Home > TV > [EXCLUSIVE!] SETH GREEN AND MATT SENREICH TALK 'ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS EPISODE II'
[EXCLUSIVE!] SETH GREEN AND MATT SENREICH TALK 'ROBOT CHICKEN: STAR WARS EPISODE II'
The series creators tease Wizard Universe readers with a preview of the special airing on November 16
By Josh Wigler
Posted 11/12/2008
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Or, more accurately, on November 16, 2008 the widely beloved "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" special gets a brand new baby brother in the form of "Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II." Seth Green and Matt Senreich, the men behind "Robot Chicken" gave Wizard Universe an exclusive rundown on some of the characters, bits and gags fans can expect from the second "Star Wars" special.
A Bounty-ful Story
While the first installment was, as series co-creator Seth Green puts it, a "kitchen sink" full of "all the nerd water cooler conversations we've been having for the past thirty years," the sequel promises to have a more linear flow.
"When you get a chance to do a second [feature]," continued Green, "you can step back a little bit and say, 'Okay, well what do we actually want this to be?' So we took a little bit more of a storytelling approach."
"We kinda focus more on the bounty hunters in this one," co-creator Matt Senreich said about the plot. "I'd say we have about eight sketches that kind of thread [through the special]."
"It's less about the bounty hunters specifically than it is the bounty hunters as a theme," Green said, expanding on the plot. "It's the concept of who these guys are, where they came from and what their purpose is. How they know each other and what their rivalries are, what traps they set..."
"How does the Empire go about hiring them?" Senreich chimed in. "Do they have an agent, is there an ad?"
Old Friends, New Friend
There's plenty of familiar faces this go around, including Admiral Ackbar. Green promises that the Mon Calamari will continue his "spokesman responsibilities" in the sequel.
With the promise of a bounty hunter driven storyline, you can bet your sweet podracer that you'll be seeing more Boba Fett, previously shown in the original as a narcissistic show off. Senreich promises that the sequel "digs deep under [Fett's] mask" to reveal more about his psyche.
"Boba Fett's a complicated character," said Green of the fan favorite bounty hunter, voiced by Breckin Meyer. "A lot of people have projected a lot of characteristics on top of him."
Senreich admitted that the first sketch of the new special, which focuses on Boba Fett, is his favorite. Green also adds that fans of the first Boba Fett sketch will be incredibly happy with the latest effort.
In the meantime, don't hold your breath waiting for more "Mid-Nite with Zuckuss." Though the character returns, his late night program has been cancelled.
"Zuckuss makes a very brief cameo," Senreich explained.
Rounding out the bounty hunter ensemble is the grizzly Dengar, who will be voiced by writer Zeb Wells (Heroes for Hire, The Amazing Spider-Man). Also new to the "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" universe are the Ewoks and the Mos Eisley Cantina's premiere musical act, Figrin D'An and the Modal Nodes.
Family Ties
Despite the bounty hunter focus, there are certainly other "Star Wars" characters deserving of the spotlight.
"We really dive into our Emperor character again," Senreich promised. "You really see his relationship with Darth Vader more in depth."
"We're really interested in exploring family dynamics," Green added. "The father, the son, the patriarch, the sister... we were very interested in playing around with all of that."
"You definitely have a father-son moment with Luke and Vader," teased Senreich, prompting a mischievous cackle from Green.
While not outright admitting that another "Luke, I am your father!" moment is on the horizon -- there were two in the first "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" special -- Green did say that the sequel "definitely gets into the many injuries of the 'Star Wars' universe."
No Love for Prequels?
As devout fans of the "Star Wars" franchise, it's hardly a wonder that Green and Senreich are focusing mostly on the original trilogy as opposed to the recent bewildering prequels.
"Our linear plot mostly takes place between the beginning of 'Empire' and the end of 'Jedi,'" Green said. "But as far as the channel flips [and shorter segments], we go all over the timeline and universe."
Senreich detailed some of the prequel bits: "There's a brief Darth Maul cameo, we do some 'Attack of the Clones' stuff and Ahmed Best [came back] to play Jar Jar Binks."
In the first special, Darth Vader ejects his childhood friend from an airlock, but the Gungan goes the ghost route and haunts the Sith Lord in his bedroom. When asked how they plan to shut Jar Jar up for good: "I wouldn't worry about it," Green teased.
Despite the original trilogy taking center stage, don't rule out a prequel oriented special in the future.
"I joked with George [Lucas] about doing two sequels and three prequels," said Green. "I'm trying to make good on that."
"He might be overextending himself," Senreich quickly added. "Six specials is a lot! But who knows, we waited twenty years [for a sequel to 'Return of the Jedi']."
Strike the Set
With the inclusion of the Ewoks and the Cantina Band, it's a good bet that various iconic sets from the "Star Wars" universe will make an appearance. New to this special, Green revealed, is the carbonite freezing chamber.
"There is a scene in there. I really love that set and wanted to get it on film," Green said.
"It's a really heart warming moment," joked Senreich.
The duo also mentioned a scene at Jabba's Palace, including some special time with palace guard Weequay. But the co-creators admit that they haven't always hit the nail on the funny bone, particularly when it comes to Jabba's inner circle.
"In the original bit, we had something with Jabba and Salacious Crumb as a loop group, a laugh track for sitcoms -- "Ho, Ho, Ho!" and "Hehehe!" -- but it didn't work. It just wasn't funny," explained Green. "We were also gonna do a skit with the Rancor in a 'Pretty Woman' parody. It just wasn't funny."
So what do you do when things aren't funny? You blow things up, of course! This new "Robot Chicken" special is set to deliver plenty of explosions.
"We blow up Alderaan, we blow up Dantooine, we blow up some AT-ATs," Green revealed. "A bunch of stuff blows up."
A moment later, Senreich chimed in with a similar comment ("Yeah, we blow up AT-ATs."), which prompts Green to make fun of his co-creator's apparent lack of listening skills. In truth, it's less a question of poor communication and more a factor of "Star Wars" overload, as the two funnymen have lived and breathed everything Lucas while preparing for the upcoming special.
"Trust me, you won't be disappointed," Green promised. "Everyone who worked on this second special really wanted it to be better than the first. I say this humbly, but I really believe it's better than the first one."
Hey, as long as we get a "Rebellion on Rocks" musical number, we're on board.
"Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II" premieres on Saturday, November 16 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
