Chancellor himself, Mace Windu finds himself in single, brutal lightsaber combat with Darth Sidious and thankfully seems to overpower his nemesis. But when Anakin Skywalker arrives on the scene playing out within the Chancellor's office, and sees Windu readying to kill the evil energy scarred Sith, the young Jedi has no choice but to intervene, so as to save the life of Padme. And so comes a shocking end to the respected Jedi Master, but a man who had nonetheless been wary of Anakin since his introduction to Yoda and the Jedi Council in Episode I.

"I suppose it's easy to play, I think, a hypercritical politician with a smiling face. It's also quite gratifying. Most difficult, certainly for me, were the all action sequences. The sequence fighting Sam (Jackson) and persuading Hayden (Christensen) to send him through the window. But you'll see from the DVD we had our problems that day. They weren't big ones and were easily surmountable."

"I'd learned some stuff and I worked with Nick Gillard, and when George saw it on the set it wasn't what he needed. And interestingly enough what he needed was more of me. I'd rather thought they'd want less of me. But he wanted not just my facial expressions, which would have been obvious and he was not terribly interested in replacing faces unless it was absolutely necessary, he wanted my energy."

Ian McDiarmid - Episode III DVD press launch - 2005

Locking sabers: Darth Sidious and Mace Windu.

Lucas goes through planned moves on set.

Lucas watches Ian McDiarmid with his double, Michael Byrne, as Sam Jackson and Nick Gillard wait to see what is improvised in the duel.

McDiarmid gets some intriguing new duelling moves in the sequence that are far different from any Jedi's attack/defense.

Filming the duel sequence near the what will be a CGI-smashed observation window.

The sparks are flying!

Anakin arrives to see the fallen Palpatine, as seen in this visual script page from Nick Gillard.

Holding two lightsabers (one presumably being Sidious's) in an unseen moment, Mace resists the dark side energies against him, watched by a troubled Anakin.

Onscreen, with just one saber taking on the powers of Palpatine.

Windu, with just his own saber, holds firm against the Sith's evil energies, but Anakin's surprise action leads to his demise at Sidious's hands - 'unlimited power'!

Mace is propelled out the window in the scene shot at the FOX Studios, Australia.

Jackson enjoys his 'death' alongside Nick Gillard.

"Yeah, it was hard work, a lot harder than before. You get what you ask for sometimes, and it's... damn! So, I ended up in Australia, and then I guess I had to rehearse for 8 days before I actually shot it, learned a 137-move saber fight. It was crazy."

Samuel L. Jackson - Tiscali Internet interview - 2005

"All of the stuff that I shot is in the movie. Nothing is on the floor, and George kept calling me back. We filmed Revenge of the Sith two and a half, almost three years ago, and I went back six times to do re-shoots, enhancement shots or whatever. We kept adding more and more, and all my material is in the picture. I even had to go back and sort of redo my death scene because George didn't think it was long enough. Well, I was kind of there like, "Ahhh," and then out of the window, George was like, "No. No. Stay in there." My death is cool. Actually, I could have ended the saga. I'm still a bad mother, but I had Sidious. I had him!" 

Samuel L. Jackson - Starlog magazine issue 337 - August 2005

Sam Jackson celebrates the 20th Anniversary landmark. Image: Facebook.

'EPISODE III' AT TWENTY: PADME AND THE DELEGATION OF 2000 TAKE ACTION!

Padme gets serious in diplomacy with this memorable outfit.

On Coruscant, the Clone Wars continue on despite the defeat of Count Dooku, with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's senatorial powers seemingly undiminished nor scaled back, as he had prior promised he would. Now is the time that a group of war-weary senators, ultimately led by Padme Amidala (garbed in one of her most striking diplomatic outfits), meets with Palpatine, watched by the leader's loyal friend and bodyguard of sorts in Anakin Skywalker, to discuss the future and an end to the galactic warfare. The Delegation of 2000 sadly fails in their task, brushed aside by Palpatine, of which Padme feels frustrated that Anakin is not in her corner on the subject, adding strain to their relationship.

