At 67 seconds, it's a short tour de Force. But the Nov. 2 premiere of the first trailer for George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones was enough to stir up Star-struck fans. (Another trailer will screen before Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.) The clip provides hyperdrive-quick glimpses of the characters from The Phantom Menace, now 10 years older and on the brink of an intergalactic war: There's a shaggy Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), a stern-faced Yoda, and smooching lovebirds Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman).
While Lucasfilm was typically mum about explaining the trailer, the Internet quickly buzzed about the A.I.-looking tykes (possibly clones) working computer consoles and the soggy nighttime battle between Obi-Wan and new baddie Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison). ''Lucas knows what he's doing by making this a lot more dark and ominous,'' says Joshua Griffin, an editor of the fansite TheForce.net.
One virtual no-show is Jar Jar Binks, though Lucasfilm says the CGI-created alien appears in the film. The teaser even satisfied the Phantom Editor, who released a reedited Binks-lite Menace earlier this year. ''There wasn't much to edit out [of the trailer],'' says the Phantom (a.k.a. L.A. filmmaker Mike J. Nichols). ''And with Jar Jar missing, what could I do to rebel? Add him in?'' No-sa thanks-a.
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