Dark Empire Episode 2, Devastator of Worlds
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- Years after the battle of Endor, a new danger threatens the galaxy. It's up to Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie to once more rise to the challenge! The second episode in the ongoing Dark Empire fan series.
Sound effects and voice talent are from the 1994 time warner audio publishing Dark Empire Audio Drama (Yes that is Billy D Williams as Lando)
special thanks to Autodidactic Studios (www.autodidact...) for their support of the wilkinsanimations RUclips channel!
Special thanks to Outlier Studios who made all the music!
Here is their webpage and youtube channel:
-www.outlierstu...
- • STAR WARS Expanded Uni...
Special Thanks to Petr Harmy for our fun interview! You can watch the interview here: • Harmy interviews Wilki...
Special thanks to PartTimeSeagull for modeling and rigging the spectacular Palpatine rig, check out his youtube channel here: / @parttimeseagull5186
Special thanks to Dash Nolan for 3D modeling the spaceships, check out his channel here: / @gunrunning-theseries1756
The Story is from the 1991 Dark Horse Comic Dark Empire by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy
Furthermore, thank you to all my Patreon supporters!
If you too would like to support the channel and what I do, here is the link to my / spikeytortoise
Last time I was this early the EU wasn't called "Legends".
I honestly don’t mind the name cause it just proves that the EU was legendary
@@JonP1245
Exactly!
@@JonP1245 True, but I'd still rather not use Disney's pet name for it
Palpatine: Don't worry my young apprentice, in time the Disney Trilogy will be called...
...fanfiction.
@@nightwalker174 Pretty sure it's more Lucas publishing's name for it?
The emperor has never been more dangerous than he is in this trilogy
As a reader of the graphic novel I am so very impressed and it’s the old EU materials coming back to life coming to take it back from the dark Disney Kathleen Kennedy nightmare.
@@deleonfrancis60 I have the massive three-in-one novel, love it
Cant wait to see Empire's End in this style, at least it will be more consistent than the ersatz artist they got after Cam Kennedy. His art was something out of this world.
I like when he comes back as david bowie!
@@deleonfrancis60 long live kathleen kennedy🤤
“My fathers destiny... is my own.”
I am a Sith, like my father before me
@@julesleman8151 so be it.. Sith
Here we go to the darkest area of Legends and when it's the scariest moments for the galaxy when Palpatine nearly destroyed it all.
What's "Legends"?
@@cttc-chintokastacticalcrap2421 legends is the universe of Star Wars before Disney came and replaced it with their own Canon. And adding that the Legends is complex and there's no doubt for it, but it add a whole lot of different event that happen all at one and even gives the Yuuzan Vong war where star wars literally went to Warhammer 40k in a few years and then went back to normal star wars.
@@cttc-chintokastacticalcrap2421 Dark Empire is also a part of Legends.
Personally the Vong were a bit more frightening than the resurrection of Palpatine, but that’s just me.
@@ericchung3177 they are.
In a memory of Dave Prowse as Darth Vader and
Jeremy Bullock as Boba Fett
And Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca.
And Carrie Fisher
Peter mayhew
And Kenny Baker as R2
"You can't fight the dark side if you can't understand it."
Yoda's jedi order failed because it didn't understand the dark side more
@@jayvhoncalma3458 Also because they were isolated in guilded towers and had no idea how most of the galaxy worked, lived, or thought.
@@johnj.spurgin7037 I'd argue this is more the case, specifically for the PT-era Jedi. they aren't the bad guys, they're just not living up to what the galaxy needs at that moment
@@adambomber3384 That's the perfect way to describe it. Most people like to think of the Jedi as evil simply based on misunderstanding that.
The Resurrected Emperor of _Dark Empire_ was something straight out of Lovecraftian Horror and adds to the reasons why people rejected the sham we got in TROS.
This is so high quality and so underrated that it’s criminal
Thank you!! Really appreciate you saying that. 🙏
Agreed
You should see heir to the Empire that's got great quality too
@Trey Stephens Disney just published a reprinting of these comics, dummy
Yea
Dear God, the wait was worth it. This is quality and a half.
Thank you!! So happy you thought it was worth the wait, and appreciate you taking the time to let us know!
