Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones

"The shroud of the dark side has fallen. Begun, the Clone War has."

- Yoda

Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones is the second Star Wars film, and was released on May 16, 2002. It is the second part of the prequel trilogy which began with Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace and ended with Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. It is also the first Star Wars film which used a high-definition digital 24-frame system for most of the movie's live-action scenes.

The film is set ten years after the Battle of Naboo, when the galaxy is on the brink of civil war. Under the leadership of renegade Jedi Master Count Dooku, thousands of systems threaten to secede from the Republic. When an assassination attempt is made on Senator Padmé Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo, Jedi apprentice Anakin Skywalker is assigned to protect her, while his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi is assigned to investigate the assassination attempt. Soon the Jedi are drawn into the heart of the separatist movement, and the beginning of a new threat to the galaxy: the Clone Wars.

Directed by George Lucas with co-assistance of James McTeigue, the film was a financial success, grossing over $300 million at the box office in the United States. However, the film was overshadowed by the even greater box-office success of its predecessor, The Phantom Menace. For the first time, a Star Wars film did not earn the highest box-office sales for the year; the highest grossing film turned out to be Spider-Man, which garnered a more favorable critical reception. Attack of the Clones was released on Blu-ray in September 2011.

Synopsis
A decade after the events of The Phantom Menace, the Galactic Republic is in crisis. A Separatist movement led by former Jedi Master Count Dooku, alias the Sith Lord Darth Tyranus, is threatening the peace, causing the Galactic Senate to debate a Military Creation Act to form a standing army for the Republic's protection. Senator Padmé Amidala, former Queen of Naboo, returns to Coruscant to vote against the Act, even though there are no longer enough Jedi to maintain peace and justice in the galaxy.

Upon her arrival on Coruscant, she narrowly escapes an assassination attempt that claims the life of her decoy, Cordé. As a result, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine requests that Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, protect her.

That night, the assassin Zam Wesell makes another attempt on Amidala's life, though the Jedi are able to foil her plot. They pursue her through Galactic City, eventually disarming her in a bar. Upon being questioned by Obi-Wan and Anakin outside the bar, she is killed by a saberdart, fired by a mysterious "rocket man", before the Jedi can learn the name of her employer. Returning to the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan is given a new assignment by the High Council; to track down the assassin's killer. Meanwhile, Anakin continues his assignment of protecting the Senator, and is asked to escort her back to her home planet of Naboo. Anakin welcomes the opportunity, as he often becomes angry and frustrated by Obi-Wan's criticism, and is glad to have an opportunity to be on his own. Further, he has become infatuated with Padmé, and relishes the chance to spend time with her. Senior Representative Jar Jar Binks assumes the Senator's duties in her absence.

During the investigation, Obi-Wan is led to a mysterious planet called Kamino&mdash;missing from the Jedi Archives&mdash;where he discovers a secret clone army being developed for the Republic. He is told by Prime Minister Lama Su that the army was ordered some ten years ago by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas &mdash; although Obi-Wan was "under the impression" that Sifo-Dyas was killed before that time. A bounty hunter named Jango Fett was hired as the template for the clones. Obi-Wan meets Jango on Kamino, and believes him to be the killer he has been tracking. He tries to capture Jango, which leads to a titanic one-on-one fight between them. Jango makes use of his blasters and missile equipment, managing to defeat Obi-Wan by sending him plummeting into the raging sea below. Thinking he is dead, Jango departs Kamino with his son Boba. Unable to capture Jango, Obi-Wan places a homing beacon on his ship, Slave I, and follows him to the planet of Geonosis.

Meanwhile, Anakin and Padmé have been spending much time together on Naboo, enjoying each other's company and playfully frolicking in the fields. Eventually, Anakin reveals his deep love for her, vowing to do whatever she requests. However, Padmé resists, explaining that it would be impossible for the two of them to be together, since she is a Senator and he is a Jedi. Anakin is angered by this, and experiences inner conflict between his strong desires for her and his duties as a Jedi.

