Trivia for
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) More at IMDbPro »

• Actors auditioning for the part of Anakin included Ryan Phillippe, Paul Walker, and Colin Hanks. In the end Hayden Christensen got the part, primarily because he and Natalie Portman "looked good together".
  
  
• Australian actress Claudia Karvan was cast as Amidala's (Natalie Portman) sister and shot a scene involving the whole family, but the scene was cut. It is included as an extra feature on the DVD.
  
  
• Like Ewan McGregor did in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Hayden Christensen made "lightsaber noises" the first time he was handed one in rehearsal. After chuckling at the young star's antics, George Lucas informed him that they probably had people in Sound Effects who could do a better job in post production.
  
  
• The Tatooine garage in which Luke cleaned the droids in Star Wars (1977) was rebuilt for this movie, but not completely: while the foreground and background were complete sets in the original film, only the foreground was rebuilt for Episode II; the background is digital.
  
  
• This was the first film to have an "on-location" film shown once a week to document the shooting process. After the success of this feature, other films adopted the same process.
  
  
• Shot onto digital video using a new 24-frame High-Definition Progressive Scan camera, developed by Sony and Panavision Inc. The cameras worked flawlessly even in temperatures of 125°F (51°C).
  
  
• Was shot on exactly the same stages as Moulin Rouge! (2001), also starring Ewan McGregor.
  
  
• C-3PO Anthony Daniels was originally to have made his first appearance still in skeletal form. In post-production, George Lucas decided to have C-3PO be complete throughout the film.
  
  
• While on location in Tunisia, George Lucas made one shot intended for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). He claimed he would not be returning to Tunisia, and if he needed another shot, he wouldn't get it. The nature of the shot was unknown, although it is widely rumored to be the so-called "Harry Potter" scene, in which Obi-Wan Kenobi delivers the infant Luke Skywalker to his aunt and uncle. Since Ewan McGregor did not participate in the Tunisia shoot, a wide shot of a double was filmed handing over a doll to Owen Lars (Joel Edgerton). However, during production of "Revenge of the Sith" it was decided Obi-Wan should hand the infant to Beru (Bonnie Piesse) instead. All three actors were filmed separately in front of a green-screen and the original shot was ultimately not used.
  
  
• The librarian at the Jedi Archives says "If an item doesn't appear in our records, it does not exist!" This is a variation of the slogan of the Pacific Bell Yellow Pages.
  
  
• The Jedi Archives are modeled on the Trinity College library in Dublin, Ireland.
  
  
• With an estimated budget of $120 million, this is the most expensively-made of all the Star Wars films
  
  
• Instead of creating a new C-3PO suit for the film, the designers repainted and "aged" one used in the original trilogy.
  
  
• There is no mystical significance in the color of Mace Windu's light saber. Samuel L. Jackson, after a jokey conversation with stunt coordinator Nick Gillard, asked George Lucas if he could have a purple light saber to match his favorite color, and George Lucas agreed. In an interview on UK TV, Jackson said he "thought it would be cool".
  
  
• This is the first "Star Wars" film in which Yoda (Frank Oz) is entirely computer-generated. After tests to see if a CG Yoda was possible failed during pre-production of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), Rob Coleman and his team came back three years later and presented a reel to George Lucas showing him a CG Yoda performing the scene in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) where he explains the nature of the Force to Luke Skywalker. Lucas was impressed and decided the technology was right for a CG Yoda.
  
  
• According to visual-effects supervisor John Knoll, a big cow-like creature that Anakin and Padmé frolic around in the fields with, can be seen in the asteroid belt that Obi-Wan flies through. One asteroid has legs.
  
  
• When Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) enter the sports bar on Coruscant to search for the assassin Zam Wesell (Leeanna Walsman), several actors from the "Star Wars" movies (whose faces are not seen on-screen due to costumes, make-up or CGI) can be spotted, including Ahmed Best, (voice of Jar Jar Binks) whom Anakin touches on the shoulder, and Anthony Daniels (C-3P0).
  
