When Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan and the maturing Ahsoka Tano are Force-pulled to the planet Mortis, the soon-to-be Darth Vader’s dark destiny is revealed. It’s the start of a three-episode Clone Wars story arc that’s bound to end in tears, unlike some of the mythic narratives Neeson grew up on.
“My heroes were cowboys; they were strong and mysterious and it seemed like they always rode off into the sunset,” Neeson said in a press release. “For kids today, Star Wars has that same kind of magic.”
After letting peripheral characters mostly overtake Clone Wars’ third season, “Overlords” reorients the tragic spotlight on Anakin’s inevitable journey to the Dark Side. It’s a sobering reminder of how quickly things can go wrong, even when you’re the most powerful Jedi in the universe.
“You know how you can wake up in the morning and feel that it’s a great day, but then you can walk out your door and not really know what’s going to happen to you? That’s how I’ve always thought of Darth Vader,” Clone Wars’ supervising director Dave Filoni told Wired.com earlier this month. “I think that’s what George [Lucas] was getting at. Anakin wasn’t always this Dark Lord drowning puppies.”
