50 Fun Facts About Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

Who co-wrote the Attack of the Clones screenplay with George Lucas?

Hales had written episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles for Lucas but had little feature-film experience.

In which year was Attack of the Clones released in cinemas?

It opened on May 16, 2002, three years after The Phantom Menace and three before Revenge of the Sith.

How many years after The Phantom Menace is the story set?

Anakin has gone from a nine-year-old slave to a 20-year-old Padawan in the gap.

Who leads the Confederacy of Independent Systems?

Dooku is a former Jedi Master who once mentored Qui-Gon Jinn.

On which ocean planet does Obi-Wan discover the clone army?

The Kaminoan cloners claim the army was ordered years earlier by a Jedi Master.

Which bounty hunter serves as the genetic template for the clone army?

He asked for one unaltered clone as payment, whom he raised as his son Boba.

Which Jedi Master kills the clone army's template during the arena battle?

Young Boba retrieves his father's helmet from the arena floor afterwards.

Who freed and married Shmi Skywalker after buying her from Watto?

Cliegg is a moisture farmer and the father of Owen, who later raises Luke.

Who abducted Shmi from the Lars homestead?

Anakin finds her barely alive at their camp, and her death triggers his massacre of the tribe.

On which planet do Anakin and Padmé secretly marry at the end?

R2-D2 and C-3PO are the only witnesses to the wedding.

Which limb does Dooku sever from Anakin during their duel?

He is fitted with a cybernetic replacement before the wedding scene.

Which Trade Federation leader ordered the assassination attempts on Padmé?

Gunray wanted revenge for Naboo and demanded her death in exchange for backing the Separatists.

Who proposes the vote that grants Palpatine emergency powers?

Jar Jar's role was reduced after the Phantom Menace backlash, but his one big scene changes the galaxy.

Which bounty hunter is hired to make the first attempts on Padmé's life?

Her employer silences her with a toxic dart before she can name him.

The shapeshifting assassin who targets Padmé belongs to which species?

Her shapeshifting later inspired She-Ra's Double Trouble, according to creator ND Stevenson.

In whose name was the clone army allegedly ordered from the Kaminoans?

He was a Jedi Master who had died before the order was supposedly placed.

By what Sith name is Sidious's new apprentice known?

Jango tells Obi-Wan he was recruited on Bogano's moons by a man called Tyranus.

Which actor plays the Separatist leader Dooku?

Lee was 78 during filming and used a double for the acrobatic parts of his duel with Yoda.

Which New Zealand actor plays the bounty hunter cloned for the Republic's army?

Morrison later returned as Boba Fett in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

Who plays the young Boba Fett?

Logan went on to voice Boba in The Clone Wars animated series.

Which actor plays Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan?

Smits reprised the role in Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

Which Australian actor plays Owen Lars?

Edgerton returned to the part two decades later in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

Which veteran Australian actor plays Shmi's husband, the moisture farmer?

Thompson's character lost a leg to Tusken Raiders while searching for Shmi.

Who plays Dormé, Padmé's handmaiden?

The future Bridesmaids star had only a brief appearance in the film.

What is Jocasta Nu's job at the Jedi Temple?

Archivists have written papers on her line that anything not in the archives does not exist.

What kind of business does Dexter Jettster run on Coruscant?

The four-armed Besalisk identifies Obi-Wan's toxic dart as Kaminoan.

Which star met Lucas about playing Anakin but declined, saying he wasn't ready for the dive?

He made Catch Me If You Can and Gangs of New York that year instead.

Which boy band filmed a cameo for the film that was cut in post-production?

Lucas reportedly asked them to appear to please his daughters; they are barely visible in one crowd shot.

Which X-Files star turned down a role in order to make the comedy Evolution?

Evolution, directed by Ivan Reitman, came out in 2001.

What was the film's tongue-in-cheek working title?

The in-joke referenced the negative fan response to Jar Jar Binks in Episode I.

While writing Empire Strikes Back, Lucas first imagined which character as a clone?

The idea was that he came from a planet of clones that caused the Clone Wars mentioned in A New Hope.

In which city was principal photography based?

Fox Studios Australia also hosted the Moulin Rouge! shoot, whose stages were reused.

Which Lake Como residence stood in for the Naboo lake retreat?

The same villa later appeared in Casino Royale as Bond's recovery spot.

The Plaza de España used for Naboo's Theed is in which Spanish city?

The scene recreates a moment from Lawrence of Arabia, which also filmed there.

Which Sony digital camera model was the film shot on?

It was only the third feature released that was shot entirely on 24p digital, after Jackpot and Vidocq.

What lightsaber colour did Samuel L. Jackson personally request for his Jedi?

It breaks the blue-and-green-for-heroes, red-for-villains convention of the earlier films.

Ewan McGregor shaved his beard for which film, forcing a fake beard in reshoots?

He had to trim his hair as well, so a hairpiece was fitted for the March 2001 pickups.

Who advised the animators that the CGI Yoda should look extremely old, sore and frigid?

Oz had voiced and puppeteered Yoda in the original trilogy and The Phantom Menace.

How old was Dooku's actor when a stunt double handled his acrobatic duel with Yoda?

His face was superimposed on the double's body in all shots except the close-ups.

What is the title of the film's love theme?

A music video for the theme was produced specifically for the DVD release.

Which Empire Strikes Back theme makes its first chronological appearance here?

It plays as Palpatine watches the clone army deploy, with only a hint of it in Episode I.

The Geonosis arena fight is a reference to which 2000 Ridley Scott film?

The film also quotes Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. No and Blade Runner.

Which inaugural New York event hosted the premiere in May 2002?

The May 12 screenings benefited the Children's Aid Society, a charity Lucas supported.

What code unlocks the blooper-reel Easter egg in the DVD options menu?

The number nods to Lucas's 1971 debut feature THX 1138.

Roughly how much did the film gross worldwide?

It was the first Star Wars film not to finish as the year's top earner, placing fourth worldwide for 2002.

Who won the Golden Raspberry for Worst Supporting Actor for this film?

The film's other Razzie win was Worst Screenplay for George Lucas.

Whose Thursday-opening record did the film's first day break?

The Matrix Reloaded took the record back the following year.

Which author wrote the adult novelization with scenes not in the film?

Scholastic published a separate junior novel, and Dark Horse did a four-issue comic.

Which thriller knocked the film off the top of the box office after two weeks?

Its opening-weekend record for a Fox film stood until X2 the next year.

Which actress reprised her Matrix role as the Woman in the Red Dress for a cameo?

Her character was later named Hayde Gofai in Star Wars media.