The other day, Lucasfilm released a teaser for their new CGI animated series, Clone Wars. It takes place between Episode II and Episode III and follows the exploits of Obi-wan and Anakin as they battle their way through the Clone Wars. Genndy Tartakovski has already helmed the “micro-series” Clone Wars which appeared on Cartoon Network a year or so ago. Reminiscent of Samurai Jack, that series had a fast paced storyline driven by highly stylized character designs. Personally, I liked Genndy’s take on the material a whole lot more than what was served up in the latest trilogy.

This new Clone Wars has completely abandonded the traditional take on Anakin and friends. However, there is a strong resemblance of the previous CN effort as these new designs sport very angular and sharp lines. This is all well and dandy, but the soft, diffuse lighting they employ seems at odds with the graphic shapes defining our star war’n buddies. There doesn’t appear to be much in the way of any facial acting and just about everyone is staring off into space much like their live action counter parts. Of course, this is just a teaser. It is a television series afterall and not a feature. With that in mind, they did a really great job of capturing the look and feel of the trilogy, and it looks action packed. I think Clone Wars is slated for a fall ‘07 release, so keep your DVR’s at the ready for some lightsaber-swinging fun.