Anakin watches as Palpatine brushes the Delegation's genuine concerns away.

The Delegation of 2000 has been soundly defeated.

An intriguing deleted sequence that we all wish had been put back into the film, boosting Natalie Portman's role in the film, and especially after so much prior production publicity linked to this sequence had been given to the fans, including the appearance of a Mon Calamari senator. 

Revenge of the Sith at 20: Revisiting the Cut Scenes | StarWars.com

Posed publicity/costume reference images by Keith Hamshere.

Continuity polaroid of Natalie Portman in costume for the deleted Scene 89.

Costume camera test scene.

"The biggest change was that, when I wrote the first draft, I had way too much stuff. It was a longer movie. I had a whole thing about Padme helping to start the Rebellion. Obi-Wan also had a whole piece, and there was more about the Emperor. And R2-D2 and C-3PO had bigger roles. But I realized that, one, I had too much material, and two, it was extraneous. Also, the film - which is the third act - really had to be about Anakin and his fall from grace. Anything that didn't deal with that had to get out. So I cut everything except Anakin's story."

George Lucas - Starlog 337 - August 2005

Portman in her stunning costume for a posed photo shoot with the costume team (including designer Trisha Biggar and Ivo Coveney), for Vanity Fair magazine's coverage of Episode III. Image by Annie Leibovitz.

'EPISODE III' AT TWENTY: SITH TALK!

The final stages of Palpatine's plans to convert Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side begin during a night at the opera, as the successfully seeded idea of preventing loved ones from dying festers for ill-will and obsession in the young Jedi's mind, of which the only way for Anakin to learn this unique power, and save his beloved Padme from an ominous prediction, is not from one of his own brotherhood...

The shocking legacy of Darth Plagueis the Wise is revealed.

The powerhouse scene from Episode III that everyone remembers, beautifully played by Ian McDiarmid, who clearly relished the opportunity to start becoming Darth Sidious properly by the end of the film. 

"The greatest fun of all is a big action sequence, which you probably wouldn't think as such, and that's the scene in the opera. Hayden and I sitting together... and just talking as the opera is playing. But interestingly enough, people have told me this and I was very pleased to hear it, it's as full of action in a way as any sequence involving spaceships or lightsaber fights because it's thought in action. It is a kind of saber battle but of the intellect. And the scene was a joy to do because i get to work with Hayden and we were with each other every second of the day in our eyes, which is exactly how actors really like to act."

Ian McDiarmid - Episode III DVD release press launch - 2005

Getting ready to film.

Above angle of the makeshift set, that will be considerably enhanced with CGI in post production.

'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.

CLASSIC ART: PROTECTING THE SUPREME CHANCELLOR!

The surprise attack on the heart of the Republic is ongoing, and brutal Separatist droid leader General Grievous has already launched his fiendish plan to kidnap the Supreme Chancellor from Coruscant, audaciously partaking in the scheme himself, now planet side and armed with the lightsabers of dead foes as he takes on Palpatine's current steadfast Jedi bodyguards in this truly dark time.

Super Expanded Universe art linked to the opening of EPISODE III from the ever-reliable Chris Trevas. 

THE CLONE WARS: POLITICAL ANIMALS!

Keeping the galaxy-shattered Clone Wars going through lies, treachery and false promises, whilst fellow corruptible Senators and the near powerless Jedi continue to be fools unaware of their murderous and power-grabbing dark side autonomy, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and his key assistant Mas Amedda enjoy the manipulation and chaos before their final plans come into effect.

Another great image from The Clone Wars animated series.

'ATTACK' AT 20: DISPATCHING THE CLONE TROOPERS!

The first battalions of Clone Troopers gather...

