Star Wars the Clone Wars Screening Debuts New Villain Savage Opress

*SPOILER FREE ZONE*

There’s something special about being able to visit a galaxy far, far away on a weekly basis. When I first got a taste of Star Wars on television back in 1978, I was sitting in an uncomfortable metal stool in my great-grandmother’s kitchen, watching on a tiny black and white tv on what I’m sure was a Tuesday night (someone back me up here?) and I thought it was the greatest thing in the world (we’ve since realized that was NOT the case). But, still, I was mesmerized. I had just seen the movie the year before, I got the toys, and I was hungry for anything with a Wookiee and a Skywalker in it. I wanted Star Wars on tv every week… every DAY, if possible… even if it meant suffering through endless untranslated suburban Wookiee conversations.

Fast forward to 2010 and I’ve got my wish (minus the endless Wookiee dialogue, thankfully). Star Wars: The Clone Wars not only airs weekly Friday nights on the Cartoon Network, it consistently outdoes itself in quality and scope with each new episode. And ironically, that was never more true than when I went to Grauman’s Egyptian theater in Hollywood earlier this week to view the first 3 Clone Wars episodes of 2011 on the big screen with an enthusiastic crowd of costumed fans, journalists, and the many talented people behind it all. The Clone Wars is known for taking creative episode-long divergences by occasionally focusing on non-Jedi and non-clone trooper characters (Padme, C-3PO and R2-D2, Jar Jar), which often lends itself to more talky and less lightsabery and blasty stories, but that’s alright. If the series was consistently about Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting off Dooku and Grievous and not really defeating them every single time (because we know they’re in Revenge of the Sith), it would get tiresome very quickly. Diverse storytelling is the Clone Wars‘ strength, but there are times when you just want to see a kickass lightsaber duel. From what we saw this week, fans of the Jedi and Sith are going to be very, very pleased!

I won’t spoil any big plot points or the big surprises that pop up in the story (and there is a doozy), but here’s the jist of it: Count Dooku is commanded to do away with his apprentice, Asajj Ventress and it just doesn’t take. What follows is some major revelations about the origins of Dooku, Asajj, and the Sith Witches, who have existed only in the far reaches of the expanded universe until now. It all leads up to the introduction of a new character, named Savage Opress, a hulking, sinister-looking creature with more than a little passing resemblance to Darth Maul. What’s his connection? Who is his master? What does this mean for the Jedi? These 3 episodes, written by Katie Lucas (the Flanneled One’s daughter), sets up those questions and knocks them out of the park with answers that will floor the diehard and casual fan alike. The episodes are Sith heavy, with only brief appearances by our noble Jedi heroes, making this arc possibly the darkest set of episodes in the series so far. And I’m looking forward to Savage Opress having a much longer life than Darth Maul, leading to some interesting cosplay come Comic-Con and Halloween time. Take a peek below at what’s to come…

When it came to the screening, it couldn’t have been a better night. The Egyptian is a gorgeous classic theater that has to be experienced to be believed. And filling it with clone troopers, little kids dressed as Jedi, big geeks in vintage t-shirts, and the astounding talent behind the epic series made for an amazing night and the closest we’ll get to seeing Star Wars on the big screen again (until maybe the 3D re-releases?). And the sneak peek for the rest of the season beyond these episodes just amped up the excitement in the room even further. I’m really looking forward to watching these episodes again when they air on the Cartoon Network in January, 2011. Trust me, Star Wars fans, these episodes are not to be missed…

Click here to see pictures from the event.