Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

The much hated, goofy and annoying Jar Jar Binks will be in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones but his character won't have as big a part as he did in Episode I. Phew!

George Lucas auditioned hundreds of actors for the role of Anakin Skywalker but it was a then-unknown Canadian actor, Hayden Christensen who landed the role of the young Jedi. Hayden Christensen has since become a household name just for snagging the role.

Hayden Christensen practiced light saber maneuvers for five to six hours a day for about a month before production.

Star Wars: Episode II was filmed in the United Kingdom, Sydney, Australia, New South Wales, Australia, Spain, Tunisia and Italy.

Natalie Portman (who plays Padmé Amidala) wears a different outfit for every scene - and this time around her costumes are sexier. "This one is much more about making her as beautiful as we possibly can," says George Lucas.

One of the dresses worn by Natalie Portman features 50 yards of hand-embroidered silk.

C-3PO is not a real robot or model - the clumsy droid is played by actor Anthony Daniels who has played Threepio in all of the Star Wars movies.

The old but wise, pointy-eared Yoda isn't played by a little person, he's actually a puppet. Frank Oz, who used to work with Jim Henson and The Muppets' puppets is the voice and puppet handler of Yoda. In Episode I, an animatronics crew created a younger Yoda puppet and Yoda was also computer generated for two shots in Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones hits theaters everywhere on May 16th, although if you're really lucky you may be able to get tix to an advanced screening. The force that began way back in 1977 with Star Wars still continues to be a world-wide phenom for a whole new generation of Yodas, Jedi, princesses and storm troopers.

For everything and anything Star Wars check out the official site.

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