The Essential Episode 3 Character Summary Analysis:
(Snagged from the slashdotted http://phatooine.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1722)

***This Character summary and analysis is the companion guide to the Definitive Episode 3 Plot and Timeline Synopsis. It will also be subject to change as we obtain new information about Episode 3. This character summary will provide additional information that the 'timeline' will not. Together, both projects should provide a signifigant insight into Star Wars Episode 3. Sources include: HS Set Notes, Web Cam, Web Chats, SW Insider, Homing Beacon, and other various rumors/sources from around the net.***

   Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader: In episode 3 Anakin will indeed be a Jedi Knight, and he will sport two very different looks. One rugged look, and one very rugged, scarred look. Rick McCallum confirms that Anakin loses more body parts. Anakin's light saber style is vulnerable on a slope. Anakin's turn to the dark side is TWO HRS LONG! Obi/Ani fight will not be about effects, but---betrayal! Anakin's downfall will make fans saddened, shocked, angry and betrayed! Anakin kills Dooku, and really early in the film as previously reported. And the former Jedi isn't officially named "Darth Vader" until after the lava bath. But don't take this to mean he doesn't do some very, very dark things before the duel takes place. A scene was filmed which echoes the Palpatine/Anakin discussion in Episode II. It also takes place in Palpatine's office, but the "assignment" being talked about in this situation is vastly different than that of the AOTC Palpatine/Anakin discussion. This assignment will likely be that of Palpatine’s body guard… We will see why Darth Vader is named Darth Vader… All of Vader’s injuries will be explained except one... We will see LORD VADER....choking could happen. Vader will be the most deadly character in the movie... There is currently no plan for Vader to be CG! It's true that Anakin will lose more of himself as the movie progresses and become more machine than man. One way in which this happens is that he'll lose his right leg after the ‘duel’. Anakin knows Padme is pregnant… Anakin will attempt to rescue Obi again. JEJ won't record his dialogue for another year, if at all; he had been rumored to be recording 5 mins of dialogue for the final mins of the movie...

- Dialogue – Vader/Anakin:

3 words from Vader: "I don't fear... "

- Anakin meets Lava: (3 tests – one version will likely be used for the movie)

- Anakin Test #1: Anakin is burned black almost completely head to toe, except for his face. He is charcoal black and it honestly is sickening. The only burn marks on his face creep up along his right side of the face and the top and bottom of his eye. His ear is almost completely gone and around his lips there are several severe burns as well. This is really a sight to behold.

- Anakin Test #2: This test involved Hayden getting made to look very close to the unmasked Vader from Return of the Jedi. His skin is very dark tan in color and he has that huge gash in the right side of the top his head and other marks you may recognize. There are many small burns and scrapes on his face, with the most substantial burns appearing on both cheeks and then burned to a black crisp the rest of the way down.

- Anakin Test #3: In this final version, Hayden was made up to be burned, but not NEARLY as severe. He has massive bags under his eyes and his hair is almost completely singed off - but not quite, some stubble still remains. The left side of his face is in terrible condition, extending down his neck then to an entirely burned body as well. The others look more over the top, where this one looks more like just terrible 2nd degree burns.



Obi-Wan Kenobi/Ben: Obi-Wan's actions are important to the events that end the Clone Wars; he will become General Kenobi, THE great hero of the Clone wars! Obi-Wan will fight droids under water in Episode Obi-Wan will get the living crud beaten out of him in Eppy 3! Obi-Wan will become a fugitive and change his name to Ben… The reason for Obi-Wan’s name change will be explained... Obi will seek refuge on a new planet with an Alien race we haven’t seen yet, but heard of… Anakin and Obi-Wan will be seen as close friends in Eppy 3. Anakin will attempt to rescue Obi again. It’s rumored that Obi will be sent to take out the new droid villain, the leader of the CIS’s armies…



  Palpatine/Sidious: Palpatine and Sidious are the same person. The dark side clouds everything, even Jedi eyes. In a makeup test, they had Ian McDiarmid looking just like the Emperor we know from the Classics, complete with yellow eyes and terrible crevices of deep facial features. In one shot he's kind of gritting his teeth looking right at the camera. There are dark rings of red and brown under and around his eyes, and his lips are pursed and cracked. His face doesn't just look weathered, it looks plain evil. His black cloak is over his head in this first test shot.

