Star Wars Muppets Coming Soon

If you keep one mouse ear to the ground, you've probably heard about Disney's soon-to-be-released set of Star Wars Muppet figures -- you know, Kermit the Frog as Luke, Miss Piggy as Leia, etc. What you may not know -- especially if you were born post-'80s -- is that the Muppets and Star Wars actually go way back -- 28 years back to be exact.

In 1980, The Muppet Show, a primetime event fronted by Kermit the Frog of Sesame Street fame, introduced Luke Skywalker and "cousin" Mark Hamill to the show as guest stars. Along with Luke, C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and R2-D2 (himself) also starred, participating in several sketches that included "Star Wars-ified" versions of some of the Muppets.

Miss Piggy, naturally, portrayed Princess Leia, and crook-nosed Gonzo, whose masked face failed to conceal his signature schnoz, donned the costume of Darth Vader (or "Dearth Nadir" in Muppet-speak).

Now, as far as Star Wars Muppet crossovers, that was it -- no Kermit as Luke, Fozzie as Chewbacca, Beaker as Threepio, etc. Those incarnations would come, at least in part, three years later in a publication called Muppet Magazine.

For their Summer 1983 issue, Muppet Magazine ran a cover story on movie spoofs, which included "Battle of the Space Heroes", a five-page comic narrative which once again crossed the Muppets with the Star Wars universe. This time, we finally got our Fozzie as Chewbacca (or "Chewbackwards") and Kermit as Luke ("Fluke Shywalker") -- characters also included Miss Piggy as "Princess Loina" and Gonzo as "Barff McVader". And so, short of Beaker as Threepio and Rizzo the Rat as Yoda (both part of the upcoming set of figures), you now have the low-down on how we'll come to inherit a cool set of Muppet Star Wars crossover figures.

Now, for the trivia-minded, some astute fans could argue that the Muppets and Star Wars actually "met" a year before the 1980 Muppet Show episode on the set of The Empire Strikes Back. Frank Oz, who voiced Miss Piggy among other classic Muppet characters, was also the voice and puppeteer for Yoda. One day on the Dagobah set, Frank surprised Mark Hamill with Kermit and Miss Piggy while rehearsing a scene with Yoda. Naturally, hilarity ensued.

The Star Wars Muppet figures are due out this summer and will be available exclusively at Disney theme parks.

Still need a Star Wars Muppet fix? Check out the exhaustive list of Star Wars Muppet connections over at Muppet Wiki.

George Lucas Talks Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Movie makers, actors, directors, producers and movie distributors descended on Las Vegas to share movie news and get excited for the next big films coming from Universal, Paramount and Warner Brothers, just to name a few at ShoWest 2008.
Filmmaker George Lucas was on hand for a short interview with Starwars.com to talk about the next generation of Star Wars fans and why the clones finally get the spotlight. Comingsoon.net also was in the room to ask a few questions as well.

A lot of new fans will be watching this new animated series and seeing Star Wars for the first time. What are your thoughts on this new generation of kids that will be introduced to the Star Wars saga through The Clone Wars animated series?

What do I think of them? The poor kids have to grow up in this crazy world that's been created!

It's obviously a different tone but still has the drama and the characters.

The TV series is exactly like the movies, exactly. I mean, you can see it in the clip. It's basically just the movies only with cartoon characters. It's basically a dramatic series, there's a lot of action, a bit of humor. It runs along at the same level. It's unusual for an animated film, because it's not really hardcore like say Beowulf and it's not a Pixar movie, so it kind of falls in between in this funny world where Star Wars is, which is kind of hard-edged but not really, sort of on the verge of PG-13, flips over once in a while, but sort of the high end of PG.

It also seems to show a little bit more of the clone characters as well.

Yeah, now we get introduced to the clones, which we didn't get in the movies. Now, they're like main characters and they really are central to the whole thing, and you can identify them and know who they are, and it's sort of like "Band of Brothers" only with Jedi. [laughs]

Since the feature is being done specifically for the big screen, where is the movie going to end and the series begin?

It's not that episodic. This is a movie but we started doing the episodes and some of the episodes are stand-alone and some are two, some are three, some are four, and there's no cliffhangers. It's not like the current vogue of "24" and "The Wire" and stuff where you actually have to watch the entire series in order to understand what's going on. This is an old-fashioned episodic show. We looked at it on the big screen and it looked so beautiful and great that we said, "Gee, we can make a feature just like this." So we did and got all the people, got all the stuff and said, "Let's make a feature." So we did.

Do you think you'd have other people continue the Star Wars saga past Episode VI or turn some of the other material into films?