  
• The final shot of Padmé and Anakin looking out on the lake in Naboo with R2-D2 and C-3PO to their right is a reproduction of the final shot of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), where Luke and Leia are looking out into space from the ship with R2-D2 and C-3PO to their right.
  
  
• In the arena, Senator Amidala's gun makes the distinctive sound of a .44 Magnum, a reference to this sound accidentally being left in the sound mix when Princess Leia shoots over the chasm in the special edition of Star Wars (1977)
  
  
• The only Star Wars film that was not the top box-office earner the year of its release.
  
  
• Just before Anakin goes to search for his mother on Tatooine, he has a conversation with Senator Amidala. The camera pans to their shadows as they talk, and Anakin's resembles that of Darth Vader. According to the DVD commentary, the Vader-like shadow that Anakin casts was not a special effect but a coincidence.
  
  
• The yellow speeder that Anakin and Obi-Wan use while chasing Zam Wesell appears to be inspired by the yellow '32 Ford coupe from George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973).
  
  
• George Lucas's daughter Katie Lucas appears as a dancer in the nightclub scene. Likewise, his son Jett Lucas appears as a young Jedi in the Jedi Archive scene with Obi Wan Kenobi and the librarian Jocasta Nu.
  
  
• Every movie in the series closes with a scene with no dialogue. This movie ends with a ceremony with the main characters looking at one another, then out over the lake.
  
  
• In the final battle nearly 90% of the music heard is temp-tracked from John Williams' score of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). The music originally written for the battle between the clones and the droids was not used.
  
  
• The Separatist Droid army is made up of Trade Federation Battle Droids and Droidekas first seen in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) as well as the introduction of rapid-firing Super Battle Droids. The large Homing Spider Droids and the Dwarf Spider Droids belong to the Commerce Guild, while the missile-firing Hailfire Battle Droids belong to the IG Banking Clan.
  
  
• The character Aayla Secura, played by Amy Allen, was not created by George Lucas. Aayla Secura first appeared in the nineteenth issue of Dark Horse Comics' "Star Wars: Republic" series (part one of "Star Wars: Twilight"). Lucas was so impressed with the character that he decided to have her in the film.
  
  
• Jar Jar Binks, standing in for Senator Amidala, puts forth the motion that gives Palpatine supreme powers. This means that Jar Jar, the most hated character in the Star Wars canon, is indirectly responsible for the fall of the Old Republic and the near-annihilation of the Jedi order.
  
  
• The Republic flying gunships used in the climactic battle were LAAT/I used to transport troops from the assault ships while larger LAAT/C gunships carried AT-TE Armored Walkers. The Republic artillery was SPHA-T-class used to bring down a Trade Federation core ship.
  
  
• Christopher Lee did not do all his own stunt work, being 78 years old and all, although he was able to do most of his own sword work during the climactic light saber duels. At times, they used a stunt man whose face was replaced digitally with Lee's own.
  
  
• According to Rick McCallum, a scene was shot with Obi-Wan and Amidala swinging from one area to another, much like Luke and Leia in Star Wars (1977), but the scene was cut.
  
  
• Cameo: [Anthony Daniels] a human customer in the bar when Anakin and Obi-Wan hunt Senator Amidala's would-be assassin - visible just after Obi-Wan draws his lightsaber
  
  
• Director Trademark: [George Lucas] [1138] The LED lights on the back of the clone trooper helmets display a serial number. Although illegible, they all read "THX 1138".
  
  
• When Jango Fett gets into his ship after his fight with Obi-Wan, he bangs his head on the partially open door. This was intentional, and is a reference to a famous goof from Star Wars (1977), where a storm trooper accidentally bangs his head on a door.
  
  
• Some of the stunt work was computer generated and was performed by "digital stand-ins".
  
  
• The CG models of the Republic attack gunships had to be extremely detailed to withstand viewer scrutiny during closeups. ILM even crafted a version with a fully decked out interior, which was used as the background for new bluescreen elements of the actors aboard the gunships shot during additional photography in London. The real life gunship interior sets were left in Sydney, so these new shots required digital gunship interiors.
  
