Space 'n' Vader

The release of ''Star Wars: Episode III'' is still more than a year away, but in five months, you can get a good idea of how baby-faced Jedi Anakin Skywalker becomes black-masked villain Darth Vader. Lucasfilm announced on Monday that the upcoming DVD set of the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, due Sept. 21, will offer a whopping 10 hours of extras, including a preview called ''The Return of Darth Vader.'' The preview will feature George Lucas discussing Anakin's seduction by the dark side of the Force, show the new Vader costume that Hayden Christensen will wear in ''Episode III,'' and detail the preparation for the epic lightsaber battle between Christensen's Anakin and Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The DVD box will contain four discs: one disc each for ''Star Wars,'' ''The Empire Strikes Back,'' and ''The Return of the Jedi'' (complete with commentary tracks by Lucas, Carrie Fisher, and others associated with the movies), and a fourth disc of bonuses. They include a two-and-a-half-hour making-of documentary, testimonials by filmmakers influenced by ''Star Wars,'' hundreds of previously unseen production stills, and previews of two upcoming video games. That should last you until next May, no?

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