Anakin is also troubled by a new found sense that his mother is in grave danger, and he beckons for Padmé to accompany him to his home planet of Tatooine&mdash;in the process disobeying Obi-Wan's orders to remain on Naboo. Upon arriving, Anakin tracks down his former owner Watto, from whom he learns that his mother has married a moisture farmer named Cliegg Lars, and travels to the Lars moisture farm. There, Anakin and Padmé find C-3PO, and the droid introduces Anakin to his step-brother Owen. Cliegg tells Anakin the horrible truth, that his mother was kidnapped a month ago by a pack of Tusken Raiders. Anakin travels through the night, and finds her tied and beaten in a Tusken camp. Within moments, she dies in his arms. Enraged and heartbroken, he slaughters the entire Tusken community; men, women and even children. Back at Coruscant, Yoda senses a terrible darkness in the Force as the slaughter continues (Qui-Gon Jinn's voice can also be heard shouting "Anakin, Anakin, No!" during this scene). Anakin then brings his mother's body back to the homestead, where her funeral is held.

On Geonosis, Obi-Wan overhears a meeting between Count Dooku and the leaders of the commerce guilds, and learns that they are behind the separatist movement and have built up a new droid army. He also learns that it was Nute Gunray who ordered the assassination of Amidala, as revenge for the defeat of the Trade Federation at the Battle of Naboo. Obi-Wan transmits his findings to the Council, relayed by way of Anakin and Padmé's ship, though he is surrounded by droidekas and captured before he can finish his report.

Now that the Jedi Council knows of Dooku's army, Jedi Master Mace Windu leads a team to Geonosis. Unbeknownst to them, Anakin and Padmé also make their way there to rescue Obi-Wan. Meanwhile, Representative Binks calls for Chancellor Palpatine to be given emergency powers, with which he can call the recently discovered clone army into battle.

Back on Geonosis, Count Dooku tries to persuade Obi-Wan to join him, warning him that Darth Sidious is now in control of the Senate. Obi-Wan refuses to believe him, saying that the Jedi would have known if that was the case. Anakin and Padmé arrive on the planet, but are quickly captured by Jango Fett and sentenced to death, joining Obi-Wan in the Geonosis arena where they are to be executed. In the high stands, Count Dooku, Nute Gunray, Rune Haako, Poggle the Lesser, Jango Fett and Boba Fett watch the start of the planned execution. The trio are forced to battle a reek, a nexu and an acklay. During their struggle, Mace Windu arrives with his Jedi strike team, and they battle Dooku's droid army in the arena. Upon seeing so many Jedi in one place, Jango Fett jetpack's down to the arena floor, and engages Windu. After a short struggle, Windu manages to kill Jango due to his jetpack malfunctioning, but defeat for the Jedi still seems imminent. Luckily, Yoda unexpectedly arrives with the Republic's new clone army, descending upon the arena in gunships and picking up Padmé and the surviving Jedi.

An even larger battle erupts outside the arena between the Republic's clone army and the Droid Army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Nute Gunray and Rune Haako subsequently retreat in Gunray's ship. Poggle the Lesser entrusts Count Dooku with the plans for the Ultimate Weapon, which are early plans for the Death Star. Dooku attempts to escape, but Obi-Wan and Anakin track him to a secret hangar, where they engage him in combat. Unfortunately, they are no match for Dooku's now-revealed mastery of the dark side and the lightsaber combat style that he employs. He fires Force lightning at Anakin, injures Obi-Wan and cuts off Anakin's right arm. Yoda appears just as Dooku is about to escape, and the two masters of the Force go head to head in a fierce duel. Dooku, realizing he can't defeat Yoda, attempts to topple a large pillar on Obi-Wan and Anakin as a distraction. While Yoda uses the Force to divert the pillar, Dooku flees in his solar sailer. Flying to an industrial sector of Coruscant, he meets up with his master, Darth Sidious, who is pleased that the war has begun as planned.

