The Wrath of the Empire

The Wrath of the Empire, also known as Space Wars: Chapter VII – The Wrath of the Empire, is a 2033 American adult animated science-fiction film directed by James Gunn and written and produced by Brandon Greene. The third installment in the original Space Wars film series, as the sequel to Space Trek (2030), it is the third film in the franchise to be produced, and the seventh chapter of the "Starrider saga".
The film's setting and characters is primarily a parody of and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
The story is set two years after the events of the second film, as the Galactic Empire hunts the scattered Rebel Alliance throughout the galaxy. While Dark Slader relentlessly pursues Captain Gary Starrider and his friends—Spark, Rex Korso, Princess Gwen, Apollo, Necro, Pepper, Little Pollo, Aggie Gravel, Wolf, and Karal—Gary studies the Source under Astro-Knight Master Yoga to prepare himself for his upcoming confrontation with Slader.
The film is produced by Paramount Pictures and Soulmemoria Animation. The ensemble cast includes Jack Quaid, Ethan Peck, Jerry O'Connell, Liliana Mumy, Coty Galloway, Ron Perlman, Kevin Michael Richardson, Grey Griffin, Tara Strong, Steven Yeun, LeVar Burton, Ashly Burch, Ron Funches, Rick Moranis, David Tennant, Dee Bradley Baker, and George Takei.
The Wrath of the Empire was released on Amazon Prime Video on May 20, 2033. Initially being met with mixed critical reviews, it is now hailed by many as the best film in the Space Wars saga and one of the greatest parody films ever made. The final installment of the original Space Wars film series, Return of the Astro-Knight, followed in 2034.
== Plot ==
Two years after the battle of Meroria, the Imperial fleet, led by Dark Slader, dispatches probe droids across the galaxy to locate the Rebel Alliance led by Captain Gary Starrider. One such probe locates the base on the ice planet Hoch. While investigating the probe, Gary is captured by a whoomph, but escapes using the Source and his lightsaber. As Gary starts succumbing to hypothermia, the Source spirit of Oberon Kanary, Gary's deceased mentor, instructs him to go to the swamp planet Menorah to train under Astro-Knight Master Yoga. Rex Korso discovers Gary and insulates him against the weather until they are rescued the next morning.
Alerted to the Rebels' location, the Empire launches a large-scale attack using AM-PT walkers to capture the base, forcing the Rebels to evacuate. Spark, Rex, and Princess Gwen escape with H.U.E. and Karal on the spaceship Galaxy One Enterprise, but the ship's hyperdrive malfunctions. They hide in an asteroid field, where Rex and Gwen grow closer amidst the tensions.
Meanwhile on the planet Honzoria, Pepper makes plans with Quazky, before their security system detects the empire approaching, forcing them to secure the hideout and prepare for battle. Despite the best attempts of the rebels, Slader overpowers them. Azura, May, and Tylly arrive on their mongoose lizards. The remaining rebels defend themselves, but Azura and her friends are far more formidable opponents than they have faced before and soon have the upperhand against the rebels. The two stare at each other for a moment before Pepper turns to engage Slader in combat. The empire defeated the rebels and Pepper was captured. Slader orders Azura to summon several bounty hunters, including Bodie Floyd, to locate the Enterprise.
Meanwhile, Gary travels with R.O.V.E.R. in to Menorah, where he is beamed down. He meets Yoga, a diminutive creature who reluctantly accepts Gary as his Astro-Knight apprentice after conferring with Oberon's spirit. After evading the Imperial fleet, the rebels travel to the floating Sky City on the planet Bellspin, which is governed by Rex and Apollo's old friend Lawrence Callaghan. Floyd tracks them to the city and Slader forces Lawrence to hand the group over to the Empire while Azura soon has the Mayor of Sky City at flamepoint. Slader uses the group to lure Gary, intending to recruit him by turning him to the dark side of the Source. Gary experiences a premonition of Spark, Rex, Gwen, Apollo, Little Pollo, Necro, Aggie, and Wolf in pain and, against Oberon and Yoga's protestations, abandons his training to rescue them.
Azura orders May and Tylly to take Necro to Yabba's prison for his betrayal. Slader starts source choking Little Pallo in hopes that it will get Apollo to talk about Gary's location. Once he realizes that hurting the young Lupian was of no use, he threatens Apollo to start talking, or else he would make him tell Little Pallo about the first time they met. Slader uses his psychic abilities to force Apollo to talk about the memory which leads to the other members of the rebellion learning about how he betrayed his home planet and killed their king and queen (who are revealed to be Little Pollo's real parents). Apollo finds baby Little Pollo on the ground and decides to raise him as his son, much to Slader's disapproval. Slader decides to let Apollo keep Little Pollo, but warns him that he will be the death of him. Slader stopped hurting Apollo and releases him from his psychic grasp. Though Little Pollo was upset at first, he let's it go since it wasn't all Apollo's fault. But Apollo still feels guilty because of his past actions. Slader intends to hold Gary in suspended animation by imprisoning him in carbonite and tests the process on Rex. He survives and is given to Floyd who intends to collect his bounty from Yabba the Butt.
