After The Phantom Menace got the Star Wars prequel trilogy off to a polarizing start, Attack of the Clones was panned even more harshly by critics. Of course, like its 1999 predecessor – and its 2005 successor, Revenge of the Sith – Attack of the Clones eventually went on to be more revered with time.
As with every other movie in the mainline saga, George Lucas used the second installment in the prequel trilogy to introduce a handful of fresh faces to the Star Wars universe. Not all of Episode II’s new players were as memorable as Dexter Jettster, but from Count Dooku to Jango Fett, Attack of the Clones introduced fans to some of the franchise’s most popular and pivotal characters.
7 Zam Wesell
At the beginning of Attack of the Clones, Palpatine wants Padmé dead. But instead of just killing her himself, he subcontracts the hit to Count Dooku, who subcontracts it to Jango Fett, who subcontracts it to Zam Wesell, who sends in a couple of little bugs to do the deed. It's not the best plan. The bugs are thwarted by Anakin and Wesell is pursued across the neon-drenched Coruscant skyline.
Wesell is a shapeshifter, but she doesn’t use those abilities on-screen until she dies and morphs back into her original gilled, green-skinned form. It would’ve been great to see her shifting in and out of various identities as Anakin chased her across a bar, forcing him to use his Jedi instincts to identify her, but that chase is over in seconds.
6 Cliegg Lars
When Anakin has premonitions of his mother’s death, he returns to Tatooine and finds that in the years since he left to begin his Jedi training, Shmi has married a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars. After tracking down Lars’ farm, Anakin is devasted to learn that his mother has been abducted by Tusken Raiders.
The most notable thing about Cliegg’s appearance in Attack of the Clones is that it provides the backstory of the moisture farm where Luke Skywalker would eventually grow up. Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse play younger versions of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, who would ultimately raise Luke.
5 Jocasta Nu
In Attack of the Clones, Jocasta Nu is given a pretty mundane introduction as the librarian at the Jedi Temple. When Obi-Wan is trying to locate Kamino and finds it missing from the archives, she helps him to blow open the whole conspiracy.
Subsequent Expanded Universe material would make Jocasta Nu significantly more of a badass. She was one of the few Jedi to survive the purge and even tried to rebuild the order before being slain by none other than Darth Vader.
4 Dexter Jettster
Dexter Jettster is a Besalisk who runs a diner on Coruscant and seems to have the inside track on the galaxy. He’s one of Obi-Wan’s most trusted confidants, who provides him with any information he needs for ongoing Jedi investigations (specifically, in Attack of the Clones, the whereabouts of Kamino).
Dexter’s close friendship with Obi-Wan is endearing, while his quirky ‘50s-style diner is such a memorable location that it was used as the hub in Lego Star Wars: The Video Game. The retro aesthetic of Dexter’s Diner fits the pulpy world of Star Wars like a glove.
3 Bail Organa
In addition to introducing the characters who would go on to raise Luke on Tatooine, Attack of the Clones introduced one of the characters that would go on to raise Leia on Alderaan. Bail Organa is introduced as a fierce politician determined to instigate positive change in the Galactic Senate.
Senator Organa’s senatorial prowess – not to mention that of Leia’s biological mother Padmé – explains the background of Leia’s own political ambitions and determination to do the right thing.
2 Count Dooku
Each of the Star Wars prequels introduced a new Sith apprentice learning the dark ways of the Force from Darth Sidious. After The Phantom Menace’s Palpatine underling Darth Maul was bisected and sent down a bottomless pit by Obi-Wan, Count Dooku stepped in as the secondary villain of Attack of the Clones.
Played by screen legend Christopher Lee, best known as the second most iconic cinematic Dracula after Bela Lugosi, Dooku is an undeniably formidable on-screen presence. As a former Jedi who turned to the dark side, Dooku reflects the grim fate that awaits Anakin at the end of the trilogy.
1 Jango Fett
After a little kid version of Darth Vader appeared in The Phantom Menace, a little kid version of Boba Fett appeared in Attack of the Clones. He’s revealed to be the son of fellow bounty hunter Jango Fett, who was cloned to create the Grand Army of the Republic and asked that one of the clones be put aside so he could raise him as a son.
George Lucas was unaware of Boba’s post-Empire Strikes Back popularity among the fan base when he unceremoniously killed him off in Return of the Jedi. He used Jango’s gunslinging role in Attack of the Clones to make up for that with plenty of western antihero action – particularly in his gadget-laden encounters with Obi-Wan.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3EcGKrm
0 Comments