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[via press release – original release date uncertain]

“Continue, the Clone Wars Do …” on Cartoon Network: Epic Micro-Series Returns with 10 New Chapters Beginning Friday, March 26

Chapters 11-20 of Star Wars: Clone Wars to Air Weeknights from March 26-April 8

Major New Episode III Villain, General Grievous, Revealed in Chapter 20

Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu and Anakin Skywalker lead the Army of the Republic against a vast uprising as Star Wars: Clone Wars continues on Cartoon Network, beginning Friday, March 26.  Cartoon Network aired chapters 1-10 of the Star Wars: Clone Wars “epic micro-series” in November 2003.  Ten new episodes, chapters 11-20, are scheduled to air on Cartoon Network weekdays from Friday, March 26-Thursday, April 8.

Chapter 11 will premiere Friday, March 26, at 9:30 p.m. (ET, PT).  Subsequent chapters will air weeknights at 8 p.m. (ET, PT) from Monday, March 29-Thursday, April 8.  Star Wars: Clone Wars marathons will air Friday, April 9, and Saturday, April 10.

Star Wars: Clone Wars continues the saga where the live action feature film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones left off – at the beginning of the Clone Wars, an epic civil war that pits the old Republic against a vast separatist movement led by the forces of evil.

Chapters 11-20 advance the animated saga of the Clone Wars.  Taking center stage is the battle between Anakin Skywalker and his would-be assassin, the Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress, protégé of the evil Sith lord Count Dooku.  Meanwhile, on the desert planet of Dantooine, Mace Windu must singlehandedly take on an army of Droid soldiers.  And Yoda undertakes a mission to rescue two fellow Jedi, Barris Offee and Luminara Unduli, who are trapped on the icy planet Ilum.  He is joined by Padme Amidala, C-3PO and R2-D2 on this dangerous mission.

A key development in the upcoming episodes of Star Wars: Clone Wars is the introduction of a new villain, General Grievous, who will play a large role in the upcoming feature Star Wars: Episode III.  In Chapter 20 of Star Wars: Clone Wars, a group of Jedi Knights is being decimated by a seemingly indestructible new enemy.  Only at the end of Chapter 20, as Star Wars: Clone Wars concludes, do viewers get a glimpse of this enormous villain with a fearsome fighting technique.

“In Attack of the Clones, we saw that former Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) was the political leader behind the Separatist movement and instigator of the Clone Wars,” says Star Wars producer Rick McCallum.  “In Episode III, we’ll meet General Grievous, the military leader of all the Separatist armies.  He’s part alien and part robot.  Grievous is a master strategist and the greatest hand-to-hand Jedi killer the galaxy has ever known.”

“Introducing the new character of General Grievous is an awesome responsibility,” said Genndy Tartakovsky, the producer and director of Star Wars: Clone Wars.  “Working with the great characters of the Star Wars universe was humbling to all of us on the crew of Star Wars: Clone Wars, but helping to create a new character that will enter the mythology has made us truly feel a part of the Star Wars family.  The fact that he is a powerful villain made it even cooler.”

Star Wars: Clone Wars is being produced at Cartoon Network Studios by a team led by Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory.  Each episodic short is approximately three minutes in length.  Star Wars: Clone Wars is airing exclusively on Cartoon Network worldwide.

The premiere schedule for Star Wars: Clone Wars is as follows.  All times are listed ET, PT.

• Friday, March 26, at 9:30 p.m.: Chapter 11 (preceded by Chapters 1-5 at 8 p.m. and Chapters 6-10 at 9 p.m.)
• Monday, March 29, at 8 p.m.: Chapter 12
• Tuesday, March 30, at 8 p.m.: Chapter 13
• Wednesday, March 31, at 8 p.m.: Chapter 14
• Thursday, April 1, at 8 p.m.: Chapter 15
• Friday. April 2, at 8 p.m.: Chapter 16
• Monday, April 5, at 8 p.m.: Chapter 17
• Tuesday, April 6, at 8 p.m.: Chapter 18
• Wednesday, April 7, at 8 p.m.: Chapter 19
• Thursday, April 8, at 8 p.m.: Chapter 20
• Friday, April 9: Chapters 11-15 at 8 p.m. followed by Chapters 16-20 at 9 p.m. (ET, PT)
• Saturday, April 10: Chapters 1-5 at 9 p.m., Chapters 6-10 at 10 p.m., Chapters 11-15 at 11 p.m. and Chapters 16-20 at 12 a.m. (All times ET, PT)

The first 10 chapters of Star Wars: Clone Wars aired in November 2003 to great critical acclaim and ratings success.  Versus the same time period last year (Friday, 8-8:15 p.m.), Star Wars: Clone Wars helped propel Cartoon Network’s entire Fridays franchise (7 p.m.-12 a.m.) to #1 in its time period for delivery and ratings of all measured boy demos on ad-supported cable: boys 2-11 (872,000/4.3), boys 6-11 (673,000/5.5), tween boys 9-14 (638,000/5.0) and teen boys 12-17 (403,000/3.2).  Additional highlights of the action-adventure program’s performance include the following:

• Kids 2-11 delivery (1,452,000) improved by 107% and ratings (3.7) by 106%.
• Kids 6-11 delivery (990,000) rose by 139% and ratings (4.1) by 141%.
• Tweens 9-14 delivery (799,000) increased by 252% and ratings (3.2) by 256%.
• Teens 12-17 delivery (551,000) ballooned by 468% and ratings (2.2) by 450%.
• This program ranked #1 in its time period on basic cable among boys 9-14, teens 12-17 and boys 12-17.

Star Wars: Clone Wars is the first animated property starring the central characters of the Star Wars saga.  In the first 10 chapters, Obi-Wan Kenobi, serving as a general in the Army of the Republic, led a team of elite Clone Troopers in a battle on the planet of Muunilinst.  There he encountered a tenacious bounty hunter named Durge and San Hill, a leader of the Separatist movement.  Jedi Kit Fisto led an aquatic assault on the Clone Army on the water planet of Mon Calimari.  And Count Dooku recruited Dark Jedi Asajj ventress for a special mission – to assassinate Anakin Skywalker.

Cartoon Network, currently seen in 86.2 million U.S. homes and 145 countries around the world, is Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.’s 24-hour, ad-supported cable service offering the best in animated entertainment.  Drawing from the world’s largest cartoon library, Cartoon Network showcases unique original ventures such as Codename: Kids Next Door, The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed, Edd n Eddy and other Cartoon Cartoons.  Cartoon Network also features Adult Swim, a late night block of animation for grown-ups.  Since its launch in 1992, Cartoon Network has remained one of ad-supported cable’s highest-rated networks. Cartoon Network’s Web site is located at http://CartoonNetwork.com (AOL Keyword: Cartoon Network).

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.