In the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan, Mace and Yoda ponder Dooku's warning that Darth Sidious is controlling the Senate. Yoda is hesitant to believe this, stating that the dark side is capable of creating fear and mistrust. He and Windu agree that they should nevertheless closely monitor the Senate. Meanwhile, Chancellor Palpatine and a number of senators, including Bail Organa, oversee the launching of massive clone trooper forces.

Back at Naboo, Anakin, with a new mechanical arm, and Padmé hold a secret wedding, with C-3PO and R2-D2 as the only witnesses.

Filming
Principal photography lasted from June 26 to September 20, 2000. Filming primarily occurred at Fox Studios, Sydney, with additional location shooting in Tunisia desert, at the Plaza de España Seville in Spain, and in Italy at the Villa del Balbianello on Lake Como and the Caserta Palace. Pick up shots took place in Ealing Studios.

In December 2001, it was rumored that members of *NSYNC were filmed as extras in Attack of the Clones. In the following days, the story gained momentum and it was reported that three band members—Joey Fatone, JC Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick —were given parts as Jedi and Naboo citizens by producer Rick McCallum. Lucasfilm later confirmed the news but denied the rumor that it was done by George Lucas as a favor for his daughters, Katie and Amanda, who were fans of the band. Also, Justin Timberlake acknowledged that he and Lance Bass were not involved, but that Joey Fatone's brother Steve was.

Many Star Wars fans reacted negatively to the news, many seeing this incident as further evidence of Star Wars "selling out", similar to some Star Wars fans' reactions to Jar Jar Binks or the Ewoks. On January 12, 2002, a Saturday Night Live sketch showed a satirical "first look" at Attack of the Clones, wherein the movie was forced to grind to a halt to allow for *NSYNC to perform an impromptu musical number entitled "I'm a Jedi Knight in these Jedi Days."

Joey Fatone later announced that the singers' parts had been cut from the film because of the negative fan reaction. However, Lucasfilm's Lynne Hale denied this, saying that it was up to Lucas, and that "the final edit of the film is what he determines it will be."

Major musical themes

 * Star Wars Main Title
 * The Imperial March
 * Across the Stars

Box-office performance
The film grossed $310,676,740 in the United States and $338,721,588 overseas, a huge financial success which nevertheless was overshadowed by the even greater box-office success of The Phantom Menace. Also, it was not the top grossing film of the year, the first (and only) time a Star Wars film has not had that distinction. The films that out-earned it were Spider-Man, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which all enjoyed a more favorable critical reception as well.

Reception
Initial reviews of the film were mixed, with general admiration for the action sequences and special effects, and criticism of the more traditional cinematic elements such as character development and dialogue, particularly with respect to the relationship between Padmé and Anakin. The marketing of the film reacted to this by downplaying the subplot by the time of the DVD release and emphasizing Yoda's popular fight scene.

The dialogue was noted to be "leaden" and "flat" by critics. The acting was also disparaged by some critics for these same characteristics.

Fans consider the visual effects superior to The Phantom Menace; many were pleased to see that Jar Jar Binks plays only a minor role. He, in fact, makes an emotional appeal to the Galactic Senate (during Senator Amidala's absence) in support of granting Palpatine emergency powers, quietly laying some of the guilt on his shoulders. Also, Jar Jar's attempts at comic relief seen earlier were toned down, with C-3PO reprising some of his bumbling traditions in that role.

Many fans have also voiced complaints about the way the movie is edited, in particular that the frequent crosscutting of plots prevents the buildup of momentum.

DVD release
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones was released on DVD in November 2002, with certain elements edited or added in by George Lucas that make the DVD a slightly different version from its theatrical release.

