‘Star Wars’ finale will be ‘Revenge of the Sith’
Not so long ago, in a galaxy not far from San Francisco, George Lucas had a “Star Wars” movie but no title for his creation.
Three years of conjecture and rumors ended over the weekend at the Comic-Con comic book convention, when Lucasfilm introduced the title to the final installment of the storied franchise: “Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.”
The movie will explain the transformation of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen) into the sinister Darth Vader. Expected to be one of next year’s blockbusters, it’s due in theaters May 19.
The new name seemed to placate fans, many of whom were disgruntled by the titles of the previous two installments, “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones.”
“It’s certainly an improvement over the first two,” said Ken Simmons, 31, of Tampa, Fla., who spent most of the weekend dressed as a storm trooper character from the films. “I just hope no one confuses it with ‘Revenge of the Nerds.’ “
In addition to announcing the title, Lucasfilm also sent a concept artist to show off drawings of a Wookie tree civilization from “Episode III” and played footage of Christensen’s climactic light-saber duel — minus all the special effects — with co-star Ewan McGregor, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi.
It was just one of several splashes studios created at the four-day conference in San Diego, which ended Sunday and drew more than 80,000 devotees of comic book, science-fiction and fantasy fare:
• Keanu Reeves returned as someone other than Neo from the “Matrix” trilogy. Looking thinner and scruffier for his newest role, Reeves plays the hero in “Constantine,” an avenger who returns from the dead to battle evil. The film is due in February 2005.
• Jude Law, star of “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” made his first appearance at the convention to tout his futuristic movie that comes out Sept. 17.
• Sarah Michelle Gellar, star of TV’s now-defunct “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” made her Comic-Con debut for her thriller “The Grudge,” a Japanese remake due Oct. 22.
• “Alien vs. Predator,” in which the two big-screen villains face off Aug. 13, enjoyed huge applause during its footage montage.
“These are the fans you want to impress,” said star Lance Henriksen. “Because if they don’t like what you show them, you’re cooked. These guys know how to use the Internet.”