This is really good. It's easy to tell that this is a real passion-project.
Thank you! Lots and lots of hard work went into this, so seriously appreciate the kind words!!
*The Star Wars that should have been, but will never be again.*
Oh okay the RUclips algorithm is on fire this evening. Let me just send this to everyone I know
When your childhood comes back with open arms.
Using Palpatine's TROS apparatus to convey him is a nice blend of ideas. The best of both worlds. Dark Empire was my introduction to SW decades ago, so this tribute really hits the spot for me. Great job!
I feel the same ! Well said.
It's annoying, much like how the reprints gave Thrawn Filoni's pupils. I don't like it, given the sneering from outsiders Legends fans have had to endure since 2014.
@@saberiandream316 It should be noted that Thrawn being given pupils was I think more of a visual cue to help the animators.
@@seawolf4846 CGI cartoons from the 1990s had villains without pupils. Filoni has no excuse. And now the reprints are following his example.
@@saberiandream316Boohoo
Imagine being the people that were denying that rise of Skywalker would rip off dark empire only be proven wrong on opening night
@@LyciaD3 this is literally the audio adaptation of Dark empire from back in the day
@@yuzzem64 Yeah, but this depiction of Palpatine differs from the comic, to be closer to TROS
I prefer the younger look from the comics
Have y’all ever scene that crazy animated dark empire light saber duel? That palpatine looks awesome
I think the word is 'adapted', and although I hate TROS, I commend them for using EU material in that way.
" You will witness the final destruction of the Alliance, and the End of this insignificant Rebellion."
Astonishing, magnificent, jawdropping. These are words that can describe how much I enjoyed this episode. The first one was already great, but the second episode's quality is just fantastic.
Byss, World Devaststors, Luke meeting the Emperor once again... As a fan of "Dark Empire" I really wanted to see someday this comic adapted in any form. I'm glad that it was adapted into an animation created by a talented person.
Well done, Wilkins Animations! The Force is strong with you! :)
The last episode was super impressive but this is a whole other level
Wow, with this and fan film heir to the empire ep 11 released yesterday we r a bunch of lucky star wars fan indeed. Good work my friend already looking forward to next chapter.
Approved by yours truly....
I know both Heir and dark videos have been utterly amazing
@Darth Durling could you a provide a link for heir of the empire I would love to check it out
I get the sense Palpatine was bored of owning the Galaxy, he seems to have more fun reconquering it time and time again.
Maybe 🤷♂️
It's cool that the guy who voices Palpatine in this audio drama, went on to voice him again in the old Battlefront 1 and 2, the 2003 Clone Wars, the Rogue Squadron games, Bounty Hunter, and Empire At War
also Luke Skywalker's audio VA is John Cygan, RIP
better known as Solidus Snake from Metal Gear Solid 2
Waiting over a year for that gem to be released was totally worth it. Great direction, great visuals, great music and great animation.
Thank you so much for the kind words!! Really happy you liked all of that, especially the music, which was a new composing technique for me!
It's interesting to see what sort of skills can be developed from day one of creating something, all the way to the final release. One of the most fascinating things I've seen from Ian is the evolution of styles. Just look at Leia and Han from the first shot, to the shot after the war room meeting!
@@DanielCiurlizza Yes, everything was in perfect harmony. :) The music was great. It really grasped emotions and atmosphere of certain scenes, especially during scenes with Luke on Byss.
About the second part of your post, I totally agree. I also noticed how Wilkins Animations' skills improved over the time, comparing this episode to the previous one, or even certain scenes of this episode that were made the earliest I believe. Leia and Han from first shot and that shot after the war room meeting is the best example to show the improvement, indeed. :)
Somewhere Sion shakes his head in shame at Palps. Immortality isn't a gift, it's a curse.
This is so P H E N O M E N A L!!! I love that you incorporated the old school radio drama and I love how the animation is inspired by Star Wars Holiday Special animation, Droids cartoon and cartoon version of Clone Wars (Palpatine). It has this saturday morning 80's cartoon feeling. I just read Dark Empire trilogy again like a week ago and I can say that your adapttion is just as good as the comic book. In terms of scenario it's even better because it has less exposition then the comics.
Audio mixing makes the voices hard to hear over the music, but I bet you can fix that for the master video combining all episodes.