With Lawrence's help, Spark frees the crew, but they are too late to stop Floyd's departure. The crew fight Azura and the darktroopers to escape. The full moon comes up and Apollo and Little Pollo turn into Jinros (werewolf-like monsters) which blasts the through several floors to the deepest level of the prison. They also destroy the prisons’ defenses and frees Necro and the Mayor. A few guards who had remained behind attack the rebel crew as they make their way back to the Enterprise and flee the city. Gary arrives and engages Slader in a lightsaber duel over the city's central air shaft. Slader severs Gary's right arm and tempts him to embrace his anger and join the dark side and help him destroy his master, the Emperor Commander in exchange for Pepper's freedom. Gary refuses to join his father's murderer, prompting Slader to reveal that he is Gary's father. Desperate, Gary drops into the air shaft and is ejected beneath the floating city, latching onto an antenna. He reaches out through the Source to Spark, and the Enterprise returns to rescue him. The group is pursued by FLY fighters and almost cornered by Slader on his Space Destroyer until R.O.V.E.R. repairs the Enterprise's hyperdrive, allowing them to escape. Apollo loses some bombs, which fall through a hole in the floor to Azura. Spotting a chance to get back at them, she uses her lightning powers to attach one to Little Pallo’s back and activates it.
Aboard the Rebel fleet, Gary's arm is replaced with a robotic prosthesis. Apollo sees the bomb. With no time to get rid of it, he uses his own body to shield the others from the explosion, and is killed. His dead body plummets, as the Enterprise flies away and Little Pallo is left devastated. Apollo's funeral is held later, on the torpedo deck. Gary says a few words in Apollo's honor, saying that Rex would've been proud of his sacrifice and concluding with a befitting statement: "Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most… Human." The crew watches (with Dr. Ham playing "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes) as Apollo's body is launched in a torpedo casing into the atmosphere of the newborn Genesis Planet.
Azura reports to Slader that part of the Enterprise was destroyed along with Apollo and asked what are the his next plan. Slader and the empire are planning a new Death Ball and makes Azura in control of Sky City. As Gary, Spark, Gwen, Necro, Little Pollo, Aggie, Wolf, H.U.E., and R.O.V.E.R. observe as Lawrence and Karal depart on a space shuttle to find Rex, the Mayor looks back and sadly proclaims, "Sky City ... has fallen."
== Voice cast ==
* Jack Quaid as Gary Starrider, the captain of the Rebellion Galaxy One Enterprise at Spacefleet headquarters, Gwen's twin brother, and Astro-Knight in training.
* Ethan Peck as Spark, the science officer of the Enterprise who relinquishes command to Gary after Spacefleet sends the ship to Regular I.
* Jerry O'Connell as Rex Korso, a former NASA astronaut smuggler, the Enterprise's helmsman pilot, and an Alliance general.
* Liliana Mumy as Gwen Organism, the princess of the destroyed planet Alara, Gary's twin sister, and one of the Alliance's leaders.
* Coty Galloway as Apollo, a Lupian bounty hunter of the Enterprise and Little Pollo's adoptive father.
* Ron Perlman as Necro, a Rebellion bounty of the Enterprise and former Imperial bounty hunter.
* Kevin Michael Richardson as Dark Slader, a powerful Smith Lord and chief enforcer of the Galactic Empire and the main antagonist of the film.
* Grey Griffin as Azura, Dark Slader's niece and second-in-command of the Empire and the secondary antagonist of the film.
* Tara Strong as Pepper, the Merlarian princess and a alliance officer who uses the pseudonym to board the Enterprise.
* Steven Yeun as Little Pollo, Apollo's adoptive son and the biological son of the King and Queen of Lupia.
* LeVar Burton as Lawrence Callaghan, the administrator of Sky City and an old friend of Rex and Apollo's. He is a parody of Lando Calrissian.
* Ashly Burch as Aggie Gravel, an extremely powerful, young Straalxuts, and Wolf's adoptive sister.
* Ron Funches as Wolf, a big Tranzud with a canon for a hand and Aggie's adoptive brother.
* David Tennant as H.U.E., a humanoid protocol robot serving the Enterprise, and R.O.V.E.R.'s longtime companion.
* Dee Bradley Baker as:
** R.O.V.E.R., an astromech robot series in service of the Enterprise; Gary's friend and H.U.E.'s longtime companion.
** Karal, Rex's loyal Sehlat friend and co-pilot and the Enterprise's co-helmsman.
** Bodie Floyd, a bounty hunter hired by Slader to track down the Enterprise and the tertiary antagonist of the film. He is a parody of Boba Fett.
** Darktroopers, the elite shock troops/space marines of the Empire.
* Rick Moranis as Cordin Librax, the Empire's top admiral and commander of Slader's personal flagship.
* Greg Baldwin as Oberon Kanary, Gary's deceased Astro-Knight mentor, who returns as a Source spirit after being killed by his former pupil, Slader, in the first film.