  
• To efficiently deliver a realistic explosion for the gunship that gets shot out of the sky, ILM built a mandrill of the vessel. A mandrill is an all-blue practical miniature. It was rigged with pyrotechnics and blown up. The properly shaped explosion was digitally extracted, interacting with the properly shaped wreckage, and digital artists replaced the blue gunship with the computer-generated one.
  
  
• Many of the explosions of the final ground battle were real ones rather than digital fireballs. They were shot in the backlot at ILM. Explosions were such in demand that the compositors dipped into the library of explosions built for the Naboo plains battle from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) to fill out the shots.
  
  
• Yoda's command center was a 1/6th scale miniature.
  
  
• Though the Republic AT-TE walkers were computer-generated, at least one 1/10th scale miniature was constructed for pyrotechnic purposes. The walker that gets blown apart by an armor-busting Hailfire missile was first shot as a miniature against greenscreen. This provided valuable reference for the animators, though the scale of the resulting miniature explosion proved unusable as a final element. Also, the miniature was shot with a static camera while the finished shot had a swooping camera move that followed the rocket: a CG walker was needed to properly move with the perspective of the shot.
  
  
• A number of subtle visual clues were incorporated into the design of the shots to help audiences keep track of who's who. The good guys - the Republic Clones Troopers - always move from screen right to screen left, while the Separatist Battle Droids moved from screen left to screen right. The sun is behind the clones, resulting in a gloomier sky behind the Separatists. Finally, the missile contrails were color-coded to denote allegiance: the Republic rockets leave clean white trails, while the villains launch missiles that leave noxious black/purplish exhaust.
  
  
• To efficiently communicate the damage sustained by the Trade Federation core ship blasted out of the sky, two versions of the computer-generated vessel were made. One bore its standard paint job. The other was the "distressed" version, with carbon scoring damage painted across the surface. Both were animated performing the same movement, and the compositors used animated mattes to gradually reveal the damaged ship from "behind" the intact one, covering the transitions with composited fire and explosion effects.
  
  
• Most of the clone troopers wear plain white armor; some of the more senior troops' armor has added colored trim on the helmet and arms. The colors denote rank as follows: Green = sergeants, Blue = lieutenants, Red = captains, Yellow = commanders (the Jedi serve as the Clones' generals). Note that pilots also wear yellow trim, but their armor design differs from other Clones.
  
  
• Cans (containing reels) were shipped to theaters under the code name "Cue Ball".
  
  
• The shot of Anakin and Padme walking and talking about her serving as senator when they first arrive on Naboo is shot in the same way and outside the same building as the last conversation between General Allenby and Dryden before the intermission of Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
  
  
• Since the FX model of Boba Fett's Slave I was on loan to the Smithsonian at the time of filming, a computer-generated version of the ship (with a different color scheme) had to be created.
  
  
• The design for Anakin's lightsaber was based on Darth Vader's lightsaber prop as seen in Star Wars (1977). Count Dooku's lightsaber prop is curved and is based on a rapier, with an Arabian flare. Obi-Wan Kenobi uses a lightsaber prop that is a duplicate of the one he lost in battle at the end of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).
  
  
• Where Luke Skywalker's T-16 Skyhopper sat in the garage of the Lars homestead in Star Wars (1977), a smaller ship with a similar design sits parked there in this film. Also, Luke's landspeeder is visible in the garage in this film.
  
  
• Due to much of the animosity aimed towards Jar-Jar Binks in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), the working title of Episode II was "Jar-Jar's Big Adventure".
  
  
• Hugh Quarshie was originally slated to reprise his role as Capt. Panaka from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). However, he turned down the offer after Lucasfilm refused to let him read the whole script, so his character was written out and replaced with a newly created chief of Security Captain Typho, portrayed by Jay Laga'aia.
  
  
• Hayden Christensen became the only actor in any Star Wars movie who didn't get to choose the design of his lightsaber. It had been a tradition, but Christensen was stuck using a saber of the same design that Obi-Wan gives Luke in Star Wars (1977).
  
  
• During the scene set in the Lars homestead dining room, Owen Lars asks Anakin "where are you going?" as he is the first one to leave the table. This is a reference to a similar scene in Star Wars (1977) when Luke becomes anxious to leave and Aunt Beru asks where he's going.
  
