Star Wars: Clone Wars will return with five new 12-minute chapters on Cartoon Network beginning on Monday, March 21, setting the stage for the upcoming feature film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.  The short series, which took home the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (more than one hour) in 2004, is produced and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of the hit Cartoon Network series Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory. 

Chapters 21-25 of Star Wars: Clone Wars will air nightly at 7 p.m. (ET, PT) Monday, March 21-Friday, March 25.  Cartoon Network will present all five new chapters back to back on Saturday, March 26. 

Star Wars: Clone Wars continues the saga where the live action feature film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones left off – at the beginning of the Clone Wars, an epic civil war that pits the old Republic against a vast separatist movement led by the forces of evil.  Before the scheduled opening of the feature on May 19, this hour of new animated material essentially brings the scrolling preamble to Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith to life for fans.

Cartoon Network aired chapters 1-10 of the Star Wars: Clone Wars “epic micro-series” in November 2003.  Chapters 11-20 aired beginning in March 2004.  Both received great critical acclaim and double digit-ratings increases among kids, boys and tweens.

In the final installment of Star Wars: Clone Wars, a group of Jedi Knights is being decimated by a seemingly indestructible new enemy, the enormous and powerful General Grievous.  As the new chapters begin, the Jedi must change their strategy to defeat General Grievous and keep the Separatist movement on the defensive.  Yoda proposes that Anakin be elevated from Obi-Wan’s apprentice to the level of Jedi Knight, but warns that a final test is still to come.  As the Clone Wars rage on, Obi-Wan and Anakin lead the Republic’s effort against the uprising, while Separatist leader Darth Sidious plots an attack on the important planet of Coruscant.  Anakin and Obi-Wan are dispatched to the far-off planet of Koobi to investigate a reported Separatist grouping.  This leaves Mace Windu and Yoda to lead the Republic’s defense of Coruscant and keep Chancellor Palpatine safe from General Grievous and his forces. 

“It’s been an unforgettable experience working on Star Wars.  Ever since we were all children, we have always played out our own Star Wars scenarios, and to actually have put them on film is an amazing dream come true,” said Tartakovsky.   “This project has been very difficult but also very rewarding. We hope that our efforts will be enjoyed by our generation and by the generations to come.”