DVD features (USA)

Disc 1


 * DVD Menu themes based on planets from the movie: Coruscant, Kamino and Geonosis
 * Available subtitles: English
 * Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
 * Commentary by writer-director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll, Roger Guyett, and sound designer Ben Burtt
 * DVD Credits with Blooper reels

Disc 2 12-part Web documentary
 * Main DVD Menu's theme is based on the Jedi Library
 * Eight exclusive deleted scenes with introductions of George Lucas, Rick McCallum and Ben Burtt
 * "From Puppets to Pixels: Digital Characters in Episode II": all-new full-length documentary about the creation of digital characters in Episode II
 * "State of the Art: The Previsualization of Episode II": witness the vital role of the animatics team
 * "Films Are Not Released: They Escape" sound documentary
 * Three featurettes examining the story line, action scenes, and love story through behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and filmmakers
 * "Across the Stars" music video: an original composition by John Williams crafted exclusively for this DVD
 * Exclusive production photos
 * One-sheet posters
 * International outdoor campaign
 * Trailers and TV spots
 * "R2-D2: Beneath the Dome" mockumentary trailer
 * ILM visual effects breakdown montage
 * Exclusive DVD-ROM content
 * Production photo gallery
 * DVD-ROM content includes a free trial of Hyperspace

Blu-ray release
The film was released on Blu-ray in September 2011.

Digital release
On April 7, 2015, the Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released Star Wars films. As Lucasfilm had retained digital distribution rights to Episodes I thru III and V thru VI, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Attack of the Clones for digital download on April 10, 2015.

Novelization
A book version of the movie was written by R. A. Salvatore. It includes scenes created by Salvatore and unique to the novel. The book's Prologue describes Anakin, while flying to Ansion with Obi-Wan, having a nightmare of his mother turning into glass and shattering. The following pages relate the events leading up to Shmi Skywalker's capture by Tusken Raiders and Cliegg Lars's loss of his leg while attempting to rescue her. These scenes give a more detailed insight into Shmi's life on the moisture farm and her relationships with Cliegg, Owen, Beru, and C-3PO than can be provided in the film. Interspersed with these events are scenes of Senator Amidala on Naboo prior to her departure for Coruscant to vote on the Military Creation Act. She discusses with her sister the question of retiring from politics to start a family and receives reports about the unrest (briefly mentioned in the film) among spice miners on Naboo's moons.

The book also delves more deeply than the film into the father-son relationship of Jango and Boba Fett, making Jango's death more emotionally meaningful (however, it also makes several inaccuracies concerning Jango. The author referred to his armor as "gray", when it is actually white with blue accents. He also [multiple times] forgot about the detail of his helmet, as Obi-Wan's description of Jango during the fight scene had to do with wearing a wicked smile). The first of the Boba Fett series of young adult novels draws upon this material.

