Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV Series) - Production

Production

At April 2005's Star Wars Celebration III, Lucas stated that "we are working on a 3-D continuation of the pilot series that was on the Cartoon Network; we probably won't start that project for another year." In July 2005, pre-production had begun on the series, according to Steve Sansweet, head of Lucasfilm fan relations. Sansweet referred to the series as "the next generation of the Star Wars saga, a cutting edge 30-minute, 3-D computer-animation series based on the Clone Wars that take place between Episode II ... and Episode III." Sansweet described the look of the new series as "a melding of Asian anime with unique 3-D animation styling." Primary production will take place at the Lucasfilm Animation facility in Singapore.

According to another statement by Sansweet, "Lucasfilm Animation will be hiring a total of about 300 digital artists and others in both California and Singapore locations to produce not only the series, but animated feature films in the years ahead." He said about the series, "to get the series underway, Lucasfilm Animation has hired key production and creative talent to lead the development of its first animation project." Sansweet has said that "a large component of the future of Star Wars and Lucasfilm is CGI animation."

Lucasfilm Ltd. and Lucasfilm Animation used Autodesk software to animate both the film and the series. The Maya 3D modeling program was used to create the highly detailed worlds, characters and creatures. Animators also reviewed designs from the original 2003 Clone Wars series when creating the animation style for the film and the new series.

Anthony Daniels, who portrayed C-3PO in all six films as well as the Star Wars Holiday Special, Star Wars: Droids and Star Wars: Clone Wars, confirmed in June 2006 that he had been contracted for the series.

In a video interview with Rob Coleman from Imagina 2007 divulged that there were 15 episodes in production, one episode was complete, he was going to direct 5 of the first 22 episodes, reaction from licensees was very positive, and that final assembly of shows is done at Skywalker Ranch.

At Lucas' March 3, 2007 appearance at the 2007 William S. Paley Television Festival, Lucas revealed the series is episodic, and as such will not focus on Anakin Skywalker's story; with episodes dedicated to clone troopers and other characters. Lucas revealed further information in a fan interview, a new character named Ahsoka Tano, over 100 episodes and a possible appearance by Boba Fett. In an interview in the September 24, 2007 issue of TV Guide, Lucas confirmed that 39 episodes of the series have been completed.

On April 8, 2007, Ain't It Cool News reported that musician Eric Rigler had recorded music for the series. Rigler disclosed that each planet in the Star Wars galaxy would have its own theme music. The episode Mr. Rigler performed on was based on Bulgarian music and played on Uilleann pipes. Kevin Kiner composes the original score for each episode.

Stuart Snyder, who oversees Cartoon Network and other Turner Broadcasting System cable networks, said he became interested in the new Clone Wars series immediately upon starting the job in May 2007. Snyder flew out to San Francisco, California to screen several episodes, and told Lucas the only place he wanted to see the show was on Cartoon Network. Snyder wished to create an action/adventure block of shows on Friday night in an attempt to rejuvenate Cartoon Network. Snyder expressed confidence that the shows would help boost ratings: "You catch me at a time where I have a smile on my face because of our internal results". "I can say there's a little bit of bragging on the third quarter for us."