Official Site

Release Date: May 19th, 2005

Release Date Note: (4/9/04) This movie was long expected to be released on Wednesday, May 25th, 2005, the 28th anniversary of the original release of the first 'Star Wars,' but Fox has now bumped it up several days to Thursday, May 19th instead.

Title Note: (5/25/00) The full title of this film is not yet known. As with The Phantom Menace, I think it's likely that the title will be announced only relatively shortly before the release in 2005. (4/11/04) For a few weeks now, there has been a new rumored title floating around on the web (like AICN), and although it hasn't been confirmed (and may be fake), here you go: 'Star Wars Episode III: The Creeping Fear.' The title does fit the serials-esque pattern of the last two movies, so it *sounds* credible, but until Lucasfilms says so, it should be considered completely unconfirmed and possibly a hoax.

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Cast: Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker, AKA Darth Vader), Natalie Portman (Padme Amidala), Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu), Ian McDiarmid (Supreme Chancellor Palpatine), Frank Oz (voice of Yoda), Kenny Baker (R2D2), Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks), Keisha Castle-Hughes, Anthony Daniels (C3PO), James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader), Jay Laga'aia (Captain Typho), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Temuera Morrison, Jimmy Smits (Senator Bail Organa), Tux Akindoyeni (Agen Kolar), Dave Bowers (Mas Amedda), Mimi Daraphet (Bultar Swan), Paul Davies, Sandi Finlay (Sly Moore), Nalini Krishan (Barriss Offee), Kenji Oates (Saesee Tiin), Genevieve O'Reilly (Mon Mothma), Mary Oyaya (Luminara Unduli), Matt Rowan (Orn Free Taa), Orli Shoshan (Shaak Ti), Bruce Spence, Sandy Thompson (Rune Haako), Marty Wetherill (Passel Argente)

Returning Cast: (4/25/03) Probably much to the delight of fans of the original trilogy, StarWars.com has announced that Peter Mayhew has officially signed on to reprise his role as Chewbacca the Wookie. Since "Chewie" was over 200 years old in the original trilogy, it's easy for him to also fit into this movie. So... might this mean we might finally get a visit to the Wookie home world?

New Cast: (8/14/01) Gabriel Byrne has been quoted recently as saying that he is in talks for a role in this third film, but the details of that role are not yet known. (2/17/04) Keisha Castle-Hughes, the star of Whale Rider, has a supporting role in this movie as a "regal leader." Might she be playing the latest queen of Naboo?

Director: George Lucas (Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, THX 1138, American Graffiti)

Screenwriter: George Lucas (Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, THX 1138, American Graffiti; cowriter of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones)

Based Upon: This is the third film in the popular science fiction series, chronologically, following Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, and preceding Star Wars: A New Hope.

Animated Shorts Note: (3/7/03) In the fall of 2003 and the spring of 2004, the Cartoon Network will be airing a series of 3-minute shorts, 20 in all, called "The Clone Wars", which will eventually be released on DVD as a 60-minute serial-style epic. The storyline of the epic that those 20 shorts will form will be set in between Episode II and this film, with George Lucas giving the producers very specific guidelines of what they can (and can't) cover in those 60 minutes... but it sounds like they've got a fairly broad canvas to adapt otherwise. (3/19/03) The animation team behind "The Clone Wars" is the same as Samurai Jack, led by the show's creator, Genndy Tartakovsky.

Premise: (6/15/03) The exact details of how this movie will bridge the gap between the original 'Star Wars' and the prequels aren't known yet. Expect this film to see Anakin completely changing into Darth Vader, the rise of the Empire, the end of the Clone Wars, the fall of the Republic, the scattering of the Jedi, etc... it's going to seem pretty "down". There will also be the little rays of light, though, such as the introduction of Luke and Leia as infants. This movie starts three years after the ending of Episode II, during a massive battle that is part of the final days of the Clone Wars.

Death Note: This probably goes without saying... but I'll say it anyway, but just without getting specific. Something that we can expect in Episode III (which will probably start happening in Episode II as well) is that several characters who don't appear in Star Wars Episode IV will probably be killed off (or just die). There's only a handful of characters who do reappear, so... this applies to almost everyone else. They won't all necessarily die, but let's just say it's more likely than their survival rate. Dark finale indeed.

Filming: Production started on June 30th, 2003 at the Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, but the bulk of the actors aren't expected to be showing up until later in 2003. Other possibilities for location work are Italy (Naboo) and Tunisia (Tattoine). The original target for the start of production was January, 2003. On 9/17/03, principal photography at the sets in Sydney officially wrapped, but there will still be plenty of pickups and reshoots (and maybe some location work?) in the next 18 months as postproduction proceeds.