References to the original trilogy

 * At the start of the movie, Padmé Amidala says "I shouldn't have come back." A similar line was spoken by Luke Skywalker, her son, when approaching the Forest moon of Endor, "I'm endangering the mission. I shouldn't have come."
 * A Skywalker has a limb amputated by a Sith Lord with a lightsaber (notably both arms are amputated by Darth Sidious's current apprentice) in the second movie of a trilogy. Anakin's forearm is amputated by Count Dooku (Attack of the Clones), and Luke's hand is amputated by Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back).
 * The battle between Count Dooku and Anakin on Geonosis mirrors the battle between Darth Vader and Luke on Bespin, where a power line is cut and the lights go out and the only light comes from each combatant's respective lightsaber.
 * Both this film and The Empire Strikes Back end with a momentum shift in the battle for power towards the Sith, a Skywalker getting a new arm, and a shot of a Skywalker, the female lead, and C-3PO and R2-D2 standing together looking into the distance.
 * During the chase through Coruscant, after Padmé Amidala survives Zam Wesell's assassination attempt, three TIE fighters are seen chasing an X-wing starfighter.
 * A character says "I have a bad feeling about this" - Anakin in the Petranaki arena. (all Star Wars films)
 * Anakin is told by Palpatine to "trust your feelings". In The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader uses a similar phrase; "Search your feelings", when he is revealing to Luke that he is his father. In A New Hope, Kenobi tells Luke to "trust your feelings".
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi uses a Jedi mind trick. Here, he uses it to convince a dealer to not sell him death sticks and get him to go home and rethink his life. (A New Hope).
 * The hero travels to a sterile and somewhat Utopian city where he is met by a seemingly benign administrator (Lama Su in Attack of the Clones and Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back) who gives him a tour of the facilities while a future enemy is nearby. (Obi-Wan Kenobi in Attack of the Clones, and Han Solo and others from the Millennium Falcon in The Empire Strikes Back) Both times, the enemy is a member of the Fett family hired by a Sith Lord.
 * The hero hides from an enemy in an asteroid field. Obi-Wan hides from Jango Fett (Attack of the Clones), and Han Solo and others in the Millennium Falcon hide from the Imperial fleet (The Empire Strikes Back). Furthermore, Boba Fett is present in both situations, and the second time around, he succeeds in following the Falcon, obviously learned from his past mistakes.
 * Count Dooku says to the Jedi to surrender in the Geonosis Arena so their lives could be spared, but they all refuse. In Return of the Jedi, C-3PO suggests to surrender so their lives could be spared, but the rest refuse to do so.
 * R2-D2 repairs C-3PO. In addition, C-3PO asks "Yes, but is my head on straight?" when R2-D2 finishes repairing him. This is a reference to Chewbacca putting his head on backwards in The Empire Strikes Back.
 * Owen Lars asks Anakin where he is going when he gets up from the table at the Lars farm after talking with Cliegg about his mother. Aunt Beru asked Luke the same question in A New Hope when he got up from the same seat some twenty-two years later. (Also, this is a reference to Steven Spielberg's blockbuster movie, Jaws, where somewhat of the same line is spoken.)
 * When Cliegg Lars tells the story about the mission to rescue Shmi from the Tusken Raiders, he clearly states: "Thirty of us went out there, four of us came back". This is the exact result of the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope. The only difference is the outcome: Cliegg and his friends fail, whereas the Rebels at Yavin emerge victorious.
 * As an in-joke, Jango Fett hits his head on the entrance to Slave I, a reference to the goof in A New Hope when a stormtrooper hits his head on a blast door.
 * As an in-joke, Padmé's blaster makes the sound of a .44 Magnum. In A New Hope, Princess Leia's blaster can be heard to make a gun shot due to a mistake in sound editing.
 * As an in-joke, an asteroid is shaped like a shaak. In The Empire Strikes Back, an asteroid is actually a potato, and another is a sneaker.
 * Padmé Amidala is the best shot with a blaster; she almost never misses. This is a reference to Princess Leia Organa, who also almost never misses. In addition, Padmé gets wounded in the Battle of Geonosis, whereas Leia gets wounded in the Battle of Endor.
 * Obi-Wan puts a homing beacon on Jango Fett's ship Slave I to track Jango Fett to Geonosis just before the Battle of Geonosis. This is a reference to A New Hope where Darth Vader puts a homing beacon on the Millennium Falcon to discover the location of the hidden Rebel base on Yavin IV just before the Battle of Yavin. In addition, when Slave I takes off, it reflects the departure of Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back.