I'm with you on this, so thanks for saying that! I tried my best to turn the music down as low as reasonable for those extra quiet dialogue parts. Sometimes it was the actual audiobook that had the voices lower than the SFX, which was hard to work with (the dialogue and SFX were one file). They just weren't meant to have music go under them, you know? In any case, it's great to have your ideas, because the purpose of doing these is to experiment with different styles and techniques, so helpful thoughts like yours will go towards the next one!
The REAL sequels.
Don’t forget the thrawn trilogy which came right before this. Both are canon in legends same as how the yuuzhan vong were undisputed canon
@@RomanumChristum tbh I feel both would not be great for a starwars movie trilogy though I’m a little more favorable towards dark empire. My reasoning is that it’s all kinda too close to the sequel trilogies in terms of ships characters and technology. Though admittedly dark empire varies this up a bit. But still the similarities is one of the major complaints about the sequel trilogy you know. Basically too similar and unoriginal.
@@Prophetofthe8thLegionthat’s not true they’re way better
@@Prophetofthe8thLegiondialogue and story writing is significantly better in the EU
@@garyzhu1913 let me rephrase. I basically just meant I want new ships. Not upscales, repaints, or hey it’s the same ship with 1 extra shield generator
How... How did this get made? This is a dream come true!
I loved Dark Empire growing up. And you adapted it marvelously.
I especially love Palpatine's voice filter. It's honestly horrifying to see him this way.
Voice acting, top notch. Animation reminds me of 2003 Clone Wars, awesome.
Can you guys, like, take all of my money please?
The voices all come from the old audio dramas, Spike does the animation, and the new music was done by another small team of fans. If you're a bit impatient like me and don't mind the lack of visuals, a channel called MrPoke has full uploads of the audio dramas for ease of binge listening.
@@jennastewart7305 In addition to the music, I processed/filtered Palpatine's voice in this. It was just a regular voice in the audio drama. The acting was really great, but I felt like it had to be a bit more monstrous because of his animated look.
Star wars Dark Empire master of puppets excellent as story of star wars legends and Beyond !😛❤👍 long live the Emperor and the galactic empire
To conquer the Galaxy Sith masters 🤟
I'm literally mind blown by how good this video is. 10x better than the sequels.
I absolutely love how he integrated the audio from the audio drama into this too
The long awaited episode 2!!!
Master skywalker as he should be. Strong, wise and selfless.
That is until the very end of this episode, but I think he has a plan.
@@SuperCaleb360 I remember that luke thought that by learning the dark side, he could better understand his enemy and defeat it. Instead he ended up traveling down the same path as his father and almost was lost to it.
12:30 R2 with the ASSIST!!! LOL!!! (here you go - hands him his lightsaber) . R2 has HEARD ENOUGH and is sick of this dude!!!
R2: Damn, here we go again
Other than the not-so-subtle nods to Rise of Skywalker, I really enjoyed this!
I mean, say what you will about ROS, the production design had its moments.
Down with Canon! Long live the Expanded Universe! Long live Dark Empire!
oh god please don't make us wait another year 😭
this was spectacular
Wow thank you for some REAL starwars material fans don't get treats like this
From what I had heard of Dark Empire and what people thought of it, I expected Palpatine's return to be much more insane and comically dumb. This was actually menacing and left me wanting more.
This should have been the sequel trilogy. This makes perfect sense, and feels more spiritually aligned with the classic Star Wars. I am so proud and grateful for this creative team and their future. ♥️
Dude... I have no words for how happy I am to have discovered this,. As much as I love the Mandolorian and Clone Wars the EU will always hold a special place in my heart. Thank you for doing this for all of the Star Wars fans out there!
One of my favorites is the art style 👍
Awesome work and I love the mix of rebellion and resistance music for the new republic.
SO happy you caught that! Thank you so much! Something really fun is that the "March of the Resistance" idea I used is only a little similar to the *actual* "March of the Resistance". I call the version in this episode "The New Republic". In the original MotR, the melody just goes up and up, because they're just kickin' ass and mostly winning, you know? (Like, didn't they destroy an ENTIRE planet/Starkiller Base in TFA??)