In a second shot, his cloak is removed and you can see the top of his head. It is more of a casual shot with Ian almost smiling an evil grin to the camera. You can SO see him under the laytex, its some great work there. From this side shot you can see the intricate aging work in his neck and forehead, the man looks evil - a face only a mother could love. And even then, it might be difficult.

Why does Sidious look like this? He always did. Palpatine is his disguise/alternate persona he adopted to get himself into political power. He isn't able to maintain the disguise while using his powers and you'll see him flash to his Sidious look earlier in the film until he does the official "unveiling." Palpatine/Darth Sidious will be seen in dark side action!!! We may even see Darth Sidious wield a lightsaber. It’s been said that we will see at least one character we've never seen fight before with a lightsaber; use a saber in combat in Episode III. So, expect a new style from this (or these) character(s) too. Sidious will remove his hood in Ep3! Palpatine will have more than ONE look. The rule of 2 remains true in Eppy 3! Sidious has more screen time in Eppy 3...as well as Palpatine... Episode III will uncover a great deal of Palpatine's plans only hinted at in Episodes I and II. Because of this, he has a good amount of scenes in Episode III. Two characters circle one another in Palpatine's office in a dialogue intensive scene---Mace and Anakin?



Padme Amidala: Padme WILL be seen pregnant in the film... Padme is a senator during all of Eppy 3... Anakin knows Padme is pregnant… A shirtless Anakin, a pregnant Padme, and a curious C-3PO have a scene together. It’s rumored that Padme dies, more interesting is how and who is involved. Ironically, in this movie, she’s back to wearing disguises. As well as now hiding this marriage to a Jedi, which is not allowed, she has to hide the fact that she’s going to have babies. All of the costumes had to disguise these facts."



Count Dooku: Killed in the first 10 mins of Eppy 3 by Anakin. Christopher Lee shot a pivotal confrontation scene as Count Dooku which will have action and powerful dialogue. Onset, Christopher Lee jokingly "decapitates" Nick Gillard and mentions all the previous movies he filmed when he decapitated a character on -screen. Could Dooku be decapitated by Anakin?



Yoda: YODA FIGHTS AGAIN! McCallum declares that rumors that Yoda ends up on Dagobah by the end of the film are pretty good. Yoda will go there to hide. The Dagobah cave will not be explained in Eppy 3. Yoda will be in a huge action sequence/scene with wookies…



The NEW villain: The new villain has electronic alteration done to his voice... Rumored to be a cyborg (possible fit here --- The character that will make the best action figure cannot be talked about!) The new bad guy is very distinctive and will have a very memorable role; his place within the plot is central to it. The new bad guy has been described as a ‘BAD motha.’ He is the leader of the droid armies and is the ultimate Jedi-killing machine. He isn't 100% droid but don’t' expect his back story to be revealed in the film. His back story will be explained as much as Darth Maul's was in Episode I, and he has connections to Darth Sidious. The "new bad guy" is not referring to Darth Vader. It will be an original, separate villain.



Mace Windu: New light saber tricks for Mace Windu. When things go down, (clone troopers attack their Jedi Generals) Mace decides to go have a little chat with Palpatine. Mace Windu will battle a Sith Lord and he will go out (die) in a blaze of glory. Anakin will likely become involved in this fight as well, because he should be Palpatine’s body guard at this point in the film. It took him 3 days to learn an 88-move lightsaber duel. In the above duel he's the one being attacked (he wouldn't mention his attacker). The fight area covers about 400 yards and involves jumping off steps and more. Mace is backed up and on defense the entire fight. Windu will also be in some sort of space action.



Bail Organa: Tantive IV is his ship… Jimmy Smits will have a few different costumes this time around, due to his increased role in this Episode, one of which is Imperial in nature...



