The prequel trilogy is what it is. They work in their own right, but fail to really capture the spirit of the original trilogy. Interestingly enough it has been the side Star Wars products released in the wake of the prequels that have really nail the essence of the originals.

Chief among these ancillary projects has been the Clone Wars cartoon series which has excelled as Star Wars fiction. The fifth season of the animated series is on the way and a new trailer has been unleashed to promise a year of action, spectacle, and Darth Maul.

The show has been gaining momentum from the start, but recently has really kicked it into a new gear. It is almost a shame that the show is confined to the clone war era because at the end of the day it all still happens before Revenge of the Sith, this show would be a killer format to bridge the gap between the two trilogies.

The trailer has lots of action and the one thing that has been seemingly missing from the franchise for a long time, a sense of artistic purpose. It feels like the people behind the series actually want to be telling you this story they are working on, not just pushing out a product by a deadline.

You can enjoy the trailer after the jump and the new season this fall.

Whatever your feelings about Star Wars, and in particular the second trilogy, Cartoon Network is doing a pretty good job with their animated series The Clone Wars. The show has already been on the air for three seasons and is very popular with fans new and old.

With season four about to get underway, Cartoon Network has revealed today the premiere date for that season and also sent us a cool trailer to help get you ready for it. And this new season promises to deliver even more thrills and excitement for fans.

Here’s the scoop for season four directly from the network:

As the heroic Jedi Knights and their clone army fight to preserve order, their efforts continue to be met with strong resistance from the massive Separatist droid army. Escalating and expanding into uncharted corners of the galaxy, the scope and scale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars continue to grow – with exotic adventures and enhanced animation strengthening ties to the Star Wars saga.

Within the galactic battle, fearsome foes from the past return to settle the score. As unexpected alliances are formed on both sides of the battle, the action explodes and the course of the war takes an unforeseen turn!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars premieres on Cartoon Network, Friday, September 16 at 8PM (E/P). Click through to check out the trailer for the new season.

Lucasfilm Ltd released a sneak peek video showing fans what’s in store for The Clone Wars when it returns from mid-season hiatus on January 7th, 2011. In the clip, we see some exciting developments for the series, including young padawan Ahsoka Tano’s apparent turn to the dark side.

Very exciting stuff and should really shake up what many have complained is a rather boring storyline thus far in Season 3. In the video, we get to see Jedi Master and Jedi Council member Even Piell in ‘on-guard’ position and Ashoka, Anakin Skywalker’s Togruta Jedi padawan, battling her master.

Be sure to let us know in the comments section your thoughts about Season 3 of The Clone Wars. Are you excited about the upcoming episodes? Or not so much?

Since WonderCon is basically in Lucasfilms’s backyard, fans should expect some extra love from the company when the Con is on “home turf.” This year, fans who were able to pack into room 103 were treated a discussion led by Lucasfilm’s Pablo Hidalgo, and featured Jamie King (Aurra Sing), Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett) and supervising director, Dave Filioni.

Plenty of time was spent discussing the role of bounty hunters in the series (especially this season), and how it’s not so easy to label them as “villains.” In discussing the character of Aurra Sing, actress Jamie King said that for her character, “it’s always about the money and the power.”

Since we’re dealing with the present and future Boba Fett, of course the topic of Slave 1 came up. King was genuinely excited that it was “her ship” for the moment and that it also looked like “and upside down C-3PO head” from the back.

Logan was giddy with relief on finally being able to talk about his work on The Clone Wars, and publicly thanked everyone who voiced their support of his involvement in the show.

The highlight of the panel, however, was the debut of the trailer, which featured a young, scowling and conflicted Boba Fett; a smirking Aurra Sing; and my favorite bounty hunter Boskk. King also announced that Filoni wrote and directed the three-part finale.

The Star Wars: The Clone Wars season two finale will begin airing on April 23.

There comes a point at every Comic-Con where the faithful can gather en mass to celebrate and salivate over all things Star Wars. During this year’s Lucasfilm panel, IGN reports that fans were treated to hints for Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a Star Wars In Concert preview, The Star Wars Stories Project (featuring Comic-Con fans giving YouTube like confessions about their favorite Stars Wars memories), a LucasArts videogames preview (with Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed DLC wowing the crowd), and information on the upcoming first season DVD and Blu-ray release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The only thing missing from the panel was information about the live action television show.

Supervising Director Dave Filoni was on hand to promote Star Wars: The Clone Wars, stating that the new season would be dark like Empire Strikes Back. He described the second season as “adult”, “serious”, “mature” and “scarier”. Apparently, The Clone Wars isn’t just for children anymore.

The second season will also feature more bounty hunters. Cad Bane will return to do the dirty work for Palpatine, and fan favorites Bossk, Aurra Sing and some guy named Boba Fett will be featured as well. Audiences were treated to a glimpse of a troubled young Boba Fett wearing a poncho and his iconic helmet determined to take down Obi-Wan and any other Jedi that got in his way.