But in this, they're not yet the Resistance... just an offshoot of the New Republic led by Leia, if anything. So instead of going up in emotion/melody, it goes down. They just aren't powerful/kickass enough to justify the full "March of the Resistance" treatment. Thanks again!!
@@DanielCiurlizza It's done really well and I love such symbolism in music.
@@deadshot5007 🙏🙏🙏
@@DanielCiurlizza Kinda reminds me of how the New Republic fighters in season 2 of The Mandalorian were musically represented by a slow, trap-style variation of the "March of the Resistance".
WOW I am just blown away. THIS IS STAR WARS ! Disney can learn a few things from you guys.
Thank you,Thank you to give us such quality Star Wars in Dark times like this. May the force be with you.
Can't wait for episode 3 !
Incredible work, just wish the Imperial fleet around Byss was just as diverse as the comics, all those cool designs
World Devastators are my favorite EU superweapon. Can't wait for the next episode to see them in action some more.
infinitely better than anything of Disney's, or the drug trip that was the Sun Crusher.
That thing was an admittedly bad part of the EU, and there's no shame in admitting it.
Now THIS is the Palpatine that I remembered.
Impresive, most impresive
At last the true sequel of the Skywalker saga , this is a work of pop art it itself
The Dark Empire classic comic from Tom and Cam back in 1991
Finally its the true star wars, the true emperor reveals himself...
And yes I never was able to marvel at the glory of legends other than Jedi Outcast, Rogue Squadron and Empire at War but this feels more full filling than 400 min of disney trillogy
"My father's destiny is my own" that line goes harder then a Nokia phone
wow that last scene with luke was intense!! Great job!
I'm not really a Dark Empire fan, but I think it's so cool how much work you've put into this, and its quality considering it's only one person doing ALL of this. (As far as I'm aware)
I could definitely have seen something like this as a sequel series to the original trilogy back in the 80's
This feels like an old 60s cartoon and I just love it more b/c of that.
Oh my he succesfully translated the dread of the Worlddevestators in motion.
Genius work
Palpatine laugthers
10:43
13:04
13:50
Putting the motion in motion comic, truly gorgeous
This is what the sequel trilogy could have been if written properly.
Seeing the original Legends books come to life is a dream come true! now I understand Disney got its inspiration ,yet original story done it better Justice.
You actually managed to take elements of the Sequel Trilogy and integrated them into Dark Empire in a way that actually works, bravo!
Damn... the poor Mon Cal can't catch a break.
"So this is how the fans defeat disney...... WITH THUNDEROUS APPLAUSE! "😂 GREAT VIDEOS! 🎉
Amazing work! This comic lends itself so well to animation. I really liked your choice to use the Palpatine life support system from ROS, made him more dynamic during the scene and fit very well.
the supproting is probably a machine reducing the effect of the darkside destroying the body
MASTER YOU ARE CONQUERING OUR HEARTS, ITS ANMZING THIS PART OF DARK OF THE FORCE.
WOWZERS that was awwwsome.. NERDGASAEM'S
mon mothma does a really good job of making the very comic book feel to dark empire, feel more real
Most impressive.
I see if not mistaken, you have added the werid machine from 9, yet it being added doesn't feel out of place but naturally while given Sidious look close to his cloe wars adventure appearance.
Luke acting is good, learn to control anger but sometime slip. Sidious threat of the idea of him taking Luke body is genuine, like Sidious wouldn't mind taking Luke body but rather have someone replace Vader role as his enforcer.
So this place Luke in diffcult spot, if he strike Sidious, the sith take his body, leaving the hard choice of being the emperor enforcer to learn about the dark side to save everyone like his father before him but at risk of being the thing he want to destory.
I alway pefer the idea that the sith frist come around was because the jedi order was becoming stagnated and start limit the risk out of fear, so the frist Sith want to learn more about the limits of the force orginal out of good intent but were the jedi order come into conflict since the jedi fear the sith using the force in unnatural matter. (for fear can turn wise man into fool) In turn the Sith turn in their suffering as rage aganist the jedi for limiting them. I see this more logic of Jedi-Sith conflict, Jedi try to do the right but fall into fear that cloud their better judgment, the Sith wanting power but reject their humanity in a mad quest for more power.
