New EPISODE II Photo Online!! Lucasfilm Has Sense Of Humor!!

Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here. I've been getting e-mail all night about two new images that have just appeared on Star Wars.com, the official Lucasfilm site. I've got to hand it to Lucas. So far, he's done a great job of presenting casting news (Yay, Rena Owen!!!) and images on the site. I hope that this new Select section of the site is going to offer us a new image weekly. Right now, they've got a great image of Natalie Portman in front of a section of set. The thing that's so much fun about an image like this is that it gives us nothing more than a glimpse at an actor we know and a part of some set. It tells us nothing, but I'm sure it will spark all sorts of speculation and debate... and that's fun.

Also fun is what is either a subtle jab at the rumor that Chris Walken will be playing Darth Bane or a subtle confirmation of that idea. Remember... this is still the official page we're talking about. If you go to this page, you'll find a big story by Lucasfilm called "Architect of the Sith," in which they explain the whole background of Darth Bane. There's a pretty groovy piece of artwork there to illustrate the story. Now, here's where it gets funny... try and save that piece of artwork to your hard drive or just view it as a separate image... art of Darth Bane, keep in mind. The name of it is "m_schreck.gif," as in Max Schreck, a character played in BATMAN RETURNS by, um... Chris Walken. Hmmmmm... like I said, either way this plays out, someone's joking around with us.

Keep it up, Lucasfilm. This is much more fun than EPISODE I so far.

"Moriarty" out.