George Lucas‘ 3D CGI continuation of the Star Wars saga isn’t just coming to television this fall — the new series will kick-off this summer with a full-length theatrical release.
Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting, and production company Lucasfilm Animation announced yesterday that the eagerly-anticipated series, which will air in 30-minute “mini-movies” on TNT and Cartoon Network, will begin with a theatrical release on August 15.
Anticipation on the project has been building for years following the two-year run of Lucas’ previous animated Star Wars: Clone Wars series. That show aired on Cartoon Network from 2003-2005 and covered the period between Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, filling in the Star Wars mythos with stories featuring Count Dooku, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The new Clone Wars will also cover events in the same time period, including closer looks at supporting characters like Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s Togruta Padawan and Jedi commander Kit Fisto, whose fate is sealed in Episode III.
From the official Star Wars: Clone Wars site:
“I felt there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell,” said George Lucas, executive producer of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. “I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the art of animation forward.”
