‘Clones’ preview to air air Sunday
This much is certain, if Star Wars fans will want to be glued to the Fox Network sometime between Malcolm in the Middle and The X-Files on Sunday. According to teasers advertised on the network, LucaFilm will premiere the final two-and-one-half minute trailer for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones during Sunday evening programming. Malcolm in the Middle begins at 7:30 p.m. and The X-Files starts at 8 p.m. Episode II: Attack of the Clones is scheduled for a May 16, 2002 release. Attack of the Clones is the fifth installment of the George Lucas’ sci-fi space-opera, with 1999’s Episode I: The Phantom Menace being the first Star Wars film to hit theaters since Return of the Jedi in 1983. Episode I: The Phantom Menace is the third-highest grossing movie of all time, clocking in at nearly $431 million. All four Star Wars films are in the top 20 highest-grossing movies in history. Attack of the Clones is set 10 years after the end of The Phantom Menace, with Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) now a strapping young Jedi apprentice, and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) a bearded and wise Jedi master. The duo reunites with Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), who is now a distinguished senator for her home planet of Naboo. Anakin and Obi-Wan are assigned to guard Padmé’s life, as political separatists have hired bounty hunters to assassinate her. While powerful forces prepare to collide in epic battle, Anakin and Padmé find themselves deep in love, and many key characters face choices that not only impact their fates, but the destiny of the Republic. For those folks who gagged at the lovey-dovey romantic trailers that premiered this past November, rest assured it’s not all romance, because according to producer Rick McCallum, Lucas and co-writer Jonathan Hales have crafted a story that will blow people away. “We didn’t want to push the envelope,” McCallum said at ShoWest, a convention for the National Association of Theater Owners. “We wanted to lick it.” He also said theaters showing Attack of the Clones in May would be extremely glad. “All of you exhibitors lucky enough to get Attack of the Clones are going to make a [lot] of money,” McCallum said. If you miss the trailer on Sunday night, you can see it on the big-screen on March 15, as it will be attached to the 20th Century Fox release of Ice Age. Attack of the Clones will be released to movie theaters on May 17. Episode III will not hit theaters until May of 2005.