On an immense staging area on Coruscant, the legions of Clone Troopers begin boarding their massive Republic Cruisers bound for galactic conflict against the Separatists. Watching all this from afar, a core group of senators huddle around the pleased Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to watch the epic debarkation, including a clearly but silently frustrated Bail Organa, who knows that the violent troubles of the de-stabilized galaxy will only intensify...

“The Imperial March in this case is a powerful potent, suggesting a very dramatic future which is in store for all the characters in the next episode. It’s a piece of music that represents, in my mind at least, not only Darth Vader but the forces of the Empire. It was actually George’s suggestion to use it there, and I think it works extremely well.” 

John Williams on using The Imperial March theme towards the end of Episode II - Star Wars Insider - Issue 61 - 2002

Onto their cruiser transports. The Clone War has begun. 

On Coruscant, the Republic senate watches the Clones mobilization.

Palpatine and a troubled, helpless to act Bail Organa watch the proceedings.

CLASSIC IMAGE: PALPATINE POWER!

The enemy operating from within the heart of the Republic has now been revealed to the Jedi, but alas too late to save the venerable order from near extinction. Now Jedi Master Yoda engages Darth Sidious in combat deep in the senate chambers on Coruscant, but such dark force power soon proves hard to fight, in this great moment of savage fury from EPISODE III.

EPISODE III: A SPIDER IN HIS WEB!

From within his all-seeing, all-knowing office during the events of EPISODE III, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is seemingly surprised and shocked by the appearance of Jedi Master Mace Windu and two of his colleagues, their duty to arrest him and put an end to the Clone Wars. Windu has been informed that Palpatine is the Sith Lord the Jedi have been looking for these past few years, but even he doesn't truly realise, until all too late, just what a dangerous and powerful wolf they have deep within the sheep fold...

THE CLONE WARS: REPUBLIC INSPECTION!

The birth of a war, and the emergence of a Clone Army in the millions luckily ready for use - a force of efficient soldiers impressively and ominously assembled for inspection and orders instruction on the core world of Coruscant by the Galactic Republic's trusted, total overseer Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, with guidance from his Jedi colleagues Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

 A brief and memorable visual moment from the original The Clone Wars animated movie of 2008.

'ATTACK' AT 20: TO SAVE THE REPUBLIC...

Bail Organa with Mas Amedda and Senator Ask Aak  in the Supreme Chancellor's Office, discussing the fate of the Republic. Art by Paolo Puggioni.

Sent prior to being captured by the enemy, Obi-Wan Kenobi's urgent warning message about the assembling Separatist army on Geonosis has been received by the Republic, whose key leaders and the Jedi Council watch with alarm and decide their next critical course of action, an action that will surely need the intervention of the mysteriously created Clone Army on Kamino...

Several sequences of dialogue were trimmed from the scene with the final editing- Yoda tells Palpatine that only two hundred Jedi out of a thousand are readily available to go to Geonosis, whilst Jar Jar Binks would lose several lines that would ultimately be held over to his important senate chamber scene.

The disturbing message from a now captured Obi-Wan Kenobi triggers the need for action against Count Dooku and his new army.

Master Yoda's concerns grow for both the Republic's dire situation and the building aura of the Dark Side of the Force. 

Jimmy Smits proves a well cast addition to the saga as Bail Organa.

Pondering the decisions alongside corruptible Twi'lek Senator Orn Free Taa (Matthew Rowan).

Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and Mas Amedda (David Bowers) wonder who can boldly represent the Senate's need for the newly discovered Clone Army during Senator Amidala's absence?

A behind the scenes publicity team capture Orn Free Taa and his lovely associates on set.

Matthew Rowan and Jay Laga'aia enjoy a break between filming.

The Clone Army usage idea is discussed in senate.

A duped Senator Jar Jar Binks coerces the Republic into accepting and using the Clone Army residing on Kamino. An important turning point for the doomed Republic in the Prequel saga.