2002
Attack of the Clones
Ten years after Naboo’s battle, the Galactic Republic faces a Separatist threat led by Count Dooku. Senator Padmé Amidala arrives on Coruscant to oppose forming an army to support the Jedi but narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. Placed under Jedi protection by Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker, Padmé survives another attempt by bounty hunter Zam Wesell, who dies before revealing her employer. Obi-Wan tracks the bounty hunter Jango Fett to Kamino, discovering a clone army being created for the Republic. Meanwhile, Anakin, protecting Padmé on Naboo, defies the Jedi Code, and they fall in love. When Obi-Wan discovers Dooku’s droid army plot on Geonosis, Anakin and Padmé rush to help, leading to a battle between the Republic’s clone army and the Separatists. After Dooku injures Obi-Wan and Anakin, Yoda intervenes, but Dooku escapes, and the Clone Wars begin. Anakin secretly marries Padmé on Naboo, witnessed only by R2-D2 and C-3PO.
Visual effects
Attack of the Clones featured over 2,000 visual effects shots, heavily using digital animatics rather than traditional storyboards for previsualization. This approach, led by Ben Burtt, included “videomatics,” where green-screen footage with stand-in actors was used to develop scenes, which were then digitally refined into animatics for actors to visualize complex sequences. The Battle of Geonosis was unique, bypassing storyboards and videomatics entirely, with animators freely designing small action pieces for final assembly. Digital technology also advanced with “digital doubles” for stunts and a fully CGI Yoda, created by Rob Coleman’s team to match the puppet’s movements for continuity, advised by Frank Oz. The lightsaber duel between Yoda and Count Dooku showcased digital superimpositions, as 78-year-old Christopher Lee’s stunt double performed more demanding moves. Digital cameras, instead of Vista Vision, captured miniature effects, though requiring higher-detail models to avoid revealing flaws.
