rise of the bounty hunters

Lucasfilms told us at Comic-Con that the new season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars promised more sophisticated storylines and higher stakes. It is war, after all. And they promised us bounty hunters. One of the most popular classes of characters in the franchise was conspicuously absent during the first season.

To drive this point home, they've even added a snazzy subtitle to the title of the show for this season, as well as giving it a premiere date. The action starts Friday, October 2 with the one-hour premiere of Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Rise of the Bounty Hunters.

That follows the pattern of the films, if you think about it. While the first film was technically Episode IV: A New Hope, it was only branded as Star Wars. The stakes were raised and things got much better with the next installment, complete with official subtitle. Rise of the Bounty Hunters even sounds like an episode in the film franchise.