Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

The second installment of the prequel trilogy, released on May 16, 2002. George Lucas again served as director, co-writing the screenplay with Jonathan Hales; the film was produced by Rick McCallum, and the music was composed by John Williams. The film is notable for having been shot entirely on high-definition digital cameras, one of the first such experiments for a major studio production.

The action takes place roughly ten years after The Phantom Menace: the Republic is going through a political split, and the Jedi Order is forced to take on functions not its own. The film introduces Count Dooku, the bounty hunter Jango Fett, and the clone army itself, which would give its name to the following era. It also shows a grown-up Anakin Skywalker, now as Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan.

For the archive's internal chronology, the film serves as the turning point between the peaceful Republic and galactic conflict: it explains the origin of the clone troops, the role of the planet Kamino, and the mechanics of the Separatist movement, without which neither the animated series nor the third episode can be understood.