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TV GUIDE "STAR WARS" SPECTACULAR:

TV GUIDE WELCOMES BROADCAST PREMIERE OF "EPISODE I" WITH EXCLUSIVE GEORGE LUCAS INTERVIEW

LUCAS GIVES "EPISODE II" PREVIEW, THOUGHTS ON FUTURE OF THE FILMS AND A LOOK AT THE R2-D2 YOU NEVER KNEW

TV Guide® magazine is celebrating the broadcast premiere of "Episode I - The Phantom Menace" with a "Star Wars" exclusive in the November 24 issue, on newsstands Monday, November 19. Highlighting the package is a candid interview with creator George Lucas, who previews next May's "Episode II," looks at the future of the films, and also paints R2-D2 in an entirely new light. Included in the "Star Wars" package:

THE CREATOR SPEAKS: GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS FOR "STAR WARS" FANS:
Series creator George Lucas previews next May's "Episode II - Attack Of The Clones," but tells Star Wars fans that this trilogy will probably be his last. Lucas, on the rumors he will do Episodes VII, VIII and IX: "There's nothing written and it's not like I'm contemplating something. I'd have to start from scratch."

R2-D2: THE UNTRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY:
Immediately following the broadcast premiere of "Episode I," Fox will air "R2-D2: Beneath The Dome," a six-minute preview of a Web mockumentary on the life and times of R2. George Lucas joined in the fun, telling TV Guide: "The idea is that R2 is an actor just like everybody else, that he has a life. ... He's not quite a Brat Packer, but he's one of those out-there actors who gets himself into a lot of trouble."

YODA WOULD BE PROUD: SIX MONTHS OUT, TV GUIDE FORESEES EPISODE II:
TV Guide presents its shadow version of "Episode II," harvested from informed speculation, gossip and even the occasional fact. The highlights include:

* The welcome addition of Hayden Christensen as a teenage Anakin Skywalker.
* Samuel L. Jackson having ample opportunity to display his proficiency with a lightsaber.
* The (regrettable) return of Jar Jar Binks, albeit in a reduced role.
* Looking ahead, the likely possibility of James Earl Jones getting some work in "Episode III," due out in 2005.

TV GUIDE® MAGAZINE COVER STORY:

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS FOR STAR WARS FAITHFUL:

GEORGE LUCAS PREVIEWS NEXT MAY'S "EPISODE II" FOR TV GUIDE BUT SAYS CURRENT "STAR WARS" TRILOGY PROBABLY HIS LAST

Lucas On Rumors He Has Plans For Episodes VII, VIII and IX: "Don't Count On It"; Tells TV Guide He Has "Nothing Written" After Episode III

With "Episode I - The Phantom Menace" set for its broadcast premiere on November 25 on Fox and "Episode II - Attack of the Clones" arriving in theaters next May, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas spoke candidly to TV Guide® magazine in a November 24 cover story (on newsstands Monday, November 19). Highlights from the Q&A include: TV GUIDE: "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK" WAS A SECOND ACT IN A THREE-ACT STORY. BY ITS VERY NATURE IT WAS DARKER. CAN WE EXPECT THAT OF "EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES"?

Lucas: What happens, I'm afraid, is that this one does get a little darker. "Episode III (Scheduled for release in 2005) is the darkest of them all."

TV GUIDE: CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE FEELING WE'LL HAVE IN THE LOBBY AFTER SEEING "EPISODE II"?

Lucas: It's a complicated story - a love story and a progression of events. It's not overwhelmingly upbeat, although some good things do happen. But there are a lot of evil things hanging, a lot of portents of things to come.

TV GUIDE: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR YOU TO DO A THIRD TRILOGY, WITH EPISODES VII, VIII and IX

Lucas: Each time I do a trilogy it is ten years out of my life. I'll finish "Episode III" and I'll be 60. And the next 20 years after that I want to spend doing something other than "Star Wars." If at 80 I'm still lively and having a good time and think I can work hard for another 10 years between 80 and 90, I might consider it. But don't count on it. There's nothing written and it's not like I'm contemplating something. I'd have to start from scratch. (The idea of episodes VII, VIII and IX) was more of a media thing than it was me.

MUCH MORE FROM GEORGE LUCAS IN MONDAY'S ISSUE OF TV GUIDE!

To view the cover for this issue, click here. This issue goes on sale Monday, Nov. 19th.