What will the first scene of EP III will be like...

No, not a spiler, nor a trick. I am cimply following Lucas predictability and patterns... Afte we see the scrolling intro, we will see a ship from the Republic flying over a planet, possibly Coruscant....

How do I know this? Let's look at the other 5 movies:

TPM- A Republic Ship flying to Coruscant AOTC- Amidala's ship (from the Republic) flying to Coruscant

Now hold on here, there is more...

ANH- a Star Destroyer from the Empire (formerly the Republic) flying over a Tatooine. ESB- A Star Destroyer flying over Hoth. ROTJ- A Star Destroyer delivering Vader, flying over moon of I-cant-remember-name.

So, there you have it. Interesting how all these movies start the same way....

Kurly The Monkey

Actially the imperial fleet didn't reach HOth untill about 15 minutes into the movie. I think the first scene is a Star Destroyer in deep space droping probe droids.

Endor.

I thought the first scene was R2 and 3PO on Tatoonie.

No, remember that every movie starts out in space right after the opening scroll disappears into the stars.

Later,

That's not a spoiler. After 5 movies, we all know that.

What I predict, based on patterns is:

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....

STAR WARS

Episode III: The Clone War

Small ship flying overhead. Two smaller ships emerge from big ship and big ship fires on them (escape pods) as they depart from the danger....

...explosion - big ship is destroyed.

On planet below, the two escape pods successfully land. Out comes Palpatine from one pod and Count Dooku from the other pod.

...Finally, Anekin fights Count Dooku, but this time wins.

(why so early?)... this is the part that turns Anekin, but not completely yet.

We finally see something we've never seen before. Two other long-term Star Wars stars igniting light sabers...

...who?...

...Darth Sidious fights R2D2...

...R2D2 kicks butt, just like Master Yoda, but Palpatine uses the force to implode R2's main circuit and knocks him out.

It's been 2 years since Amidala's term as Senator has expired. She became the Princess of Naboo (she has to become a princess because her daughter becomes a princess too).

Obi-Wan is a bit wiser now. He has cloned himself and called his alter-self, Ben.

Princess Amidala returns to Naboo from Tatooine in an effort to help, but find it's too late. No survivors left.

Padme turns to Anekin and cries. He holds her.

Palpatine needs an apprentice now more than ever, so Jar Jar becomes his apprentice, since he has cause much kaos in the galaxy.

Well, I could go on, but I'll let anyone just come right in and add to this theory on episode III.

The movies open as follows:

Episode I: Arrival Episode II: Arrival Episode IV: Pursuit Episode V: Search Episode VI: Arrival

Three arrivals, two opposing activities. To maintain the balance, Episode III must open fresh. Hopefully a space battle.

My prediction:

Beginning titles scroll away into infinity... Pan up/down/sideways/whatever to a huge space battle above Mon Calamari or some other known planet. Many small fighters are buzzing around, with flashes of light indicating far-away explosions. Republic cruisers frame the scene as they bombard the nearby planet with massive turbolasers. Defending cruisers from the planet surface are exploding and falling into the atmosphere. Clearly the Republic is winning.

Switch to a close-up of one of the fighters. The camera stays with the fighter as it zigs and zags, evading enemy fire. The fighter pilot clearly knows what he's doing. With a series of insane maneuvers, the fighter sweeps around on it's pursuer and blasts it from behind. The explosion fills the screen as the little fighter flies through it.

Switch to inside the cockpit, where we see Anakin Skywalker. He is older than when we last saw him. Eight years have past since Anakin lost his arm to Count Dooku, and his mechanical hand moves quickly over the controls of the fighter. Anakin is obviously comfortable in the cockpit, a true expert. His face is a grimace of concentration as he pans the space around him, looking for his next target. A voice comes over the radio.

'Great shot, Captain. How many does that make?' the male pilot asks.

Anakin cracks a wry smile. 'I've lost count', he says. Then his eyes spot another enemy fighter and the chase begins anew. All other thoughts are gone from his mind. No Padme' or her continuing demand for his attention (and increasing desire for children). No Jedi rule-book governing his actions. Anakin was simply one with the Force, and therefore nearly invincible.

Switch to the bridge of one of the Republic cruisers. Obi-Wan Kenobi, now a General in the Republic Army, stands beside Bail Organa with a dissatisfied look on his face. They are looking out the main viewscreen at the battle, listening to the pilots' chatter on the radio, and hear the exchange between the other pilot and Anakin. Bail glances at Obi-Wan and notes the look of concern on his face.

'Something wrong, General?' Organa asks.

Obi-Wan paces a bit. It never ceases to amaze him how much his former padawan, now a full-fledged Jedi Knight himself, seems to enjoy the carnage he's creating. It's like Anakin is continually trying to prove himself to someone...or something. Chasing ghosts. Always angry these days. A Jedi should avoid killing unless in self-defense. As Master Yoda was fond of teaching, 'Anger, fear, aggression, a Jedi knows not these things.' Yet Obi-Wan listened as Anakin whooped again over the radio. Another kill. And Anakin was having fun.

'General Kenobi?' Organa's voice broke into Obi-Wan's thoughts.

'Hmm?' Obi-Wan replied distractedly. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his full attention to the Senator from Aldaraan. 'What is it Senator?'

'You seem...displeased, General. The Separatists are on the run, I would think you'd be happy.'

'This isn't a victory, Senator. It's a slaughter. We out-number the Separatist fleet 10 to 1. I'm really not sure why the Supreme Chancellor bothered with this system anyway. It's too remote.' Another mystery to ponder, Obi-Wan thought. This war had lasted too long, with no end in sight, despite victory after victory for the Republic. The Separatists seemed to have a never-ending supply of replacement droid troops, while the clone factory on Kamino was churning out Republic troopers at an incredible rate. Meanwhile, more and more systems were seceding from the Republic, adding to the Supreme Chancellor's growing list of 'enemies of peace'.

Anakin's laugh filled the ship-to-ship speakers again.

'Your former pupil is making quite a name for himself,' Organa said. 'Not sure there's any room left in his medal case. The Supreme Chancellor will likely have another one waiting for him when we return.'

Obi-Wan nodded thoughtfully. Yes, Palpatine was quite elated about Captain Skywalker's on-going accomplishments in the war. The two spent many hours together in private conversation. It was...disconcerting, to say the least. It all added to Obi-Wan's growing doubt and unease. The Dark Side of the Force grew stronger every day, and the Jedi Council was still no closer to uncovering the mystery of the Sith than the were 18 years ago.

It is a dark time for the Republic, Obi-Wan thought as he stared out the window. A dark time indeed.

Ok Ok, well at least it's no worse than the stuff George Lucas writes.

This is, of course, wrong, so your theory is blown. What we see is a ship flying to a Federation starship over Naboo....

I read somewher eon TheForce.net that the clone war ends in the first 20 minutes of the movie. Film opens with last battle of the Clone War?

I like this, I liek it alot. However point of order. Ep3 will be 2 years after Clones not 8. And I see this battle taking place over the last strong hold of the Sepertist.

Thanks. I was using Obi-Wan's approximate age in ANH (guessing about 63) and subtracting Luke's age (20) to get Obi-Wan's age in EP3 (about 43). Since Obi-Wan is 15 years older than Anakin, I guessed Anakin to be about 28 when the twins were born. That's 8 years after AOTC. But, I'm probably wrong.

Yes, that's what Lucas said on Entertainment Tonight.