  
• EASTER EGG: On the special features disc of the DVD, go to Dex's Kitchen from the Still Galleries menu (it's listed as "Dex's Kitchen and Still Galleries" in the main menu). Then in the menu that follows, use your remote to select the flier on the wall behind Dex. This will take you to a reel showing "flyers" made by college students to promote the film. They contain links to web sites which you can access if you put the disc in your computer.
  
  
• In the Jedi Archives, many of the busts, sculpted by Richard Miller are actually of members of the "Star Wars" staff, including George Lucas, animation director Rob Coleman, visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Pablo Helman and Model supervisor Brian Gernand.
  
  
• During the Speeder chase on Coruscant, when Zam heads straight down the cityscape you can see an X-Wing being chased by three Tie Fighters in the bottom left of the shot.
  
  
• The Senate votes to give the Supreme Chancellor sweeping emergency powers to go to war against the Separatist forces. This is the same ploy Adolf Hitler used to gain similar dictatorial power in mid-1930s Germany.
  
  
• The Clone Troopers' rifle design is based on the German MG-42 machine gun.
  
  
• The droid factory chase sequence was not in the original script. Anakin and Padme were originally captured as soon as they arrived on Geonosis. George Lucas wrote an additional action sequence based in the droid factory to lead up to their capture that was filmed in March 2001.
  
  
• According to the official web site, one of the many considered ideas for the character who eventually became Dooku was a female sith. The rejected concepts for this later found their way into creating a new character, Asajj Ventress, who appeared extensively in the Clone Wars comics, cartoons and novels.
  
  
• The fight between Yoda and Dooku was envisioned quite differently. Originally, Yoda was to come in and immediately have the fight with Dooku, but many of the creative team felt that was too quick a transition for Yoda, and the audience needed to feel the power of good and evil going against each other, so George Lucas added in the preamble to the fight with the blue lightning and rock falls, because it showed how powerful Yoda was. The light saber battle was a culmination of all that energy.
  
  
• The scene where Count Dooku visits the captive Obi-Wan Kenobi and tries in vain to recruit him was not in the original shooting script. This scene was shot during reshoots in early 2001, and was designed to confuse the audience into thinking that Dooku may not be evil after all. This new scene replaced two other scenes, discarded during postproduction where Count Dooku's true allegiance was clearly stated; a brief meeting where Padme and Anakin meet the character in a conference room and refuse an offer to join him, and their subsequent trial where they are sentenced to death, which would have led directly to the scenes in the execution arena in the film.
  
  
• The look of the Republic Clone Troopers is a cross between the Mandalorian armor worn by Jango Fett (later Boba Fett) and the armor worn by the Imperial Storm Troopers of episodes IV, V and VI.
  
  
• According to George Lucas, Obi-Wan's hiding in Geonosis' asteroid field teaches young Boba Fett a lesson that he uses to his advantage during adulthood. Having learned how Obi-Wan hid from him and his father, Boba Fett knows the trick Han Solo is using to hide in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and is able to find him.
  
  
• Jonathan Brandis auditioned for Anakin.
  
  
• Senator Amidala is the best shot; she almost never misses. This is a reference to her daughter, Leia, who also almost never misses.
  
  
• Jedi Council members Eeth Koth and Adi Gallia, though recast, were originally supposed to make appearances in this film. In the role of Eeth Koth, Hassani Shapi was replaced by Tux Akindoyeni; and Gin Clarke was replaced by Lily Nyamwasa. Shapi and Clarke still appear in this film, though they were not involved in its production: a scene in the Jedi Council chamber features a recycled background from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). Akindoyeni and Nyamwasa played Koth and Gallia, respectively, during the battle of Geonosis. However, it was decided during post-production that they looked different enough to be designated as different characters. Eeth Koth was therefore changed to Agen Kolar, and Adi Gallia became Stass Allie. The Episode I characters and cast members are still the only ones credited.
  
  
• WILHELM SCREAM: Not the "classic" Wilhelm, but what is known as the "third scream" can be heard at the beginning of the film as Amidala's ship explodes.
  