Tarkin: Tarkin will be a character in Episode 3. Tarkin is a Captain of some Republic Forces.



R2: R2 and 3-PO will spend more time developing their unique relationship in eppy3! R2 will be part of a space battle between ships "like" TIES and X-WINGS! R2 will witness lightsaber action! R2 will be flying in the back of a small fighter in Eppy 3! R2's role will be slightly larger than AOTC! R2 will do something completely new in Episode 3! R2 will be involved in new rescues AND environments in Eppy 3! C-3PO will carry something very heavy in the film. R2-D2 has a "similar task to perform", which will involve pulling. His memory will be erased, but by who?



3-PO: The C3-PO costume for Eppy 3 will be a mix between previous costumes (ESB/ROTJ & TC-14) ---and he will not be silver! C3-PO will only be injured emotionally in Eppy 3! Jar Jar and 3-PO have scenes together... He will be on Naboo at some point. C3-PO won’t be killing any one or thing in Eppy 3... So far C3-PO is not going to be mangled or destroyed in the film, but time (and GL) will tell if it stays that way... No butt kicking for C3-PO! His memory will also be erased, but by who?



Evil Droids: There will be new EVIL robot(s) in Eppy 3 we haven't seen before!



Boba Fett: LUCAS, “Boba WILL be in Episode III, but his role definitely won’t be larger. He’s in a transition period of becoming a bounty hunter. The next film takes place two or three years later, so Boba would only be 13 and still wouldn’t fit in the suit."



Temuera Morrison (not Jango Fett) is slated to appear in Episode 3. Temuera Morrison is returning as one of the faces of the older Republic clone troopers. Bodie Taylor will also return but as the face of younger versions of Tem. The clone body armor will once again be CG.



The Twins: We will see whether Luke or Leia is born 1st... Luke & Leia will be less then ONE month old at the end of Eppy 3...



JAR JAR: Jar Jar has less screen time than AOTC and he lives…



Chewbacca/wookies: The Wookies will be in an action sequence. They will be wearing some sort of battle armor. They will be fighting alongside YODA. They will be fighting Stormtroopers. All of them will be killed, except for Chewbacca. There is a point in the film when the clone troopers turn on their Jedi generals. They will be on Kashyyyk when this happens…



  Uncle Owen or Aunt Beru: Joel Edgerton/Uncle Owen will be back for ONE day of filming NEXT year...



Jedi: Many Jedi will die; some notable... Jedi chicks fight… Force ghosts will be explained. New forms of lightsaber combat will be seen. Many Jedi will die and they will take a lot of clones with them. Nick Gillard will be having a cameo as a Jedi in Episode III. May or may not have large ears. There are going to be new styles of lightsaber fighting. Deconstructing the current Jedi style.



Clone/storm troopers: New design, but so far they don't have a new name. Clonetroopers will evolve into Stormtroopers…



  Random bad guy Death Star stuff: Someone BAD will have TWO lightsabers. The Death Star is not important to the Eppy 3 plot. The emperor or Anakin will make use of the darkside of the force, either lightning and/or chokes. There will be a set that look Imperial, akin to the Death Star, but not the Death Star.



3 MAJOR Lightsaber battles/other fights: (Likely) Ani and Obi, Mace and Sith Lord (Palpy/Anakin/Mace), Anakin and Dooku… Yoda, Mace, Dooku, and Palpy will all fight, but one fight will outshine them all (likely the ‘duel’)!



Bruce Spence's 'helpful' alien: is located on a completely new planet; in addition, he is tall, gaunt, and has a mouthful of teeth! YUM! Also, his face is ashen and he has DARK Obsidian eyes... Bruce Spence's alien's connection to a former Boris Karloff character is not what you think...you should be thinking "The Mummy". They were likely the tall individuals on the web cam that were seen fighting with poles.



New Lava race: There will be a distinct new race of lava creatures in Episode 3!



EU character/elements: There will be more EU elements than just the EU character appearing in Eppy 3... Some of these 'elements' will cause EU/Canon debates. The EU Character is not Durge or Asaaj Ventress or Thrawn.