But there's no story past Episode VI, there's just no story. It's a certain story about Anakin Skywalker and once Anakin Skywalker dies, that's kind of the end of the story. There is no story about Luke Skywalker, I mean apart from the books. But there's three worlds: There's my world that I made up, there's the licensing world that's the books, the comics, all that kind of stuff, the games, which is their world, and then there's the fans' world, which is also very rich in imagination, but they don't always mesh. All I'm in charge of is my world. I can't be in charge of those other people's world, because I can't keep up with it.

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars opens theatrically on August 15.

Special thanks to Orna from Warner Bros. and Lynne Hale at Lucasfilm for arranging the interview, Edward Douglas from ComingSoon.net for his questions. You can read his entire interview here.

Read our entire coverage of ShoWest here on the Official Starwars.com blog.

Stay tuned to Starwars.com for the latest news and information on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

George Lucas: The Clone Wars Q&A

Why now? Why was now the right time to bring Star Wars to animation?
This is a project we've actually been working on since the end of Revenge of the Sith, I've worked in animation before with Steven [Spielberg] in A Land Before Time, John Korty on a film [Twice Upon a Time] and a few other things. I love animation. I started out in film school in animation, and I felt it was time to explore that medium, and then at the same time be able to explore a part of Star Wars that is so vast that you can't deal with the Luke Skywalker / Anakin Skywalker saga... you get to deal a little bit more with the minutiae of the Clone Wars.

Clearly this has a different look than anything that's come before. Can you share with us the method you went ahead to do this, and the thinking behind the design of The Clone Wars and also the design of the characters?

In order to create The Clone Wars, I had to develop a whole new studio from scratch. We've really been able to advance our animation ambitions. When it comes to the look and feel of The Clone Wars project, I wanted to do something that was in the realm of anime, design-wise, but still different. So I said, "How can we do this along with a strong storytelling sensibility?"

I have a tendency that --- just like with Star Wars, which is based in the 1930s Republic Saturday matinee serials, or Indiana Jones which is based on the same thing -- I wanted to give it a look and the feel of something that's from the past. So everybody was fairly amused in the animation community that we picked Gerry Anderson and Thunderbirds to be our inspiration. It has a very stylized look. I didn't want it to look like Beowulf, which we could've done, or The Incredibles, and when you're doing animation about live action actors and everyone knows what they look like, you really do have to come up with a sophisticated and dynamic caricature of these people.

A lot of people are excited about the new characters that you've incorporated into the storyline, great new good guys and great new villains.

We added a new character. We needed to change the dynamic between Obi-Wan the mentor and Anakin the Padawan, which is where we left them. That's how they entered the Clone Wars. We wanted to make that relationship become more dynamic... sort of like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They're now equal. They're now partners. They're now working together.

But we really wanted to have that Padawan-mentor relationship, so we gave the most unlikely person a Padawan, which is Anakin, and we made the Padawan a girl. She's very feisty. She's very outgoing and independent-minded, which gives Anakin a real challenge, because he's sort of like that too. He's trying to clean up his act by teaching her to settle down and think and not be so aggressive.

She gets in her share of action.

She's a great character. She's turned out really fantastic.

Star Wars Lands In Philadelphia

Reporting Nicole Brewer

PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ― For more than 40 years, Star Wars has captured our imagination and our hearts as an epic space opera and a popular culture icon.

The brand's broad appeal spans the generation gap and brings with it a sense of excitement and awe for people of all ages.

Here in Philadelphia, the Franklin Institute hosted 'Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination,' an exhibit organized around solving human needs with two technology themes: "Getting Around" and "Robots & People."

Since the exhibit's February 9th opening, thousands of people from all around the country have experienced "the force" that is Star Wars, but that all changed when CBS 3 turned the tables and let Star Wars experience Philadelphia.

Infamous bounty hunter, Boba Fett and two storm troopers took to the streets of Philadelphia Monday to experience all the city has to offer.

The group's Philly tour included a stop at a local cheese steak shop, a walk down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and a "Rocky" run up the Art Museum steps.

When asked what the characters thought of the city, Boba Fett cited the city's skyline among his favorite Philly attractions. A man of few words, Fett simply called it "amazing."

The bounty hunter and his friends took time to encourage people to come to the Franklin Institute's Star Wars exhibit before it leaves Philadelphia on May 4th and heads to a galaxy far, far, away.

‘Star Wars’ Live-Action Show To Reveal Galaxy’s ‘Greasy, Seamy Underbelly’

by Josh Horowitz

If you thought the cantina in Mos Eisley was a “wretched hive of scum and villainy,” well you’d better be cautious because an upcoming journey back to the “Star Wars” universe is going to reveal the “greasy, seamy underbelly of ‘Star Wars.’”