 * Characters from the original trilogy that make their first chronological appearance in this movie include Boba Fett (Episodes IV, V and VI), and Beru and Owen Lars (A New Hope).
 * Obi-Wan tells Anakin, "Be mindful of your thoughts, Anakin; they betray you." In Return of the Jedi, Luke tells this to Darth Vader, "Your thoughts betray you, Father." (Return of the Jedi).
 * Anakin Skywalker's pursuit of Zam Wesell through the streets of Galactic City on Coruscant mirrors Darth Vader's pursuit of Luke Skywalker in the Death Star's trench during the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope.
 * After a wild chase through Coruscant, Obi-Wan half-cynically and half-jokingly muses to Anakin, "Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?" Anakin, as Darth Vader, eventually kills Obi-Wan aboard the first Death Star(A New Hope).
 * In a few scenes on Tatooine, Padmé Amidala is sporting the "cinnamon bun hair" famously worn by Princess Leia Organa (A New Hope).
 * During the battle on Geonosis, the Separatists are seen with the plans to their new secret weapon. That weapon is the precursor to the Death Star. (Episodes III, IV, VI).
 * As a precursor to the original trilogy, the clone army has equipment and vehicles which resemble their later Imperial counterparts. Most notable: the Phase I armor employed by the clone troopers resembles the later armor employed by the stormtroopers (Episodes IV, V, VI), the Republic assault ships are the earliest incarnation of the Star Destroyer (Episodes III, IV, V, and VI), and the AT-TE walkers are the smaller predecessors of the AT-ATs (Episodes V, VI).
 * Count Dooku asks Obi-Wan Kenobi to join him and says, "and together, we will destroy the Sith", but Obi-Wan replies, "I will never join you, Dooku." In The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader asks Luke Skywalker to join him, saying "join me, and we can rule the galaxy as father and son." Earlier, Luke refused a similar offer, shouting, "I'll never join you!".
 * Anakin sees visions of his mother Shmi in danger. Subsequently, he abandons his assignment to protect Padmé and goes off in an attempt to rescue his mother. In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke sees visions of Han and Leia in pain, and subsequently, he abandons his Jedi training and goes off in an attempt to rescue his friends.
 * Anakin takes revenge against the Tusken Raiders over the death of his mother Shmi and confesses to Padmé for doing so, beginning the path to the dark side of the Force. This alludes to the reason for the title change for Episode VI. The working title was Revenge of the Jedi, but was changed to Return of the Jedi with the rationale that the Jedi do not take revenge.
 * Padmé professes her love for Anakin prior to entering a situation in which Anakin could die (the Petranaki arena). In The Empire Strikes Back, Leia professes her love for Han before he is encased in a block of carbonite.
 * Count Dooku and the Geonosians threaten to have Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padmé executed, but those executions are nullified by a battalion of Jedi reinforcements led by Mace Windu. In A New Hope, C-3PO says that Princess Leia is scheduled to be executed by the Empire, but that execution is nullified with the arrival of Luke and others from the Millennium Falcon. In Return of the Jedi, C-3PO says that Jabba the Hutt has decreed to have Luke, Han, and Chewbacca executed, but those executions are nullified by Luke and Lando.
 * Jango Fett nabs Anakin Skywalker and says to droidekas "Take him away!" In A New Hope, Darth Vader interrogates Princess Leia Organa and says to stormtroopers "Take her away!"
 * According to the DVD audio commentary, the Jedi are about to be killed by Count Dooku when Master Yoda and a battalion of clone troopers arrive to save them. In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker is about to be killed by Darth Vader when Han Solo and Chewbacca arrive to save him.
 * According to the DVD audio commentary, the night club scene on Coruscant mirrors the cantina scene in Mos Eisley on Tatooine in A New Hope. In both scenes, Obi-Wan Kenobi amputates the arm of an opponent with his lightsaber: Zam Wesell while having a drink on a bar for attempting to assassinate Padmé Amidala in Attack of the Clones, and Ponda Baba for being hostile to Luke Skywalker in A New Hope.
 * A Fett serves as a bounty hunter both contracted by and in league with a Sith Lord. Jango is hired by and in league with Count Dooku (Attack of the Clones), and Boba is hired by and in league with Darth Vader (The Empire Strikes Back).