  
• The Neimoidian seen with Nute Gunray on Geonosis was originally intended to be Rune Haako. However, Rune's mask was lost shortly after the first film completed shooting. The production crew gave uncredited actor David Healey the mask of Daultay Dofine instead. Although the "new" Neimoidian had no official name during filming (the character was only referred to by the crew as "Nute's friend"), he was eventually named Gilramos Libkath, after costume supervisor Gillian Libbert and production controller Kathryn Ramos. Unfortunately a mix-up in the end credits not only erroneously lists Alan Ruscoe in the part, but also says the Neimoidian is Lott Dod (the Trade Federation senator seen briefly in Episode I). Much confusion has surrounded whether Nute's companion should be considered Rune Haako, Gilramos Libkath, or Lott Dod. The official LucasFilm word is that it's Rune Haako "for all intents and purposes," but many fans are unsatisfied with this decision based on the fact the character neither looks nor sounds anything like Rune, who is back to his old Episode I self by Episode III.
  
  
• According to Animation Director Rob Coleman, not a single clone trooper suit was ever built. Every single clone trooper seen in the film is computer generated, with motion capture performed by ILM employees, wearing only the helmet and sometimes the footwear of the suit. The rest is complete CG.
  
  
• EASTER EGG: In the "Options" menu, key in 11 enter 3 enter 8 enter, and you will see bloopers, mostly of Hayden Christensen falling during various takes of the film.
  
  
• Running at 142 minutes; this is the longest of the "Star Wars" films.
  
  
• Padmé (Natalie Portman) is supposed to be a few years older than Anakin (Hayden Christensen). In real-life, Christensen is almost 2 months older than Portman.
  
  
• At the beginning of the movie when Obi-Wan goes to visit Dex in the diner, Sebulba, the champion podracer from Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), is visible in the background. When they both sit at the booth and discuss the poison dart, Sebulba is visible on the left side of the screen getting up and walking, after a short camera changes, he is again visible walking out the door.
  
  
• This film marks the first time Yoda uses a lightsaber. Previously the puppet had problems grasping his own lightsaber and making it look realistic.
  
  
• Christopher Lee has pointed out that "Dooku" is the Japanese word for poison, which is inaccurate. The Japanese word for "poison" is pronounced "doku" with the short "o" sound.
  
  
• This is the only Star Wars movie where the camera shot tilts up after the opening scroll to start the scene. In all other Star Wars movies, the camera shot tilts down after the scroll.
  
  
• For shooting the pre-visualization sequences for the speeder chase scenes, Luke Skywalker's speeder from Star Wars (1977) was dug out of storage and used to represent the open-cockpit speeder with Anakin and Obi-Wan, and George Lucas' own Ferrari was used to represent Zam's speeder.
  
  
• Both this film and Minority Report (2002), directed by George Lucas' pal Steven Spielberg, have similar factory chase scenes.
  
  
• In the Brazilian translation, the names of Count Dooku and the Jedi Master Zaifo-Dias were changed. The reason is that in Portuguese language, "Dooku" and "Zaifo-Dias" has obscene meanings when spoken. "Dooku" became "Dookan" and "Zaifo-Dias" became "Zaifo-Vias". In other countries of Portuguese language that change hasn't happened.
  
  
• The planet name 'Geonosis' is taken from the Greek word used in ancient times 'gnosis' - meaning 'knowledge'.
  
  
• This is the only "Star Wars" film to be released during the same year as a "Star Trek" film: Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
  
  
• After making this film, Ewan McGregor appeared in Black Hawk Down (2001), which required him to be clean-shaved and to have an extremely close buzz cut. New scenes with Obi-Wan Kenobi were then added to this film in post-production. Since McGregor had not had enough time to regrow his hair or a full beard, he had to be fitted with a hairpiece and prosthetic beard, which is often easily distinguished from his natural hair, as it appears in the rest of the film.
  
  
• This marks the first (chronological) time that Obi-Wan Kenobi cuts off an enemy's gun hand in a bar filled with people whom fall silent and then return to their business. The second (chronological) time is in Star Wars (1977) where he and Luke Skywalker meet Han Solo.
  
  

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