Genre: Action, Eye Candy, Science Fiction, Sequel

Unofficial Fan Sites: JediNet, TheForce.net

Casting Call Information: TheForce.net Official Site: StarWars.com/Episode-III/

12/27/03 - The latest issue of "Star Wars Insider" features 9 great images from the sets, including one especially good one of Anakin looking very annoyed in a fighter cockpit, and those images have been handily scanned and presented for your perusal over at Movie-Vault.com.

8/19/03 - Just as an update, filming is now over 60% done, with the last segment of production to be done in early 2004. Details and spoilers about the movie spill forth on a daily basis, but rather than getting into all of *that* here... I'd recommend checking out TheForce.net regularly; they rule.

4/25/03 - Well, there hasn't really been that much interesting news about this film in the last several months, but as we get closer to the start of filming later this year, the details are going to start trickling out again... and it starts in a big way. StarWars.com officially announced Wednesday that Peter Mayhew has signed on to reprise his role as Chewbacca from the original trilogy. Might this mean we finally get to see the Wookie home world? Or might we see Chewbacca in some way connected to the Corellian Freighter also known as the Millennium Falcon (seen briefly in a cameo in the second film)?

8/06/02 - Producer Rick McCallum has posted a note at the official site saying that he misunderstood the fan that asked him a while ago about Hugh Jackman; there are no negotiations going on with the Australian star.

6/25/02 - Talking to TheForce.net, George Lucas confirmed that this final film takes place just two or three years after the ending of SWII.

6/11/02 - George Lucas revealed, while talking to "Entertainment Tonight" recently, that the film is going to start at the end of the Clone Wars, suggesting another ten-year jump like the one between Episodes I and II. Anakin was already getting "pretty dark" in Episode II, so given another ten years, it sounds like he'll be edging closer to the dark side. My suspicion (and this is really sort-of a no-brainer, I think; it's certainly a guess that many others have also had) is that Padme probably dies fairly early on in Episode III, and that's what pushes Anakin to the Dark Side. Might she die as part of the end of the Clone Wars? Might Obi-Wan be involved somehow (probably inadvertently)?

5/12/02 - Talking to the official StarWars.com site, Natalie Portman has confirmed that Padme will be pregnant for much of Episode III. That the babies were coming isn't a surprise, but this bit of details nails down the timeframe of Episode III to the time around the birth of Luke and Leia.

5/06/02 - Well, I've sort of let this page sit for a while, even though it's certainly a high profile project, but now with the second film on the way very soon, we can expect the news about the big finale to keep coming, and the first "doozie" comes by way of TheForce.net which breaks the news that Rick McCallum confirmed rumors that Hugh Jackman will be "involved" with this movie. I can't think of a way he'd be involved other than cast, so I've added him up above. The big mystery now is what sort of role he'll play... friend or foe?

8/14/01 - Mentioned as a casting possibility for both Episode I and Episode II, Gabriel Byrne is again in talks for a role in this film... but this time, he's saying so himself.

7/13/00 - Jimmy Smits has signed on to play Senator Bail Organa (adopted father of Princess Leia Organa later on) in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The scoop is that he will have a small "emerging" role in that film (similar to Samuel L. Jackson's in Episode I), but will then have a large role in this film.

7/12/00 - Liam Neeson told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica (reprinted by JediNet) that, although he won't be returning for Episode II, there is a very strong chance he would be for Episode III, though no details were given. For an idea of what that might entail, think of Sir Alec Guinness in Episodes V and VI.

6/03/00 - Corona's Coming Attractions is reporting that Jimmy Smits may be in talks to have a similar "emerging" role in Episode II to the one Samuel L. Jackson had in Episode I. The reason that relates to this film is that the emerging part indicates that his role would be larger in this final movie (just as Jackson's Mace Windu has a bigger role in Episode II). This is just a rumor at this point, however.

- What does one say in a "preview" aboutt a movie that doesn't open for another four years, one in which the story is a cliffhanger/continuation of a first part, that neither you or anyone has seen? Frankly, not much. This page is just being put up to track the (slow) growth on this project over the next five years leading up to release. For "preview thoughts", I think I'll just divert you to the Episode II page for now.

Trivia About this Preview
This page was posted on the 23rd anniversary of the first film, and exactly 5 years before the planned release of this film.