In addition to the 4-minute clip from the August 15 movie, the Lucas Animation crew showed off one full act of the new “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” cartoon due to air on Cartoon Network and TNT this fall. According to the team, the footage comes from an episode that will air in the first quarter of the 20-plus episode first season. The story revolves around Jedi Luminara Unduli a General for the Republic in the Clone Wars. The footage opens with Luminara and Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice Asoka transporting a prisoner Nemodian separatist Nute Gunray to Jedi Cruiser Tranquility for interrogation.
The Jedi along with a clone squad escort the prisoner to the detention area to be interrogated by the Jedi pair.
Meanwhile, Count Dooku is in conversation with a hologram of Darth Sidious. Sidious voices his concerns about the capture of Gunray, because if he talks the separatist movement could be derailed. Dooku assures Sidious that he is putting his best on the case Asajj Ventress. Sidious questions the use of Ventress, because she has failed them before. Dooku reassures Sidious adding that she has been instructed to retrieve Gunray or silence him. Sidious disappears as Asajj appears. Dooku tells Ventress not to fail him. She reassures him she will succeed.
Back at the Tranquility, the Jedi are trying to get information from Gunray. Luminara tells the Nemodian that his thoughts betray him, but Gunray stays strong and does not give up any information. Frustrated, Asoka fires up her lightsaber, leaping at Gunray. She rocks Gunray back in his chair and places the saber blade under his chin yelling at the prisoner to tell them what they want to know. Gunray stammers and eventually falls backwards. Luminara pulls Asoka back and chides the padawan telling her that her actions were not the Jedi way. Asoka tells Luminara that they needed to scare him in order to get the info. Gunray starts to pick himself up off the ground from behind the table proclaiming that now might be a good time to negotiate.
On the bridge of the Tranquility, enemy ships appear in the frame attacking the Jedi Cruiser. Along with the fighters are several ‘boarding’ ships, which resemble push pins big at the back and coming to a point at the front. The ships plunge into the hull of the Jedi Cruiser. The point of the ship, now inside the Jedi ship’s hull open up and Super Battle Droids start dropping into the Jedi ship and blasting the clones that have come to intercept them. The SBDs mow many of the clones down. As the SBDs advance, Asajj drops in from one on the boarding ships. She stares across the hanger and sees a clone struggling to get to his feet. She ignites both of her lightsabers and rapidly advances to the clone, crossing her sabers and relieving the trooper of his head.
There is a quick flash back to the detention area, where Gunray, still in a holding cell, tells the Jedi maybe they are not in the best position to negotiate any longer.
The clones slugging it out with the SBDs call for a retreat back to the detention area to protect the prisoner.
Asajj cuts a hole into a nearby ventilation shaft, jumps in and begins to advance towards the detention area.
“The Clone Wars” animated series debuts in September.