Luke and Sidious can mirrior this, both seeker of knowledge, That Sidious is the end result of taking power for yourself while Luke learn power to protect and help other.
Interesting choice to put Palpatine in that contraptions. In the comic he appeared no different than his ROTJ form: old and frail but still mobile.
Still, I love it!
I like that even tho ive read the dark empire books. That this made be excited for the future chapter
(Luke Skywalker)“For the Strength of the force your Shroud evil has been lifted from my mind!.”
Gives me chills. Wonderful work again!
Still makes me nostalgic for 2003 Clone Wars.
Palpatine’s laugh at the end reminded me of Aku from Samurai Jack.
Long have I waited...
Perhaps starting a Kickstarter to commission more people to help join in would be an interesting idea? I don’t know exactly how that works legally but honestly this is a million times better than the sequel trilogy and I’d love to see it grow and if possible, watch you create more of the Legends stories
Awesome wrk! Love the cinematic quality, voice acting, sound mixing, execution, stylistic direction, etc.
Awesome to see these continuing. Can't imagine how much work goes into this. Cheers. It's a sight for sore eyes for Legends fans.
AHH YES YES!!! It’s so GOOD to see Luke and the squad in action again 😭😭😭
Just discovered these. I've always wanted to see this series animated. These are so good and remind me of the clone wars mini series.
Thanks!
I have felt somthing, somthing I have not felt for this franchise since...
This is amazing. The quality of the animation is great, the voice acting is great, the music great. I have read the original Dark Empire comic, and this fan series make me like it even better.
a million times better than the sequels. Great job
This is beyond inspiring I'm in tears I needed this thank you so much. like wow, like I was stoked when I found the heir to the empire videos but this is unbelievably well done, and it just shows how dark empire understands the characters more. I LOVE the 2D animation and your R2 is incredible!! The force is is the fans.
Love the visual connection to Palpatine in TROS!
wayy better than the sequels
Thank you for this content! Old heads like me need this.
Some of the most enjoyable animation I’ve ever seen applied, I can’t believe I’m watching dark Empire animated, this is the greatest thing ever, please don’t stop fantastic work.
Very well done I applaud u soo much for I am a starwars fan just like u.
THIS is incredible! The animations, the drawing, this style, the voices, sound effects, music....freaking AAAAAWSOOOOOME!!!!!!! Thank you so much!
The Emperor is one of my favorite characters in all Star Wars and the way you have animated him and given him such a disgusting and evil voice, I absolutely love it!
At the risk of sounding like yet another tedious sequel-bashing comment, I honestly have to say this story is far more compelling than the sequels.
Love the animation style too. Reminds me of the animation style of that old 70's/80's Christmas special or whatever it was, with Boba Fett in it. This could easily have been a TV or video special released directly after ROTJ.
And it's on the playlist. Thank you for sticking with this after so long
YOOOO you guys even used the music from the sequels, better than two sequels themselves used it. A clean victory🎉
Definitely a labour of love. It was worth every second. It takes me back to my childhood and watching Droids etc :) Brilliant animation style. Great job, Dude!
Ok now I remember taking these things on in Rogue Squadron. Good times in my V wing and A wing
Ahhhhh the refreshing feeling of my memories of the sequel trilogy being washed away
this is THE REAL darth sidius in action
Another great animation! I think the animation has even improved since the last episode! I watched this with the subtitles on and it cracked me up when R2 handed Luke his lightsaber and his beeps were captioned as "murderous R2 noises." Keep up the good work!
So much better than the movies
Killer choices for the score !
Well done. Big up yourself👏👏👏
this improves on the comics and demonstrates exactly the sequel trilogy we all wanted !
I don't think people wanted Dark Empire LOL, most people wanted Thrawn trilogy
@@goodmind4940 Dark Empire was always the only sequel the made sense to me. I can see Thrawn’s appeal now but The concepts in Dark Empire work so much better as a continuance. Such a shame the sequels realised that too late and made a horrific mess trying to piece together a Frankensteins Monster of different themes and ideas
Thank you!! So very hppy you liked what we wrote for the soundtrack! You can check it out on my channel, if you wanna relive the experience. 🙏
When youtubers make better Star Wars movies than the actual Star Wars producers.