Club Jade

Cosmic Book News is at it again! Today they’ve set on another spin-off concept, one featuring Obi-Wan during his Tatooine exile with old buddy Darth Maul and a possible appearance by a young Luke Skywalker. (via)

A similar story was published in 2005 as the lead story of Star Wars: Visionaries. But as story concepts go, we’ve heard worse, and Ewan McGregor hasn’t been shy about his willingness to return. But, as always, it’s only a rumor.

Darth Maul has assembled his army from the underworld, and his next step is to help Pre Vizsla take over Mandalore from Duchess Satine, in this week’s episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars – ‘Shades of Reason’. Interesting title for a storyline about the action-heavy Sith Lord. Once viewed as an instrument of rage, he’s now taken on the mantle of mastermind. In the clip above, he spells out his plan to his allies. Satine gets upstaged by Pre Vizsla when publicly addressing the crisis manufactured by Maul, in the clip below.

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Of course it’s a Darth Maul novel.

Just announced over at io9: Joe Schreiber (Death Troopers) returns with Maul: Lockdown, a new novel featuring Darth Maul. They’re pegging it as a “follow-up to last year’s Darth Plagueis.” Here’s the blurb:

In a tale of retribution and survival set before the events of The Phantom Menace, Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious dispatch Sith apprentice Darth Maul on a secret mission to infiltrate a criminal empire operating from inside Cog Hive Seven-a hidden prison teeming with the galaxy’s most savage criminals. There, he must contend against the scummiest and most villainous in gladiatorial death matches while carrying out his masters’ clandestine commands. Failure is not an option; success will ignite the revenge of the Sith against the Jedi Order.

io9 says it’ll be out “at the end of 2013,” which I suspect means a post-holiday spot similar to Plagueis and Scoundrels.

James interviewed Schreiber back in 2011, after the release of his second Star Wars book, Red Harvest.

This must be our mystery novel, and while I can’t say it’s something that appeals to me, it takes all kinds. While he’s been all over The Clone Wars lately, Maul hasn’t headlined a novel for adults since Michael Reaves’ Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter back in 2001.

Counting down for the first episode of The Clone Wars season five, ‘Revival’ coming out Saturday morning on Cartoon Network (9:30 am on PT/ET, 8:30 am Central). The official site has a preview of Darth Maul exerting his alpha dog status over his brother Savage Opress. But Savage isn’t happy about being relegated to apprentice again. After last week’s fan screening of the first two episodes at Lucasfilm, a Q&A with Dave Filoni, Joel Aron, and Ashley Eckstein focused on Ahsoka’s journey and the return of Darth Maul.

The Daily.com has an exclusive preview clip for the entire season, with Dave Filoni describing how this season is a great place to jump in and get caught up with the Star Wars adventure, and how far they’ve come since they started the show.

Here’s more to get you psyched for ‘Revival’ and the kickoff of the fifth season:

• Bryan Young at Big Shiny Robot uses some preview clips to show that it’s ok for adults to enjoy the cartoon
• Eric Goldman at IGN interviews Sam Witwer on playing Darth Maul, the Sith Lord’s relationship with his brother, and being typecast as a bad-ass.
• Newsarama has a handful of video interviews with cast and crew:
  Dave Filoni, on working with George Lucas, and his hat, Ashley Eckstein, on this season and James Arnold Taylor, on being Obi-Wan Kenobi in season five.
• Dave Filoni gets interviewed by TIME for Kids about the new season.
• And if you don’t know where to start in watching Clone Wars before Season five, Star Wars Report picks out the essential episodes to get you ready for this season, paring down 4 seasons of the show into just 17 that you should be familiar with. Get the background on the characters and relationships hinted in the preview trailers.

Need to catch up on Star Wars: The Clone Wars before the start of season five? Catch the last four episodes of season four in a Target-exclusive Director’s Cut DVD set, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Darth Maul Returns coming out on Tuesday, September 11. This Director’s Cut version is currently $10 online and has been turned into a single eighty-eight minute long feature from the story arc that culminated in the return of Darth Maul: ‘Massacre’ / ‘Bounty’ / ‘Brothers’ / ‘Revenge’. The first two parts focus more on Asajj Ventress, while the last two involve Savage Opress teaming up with his long-lost half-brother, err.. all brother, half-man: Darth Maul.

Can’t settle for just the episodes of Darth Maul Returns? Don’t worry, the DVD and Blu-ray box sets for the complete season four of The Clone Wars (all 22 episodes) will be released on October 23. This isn’t the first time that The Clone Wars has given us some story arc DVDs before the complete season was released in a box set. Before season one came out on DVD, there were two 4-episode DVD products from the first season in 2009:

• A Galaxy Divided contained the first four episodes: ‘Ambush’ and the three-part ‘Malevolence’ arc
• Clone Commandos contained the clone-centric stories of ‘Rookies’ and the three-part Ryloth arc

Thanks to William at EUCantina for the video.

The Clone Wars Facebook page has a new cover image – and some are speculating it’s a shot from Season 5. Could be!

Sideshow has a new Star Wars line, Mythos. A couple of the figures look fairly interesting: A hermit Obi-Wan (in both Ewan and Sir Alec versions!) and a be-toged Darth Maul. And if this mean they’ll be doing figures of existing characters at non-movie points of their lives, maybe we’ll eventually see a couple insipired by post-Return of the Jedi. Here’s the money graph:

This line of collectibles will be populated by characters from new and existing story lines. We will bring history, unique details and personal choices to each in order to elaborate on who they are. Through the design and sculpt process our goal is to delve deeper into these established characters and offer our own interpretations of what they have done outside of the Star Wars canon.

Outside of canon!?! Eleventyone!

Anyway, the “new” part of the equation? Psst, there are a few existing characters you guys haven’t done yet, in any form. I mean, we are still waiting for that Mara. Or even, hell, a Leia wearing something other than the metal bikini. Or a Padme. Have they ever even done a Padme? An Ahsoka? What do the Gamorrean fans have that we don’t, Sideshow? TELL US. I promise we have many ladies willing to pony up for that Obi-wan if you do.

Big thanks to Rach, who grabbed this screencap from the Keepsake catalog. (Hallmark’s horrible web interface for it is currently locked to members.) We’ll have a closer look later when it goes live for all, but this should give you a pretty good idea.

The rematch prequel fans had no idea they were waiting 13 years for airs tonight as ‘Revenge’ brings Season 4 of The Clone Wars to an end. Jedi. Will. Be. Kicked! (Wait…)

Watching these clips, I can’t help but think… Dude, you talk too much, Maul. (Sorry.) And here’s one more:

Entertainment Weekly will have Sam Witwer (Maul) and James Arnold Taylor (Obi-wan) chatting live about the show tonight. They also interviewed Sam Witwer about Darth Maul.

Let’s not forget to remember the good times.

Entertainment Weekly has a preview of the fight between the ‘resurrected’ Sith and Obi-wan Kenobi in Friday’s episode, ‘Revenge”. Plus a poll. Of course.

EW will have Sam Witwer (Maul) and James Arnold Taylor (Obi-wan) for Friday’s live chat.