Cartoon Network and TNT Score Star Wars Series

ATLANTA/SAN FRANCISCO, February 12: Turner Broadcasting has
acquired the broadcast rights to the CG-animated series Star Wars: The Clone
Wars, from creator George Lucas, and is set
to premiere the show this fall in the U.S. on Cartoon Network, followed by TNT.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars will appear first as a feature film premiering in North American
theaters on August 15 through Warner Bros. Pictures, before making its debut on
the Turner networks as a 30-minute series. Details regarding international
television broadcasts have not yet been announced.

Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, Star Wars: The Clone
Wars builds on the profitable Star
Wars franchise with an entirely new look
and feel through computer-generated animation. The weekly show will feature
“mini-movies” that tell the story of the front lines of an intergalactic struggle
between good and evil. The series will bring back the iconic characters of
Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, alongside new heroes, who as Jedi Knights
will fight the sinister villains attempting to rule the galaxy.

Lucasfilm Animation has already completed production on more
than 30 episodes of the series, and to help promote the title, the company is
releasing web-only documentaries that chronicle its development. The first
installment debuted today at www.starwars.com.

“I felt there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell,” said Lucas, the executive
producer of the series. “I was eager to start telling some of them through
animation and, at the same time, push the art of animation forward.”

“Nothing like this has ever been produced for television,”
said Stuart
Snyder, the president and COO of Turner Animation, Young Adults and Kids
Media. “For 30 years, Star Wars has
shown that it appeals to a huge breadth of fans. Star Wars: The Clone
Wars on Cartoon Network will be appointment
television for everyone in the family. We're thrilled to be working with
Lucasfilm again and very excited to be playing a role in bringing this
remarkable adventure to viewers.”

—By Ned Berke