 * C-3PO informs Anakin that R2-D2 is "carrying a message from an Obi-Wan Kenobi," which is a reference to when he informs Luke that he has a message "for an Obi-Wan Kenobi" from Princess Leia in A New Hope.
 * On Geonosis, at the beginning of the droid factory action sequence, Anakin and Padmé walk through a door that leads to a dead end, due to a bridge not being extended. Padmé falls into the factory, and Anakin follows her. In A New Hope, their children, Luke and Leia, find themselves in a similar situation aboard the first Death Star, but Luke swings them across the chasm.
 * Obi-Wan uses the spare parts in his starfighter (which is garbage) to escape Jango Fett. In The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo and Princess Leia use the garbage to escape from the Imperial fleet.
 * In the droid factory scene, the lava pouring machine (when in motion) makes the same sound as the carbon freezing machine (also when in motion) in The Empire Strikes Back. Also, R2-D2 saves Padmé from the Lava Container. In A New Hope R2-D2 stops the garbage masher just in time, saving Princess Leia and the others. Also, in The Empire Strikes Back R2-D2 saves Princess Leia and the others by activating the hyperdrive on the Millennium Falcon.
 * As a second movie of each trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back and Attack of the Clones both have a ground battle and a space pursuit in them. They are also the only movies in their respective trilogies not to feature a major space battle.
 * When Palpatine praises Count Dooku for his efforts, he says "Everything is going as planned." In Return of the Jedi, when Palpatine praises Darth Vader for his efforts, he says "Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen."
 * The droid serving food aboard the frigate carrying Anakin and Padmé to Naboo notices R2-D2 picking up food. The droid shouts, "Hey you! No droids! Get out of here!" This is a reference to A New Hope when Luke brings C-3PO and R2-D2 into the bar in Mos Eisley. The bartender yells to Luke that they "don't serve their kind here" while pointing at C-3PO and R2-D2.
 * Anakin, like Luke, finds his remaining family dead, and both take revenge upon those who killed his family. Anakin kills the Tusken Raiders who tortured Shmi, and Luke joins the Rebellion to destroy the Empire.
 * A Jedi Master battles against his former apprentice who is now a Sith Lord (notably Darth Sidious' current apprentice). Master Yoda battles against Count Dooku (Attack of the Clones), and Obi-Wan battles against Darth Vader (A New Hope).
 * A Sith Lord gives a big revelation to a Jedi Knight. In Attack of the Clones, Count Dooku tells Obi-Wan Kenobi that the Senate is under the control of the Sith. In The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker that he is his father. In both films, the Jedi at first refuses to believe what is ultimately true. Anakin Skywalker confirms the former in Revenge of the Sith, and Yoda confirms the latter in Return of the Jedi.
 * Someone touches another person's lightsaber in every episode for a reason other than taking the prisoner's weapon. In The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan touches Qui-Gon's lightsaber after his own was knocked into the abyss. In this episode, Anakin loses control of his lightsaber when confronting Zam Wesell. In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin battles Count Dooku and manages to get Dooku's lightsaber before killing him. In A New Hope, Obi-Wan hands Anakin's old lightsaber to Luke. In The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo uses Luke's lightsaber to cut open the frozen tauntaun to keep Luke warm. In Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader was looking at Luke's new lightsaber.
 * Obi Wan uses force pull to get his lightsaber and give it to Anakin and Mace Windu uses to get it from Jango Fett. In Empire Strikes Back Luke uses force pull to get his lightsaber to free from the Wampa and also on Cloud CIty during his duel to defend himself from Darth Vader.
 * R2-D2 pushes C-3PO when in the Droid Factory. In Return of the Jedi R2-D2 pushes C-3PO off the Jabba's Sail Barge.
 * Obi Wan falls off one of the roof on Kamino. In The Empire Strikes Back Luke falls off the structure after his hand is cut off.
 * Obi Wan stops Anakin from attacking Count Dooku by yelling "No". This reflects the scene from A New Hope, when Obi Wan stops Luke from going to his home also by yelling "No".
 * C3PO says the phrase "The Maker" when Anakin and Padmé arrive at Lars Homestead. In A New Hope, C3PO says a similar phrase "Thank the maker" when having his oil bath.

Collectibles
For the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, Hasbro Inc. celebrated by releasing a series of six commemorative tins. The second in the series, dedicated to Attack of the Clones, contained Mace Windu, Sora Bulq, Oppo Rancisis, and Zam Wesell.