That’s what Steve Sansweet, Lucasfilm’s Director of Fan Relations, revealed to MTV News at New York’s Comic Con yesterday about the much anticipated live-action “Star Wars” TV show in development. Confirming that the show will “involve some characters we know” along with new creations, Sansweet said the show would be “of epic scale.”

As for how Lucas and company are going to approach such a massive undertaking he said “it will take advantage of everything George has learned about digital.” I guess that means it will at least look a little better than that that “Star Wars Holiday Special.”

Sansweet said the initial writers of the show have been selected and “they’ve had their first couple sessions working with George and [producer] Rick [McCallum].” So when can we expect all of this? “We’ll see it in production probably sometime in 2009. Hopefully the series will be on by 2010,” said Sansweet.

A “Star Wars” series that’s “greasy” and “seamy?” I guess that means there won’t be too many Ewoks dancing around. How does that sit with you, fellow “Stars Wars” fans?

Chewbacca unmasked to celebrate magic of Star Wars

by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

THE man behind one of the world’s most iconic sci-fi movie characters was in Merseyside to celebrate the magic of Star Wars and meet fans.

Peter Mayhew played Chewbacca, the loyal sidekick of Han Solo in the legendary films.

He flew in from Texas as one of a number of big-name signings at the event, held at the Spaceport centre in Wirral.

Peter found himself in demand on the sci-fi convention circuit after the Special Edition of the Star Wars series was released.

Other stars who were present included Paul Blake (Greedo), Rusty Goffe (Jawa), Ian Liston (Wes Janson) and Gerald Home (Tessek).

The celebration brought to an end Spaceport’s Sci Fi at the Movies exhibition, which showed artefacts from some of the world’s most famous science fiction movies, giving fans an opportunity to view never before seen movie memorabilia.

Spaceport, which is owned and operated by Merseytravel, is the UK’s most modern space-themed visitor attraction, and is housed in a listed building alongside Seacombe ferry terminal, in Wallasey.

Star Wars Kid: Activities

Movie Timeline: From The Phantom Menace through Return of the Jedi, this interactive timeline chronicles more than 35 years of Star Wars fun and adventure.

Episode I Fun Guide: Whether you've seen it one time or one hundred times, this fun guide highlights what you may not know about Ep I. Watch the Episode I DVD and compare notes!

The Galactic Color-Bot: Mix colors and pick patterns to color your own versions of Star Wars Episode II characters and scenes.

Match the Music to the Scene: This activity challenges you to listen to selections from the scores of the Star Wars films soundtrack. Turn up your speakers!

Star Wars Kids: Games

Carbon Connection: Enter the carbon-freezing chamber, activate the machines and make the best matches between characters, vehicles and items from the Star Wars universe.

Force Flight: Hop in the driver seat of your favorite Star Wars vehicle and zoom through four familiar environments of the Star Wars galaxy. Use the Force to avoid danger and maneuver safely through four challenging levels.

Garbage Masher: Use your Star Wars knowledge to save our heroes in the Death Star's garbage masher by quickly identifying which option doesn't belong with the others.

Trivia: Challenge your Star Wars smarts by playing more than seventy trivia games covering themes that span the saga. Are you game?

Which Film Is It ?:This fun game will challenge your memory of key and low-key scenes from all the Star Wars films. There are more than 130 images to challenge your Star Wars knowledge.

Who Said It ?: More than 130 quotes test your knowledge of the saga, each presented with three possible characters who might have said it.

The Clone Wars: Epic Battles

The Clone Wars Sneak Peek

Official Press Release

Lucasfilm Ltd., Warner Bros. Pictures and
Turner Broadcasting System Inc. Announce Deal to Release
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS in 2008
Warner Bros. Pictures Releases Full-Length, Theatrical Clone Wars Movie August 15,
Followed by the Debut of the Groundbreaking TV Series, Premiering This Fall
on Cartoon Network and TNT

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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (February 12, 2008) – A new era of Star Wars entertainment begins in 2008 when STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, from creator George Lucas, premieres as an all-new feature film in August, followed by the television series debut in the fall, in a partnership announced today between Lucasfilm Ltd., Warner Bros. Pictures and Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS takes audiences on incredible new Star Wars adventures, combining the legendary storytelling of Lucasfilm with an eye-popping, signature animation style. STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS will open in North American theaters Friday, August 15. International release dates will be announced soon.
"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." The theatrical debut of STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS is only the beginning of all-new Star Wars adventures that continue in the fall when the long-awaited television series premieres on Cartoon Network, followed by airings on TNT. Details regarding international broadcasts will be announced shortly.