Other Titles • Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones • Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience (2002) • Star Wars II (2002) • Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (2002) • Star Wars: Episode II - Angriff der Klonkrieger (2002)
It takes many talented artists to interpret George Lucas’ vision to bring a new look to the epic Star Wars saga. Working without benefit of a script — the story was still developing at that stage — production designer Gavin Bocquet and concept design supervisor Doug Chiang, and their team of designers went to work during the early months of pre-production, establishing in broad strokes the style and look of Attack of the Clones.
The film’s new worlds were a top priority. Kamino, a storm-shrouded "vanished" planet beyond the galaxy’s outer rim, is continually buffeted by heavy rains and hard-driving winds. The advanced, highly technical residents of this ultra-modem world, which is built on stilts over a churning ocean, are involved in an ultra-secret project — the building of a clone army.
"I think Kamino is a really beautiful environment," notes Rick McCallum. "It’s a refreshing departure for George, because its high-tech, classic sci-fi look is something we don’t expect in a Star Wars film. You usually see something gritty and somewhat familiar."
The red rock planet Geonosis, while perhaps more recognizable, still impresses with its striking look: the planet is featureless, apart from buttes and mesas that stand out dramatically on the arid world. As for its residents, Lucas envisioned hard-working, industrious insect-like creatures — "they’re like termites," says Doug Chiang — uniquely suited to their task at hand: building hundreds of thousands of droids, which threaten the very existence of the Republic.
A familiar world from EPISODE I is Coruscant, the center of the Star Wars galaxy and a world-city where urban sprawl has covered the entire planet in colossal skyscrapers. It is from here the Jedi make their headquarters in the mighty Jedi Temple, and the Galactic Senate rules the Republic. Adding a new dimension to the planet, Attack of the Clones shows us a Coruscant we haven’t seen, taking us down into its streets, into its bars and alleys, and bringing alive Lucas’ futuristic ultra-noir look.
The vehicle designs for Attack of the Clones link the art nouveau, fluid forms from The Phantom Menace, to A New Hope’s industrial, engineered shapes. A new vehicle, yet at the same time disconcertingly familiar to the Star Wars fan, is the Jedi starfighter, a sleek one-man vehicle equipped with an astromech droid. Piloted by Obi-Wan, the starship is reminiscent of the triangular-shaped Imperial Star Destroyers that cast such an ominous presence in the original trilogy. The link is more than visual. "The Star Destroyers grew out of the Jedi starfighters," notes Gavin Bocquet, "so the symbolism is very powerful — we begin to see how everything begins to turn to the Dark Side."
Attack of the Clones’ other vehicles run the gamut from a bright yellow, convertible, hot rod speeder piloted by Anakin to a rickshaw-like conveyance pulled through the streets of Tatooine by a wheeled droid.
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