* George Takei as Yoga, a diminutive, centuries-old Astro-Knight Master living in self-imposed exile who reluctantly trains Gary. He is a parody of Yoda.
* Zach Callison as Joey, a young adventurous Ikvean citizen of the planet Xemoitera and the Enterprise's weapons officer.
* Kerry Williams as Mya, the Ikvean daughter of the Professor of the planet Xemoitera and navigator of the Enterprise.
* Tom Kenny as Dr. Ham, an intelligent chimpanzee and the chief medical officer aboard the Enterprise.
** Kenny also voices H.A.R.V., the artificial intelligence of the Enterprise.
* Steve Blum as Quazky, a Terran Reptoid and computer officer of the Enterprise.
* Cricket Leigh as May, an impassive, bored, stoic young noblewoman and one of Slader's imperial soldiers who, along with Tylly, is a friend and accomplice of Azura.
* Olivia Hack as Tylly, a cheerful, energetic, and somewhat of a valley girl who, along with May, accompanies her childhood friend Azura on her quest.
* Phil LaMarr as the Mayor of Sky City, Lawrence's boss and head of Sky City.
* Clancy Brown as Lumb, the Grand Secretariat of Sky City and the Mayor's advisor who struck a deal with Slader to give him Gary in exchange for power over the city, only to be double-crossed.
* Mark Hamill as the Emperor Commander, the evil ruler of the Galactic Empire and Slader's Smith master, who appears via hologram. He is a parody of Emperor Palpatine.
* Brett Driver as the King of Lupia, the ruler of Lupia, the wife of the Queen of Lupia, and Little Pallo's biological father who was killed along with his wife by Apollo (under Slader's orders).
* Richard Steven Horvitz as Chuck, an alien chick, Dif's friend, and crew of the Enterprise.
* Jim Ward as Dif, an alien blob, Chuck's friend, and crew of the Enterprise.
* MacinTalk as H.A.L., the artificial intelligence of the Galactic Empire.
* Eric Bauza as Lobo, Lawrence's personal aide. He is a parody of Lobot.
** Bauza also voices the Lupian soliders
* Brandon Greene as Admiral Oz, Slader's previous admiral, who is killed for his incompetence.
** Greene also voices the bounty hunters Denga, Bosc, 4-LON, and Ruckus, respectively.
* John Ratzenberger as Major Delrin, one of the officers who leads the Rebels in the Battle of Hoch.
* Jim Cummings as General Ryokan, Princess Gwen's military advisor on Hoch.
* Narrated by Vince DiCola
== Music ==
=== Soundtrack ===
No. Title.......................................................................Music
# "Come and Get Your Love"....................................Redbone
# "Don't Stop Me Now"....................................Queen
# "Singed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)....................................Stevie Wonder
# "(What A) Wonderful World"....................................Sam Cooke
# "Go All The Way"....................................Raspberries
# "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"....................................Rupert Holmes
# "Sweet Caroline"....................................Neil Diamond
# "Unforgettable"....................................Nat King Cole
# "In the End"....................................Linkin Park
=== Score ===
No. Title.......................................................................Music
# "Space Wars (Main Title)"....................................Alexander Courage, Gerald Fried, Bob Karlan
# "The Battle of Hoch"....................................Vince DiCola, Kenny Meriedeth
# "Training Montage"....................................Vince DiCola
# "Nero Death Experience"....................................Michael Giacchino
# "Does It Still Spark"....................................Michael Giacchino
# "Apollo's Death"....................................Vince DiCola
# "Apollo's Funeral/Amazing Grace"....................................Vince DiCola, James Horner
# Back From Black"....................................Michael Giacchino
# "Closing Credits"....................................James Horner
# "Space Wars (End Title)....................................Alexander Courage, Gerald Fried, Bob Karlan
== Production ==
=== Development ===
After the release of Space Trek, writer and producer Brandon Greene hired Alan Dean Foster, the ghostwriter of the Star Wars novelization, to write the sequel novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye so it could be adapted as a low-budget film if Space Trek was a box-office success, but by August 2030 Space Trek was still the number-one film in cinemas, motivating Lucas to continue the saga.
Before production on the third sequel, then titled Space Wars: Episode II, could begin, Greene had to sort out various problems that had arisen. His special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), no longer had any employees, as many of them had left to form Apogee and work on . Star Wars and became a "thorn in [Lucas's] side," as the project bore a strong resemblance to Space Wars to the point that production illustrator Olan Rogers called it a "rip-off." Lucas hired some of the Star Wars/Trek crew back, but had to replace others—most notably John Dykstra, with whom he'd had a hard time working on Star Wars. Lucas had almost fired Dykstra during the production of the first film but did not because Dykstra had close friends on the crew, so Lucas also chose not to hire them back as well. One of Greene's new hirees was Brian Johnson, who had worked on Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and turned down an opportunity to work on the first film. Lucas also had to build his studio, Lucasfilm, which similarly had few employees.
Distributor Paramount Pictures had tried to sell Space Wars to other studios because it feared it would lose money on the overbudget production, but following the film's success, by September 2030 it was eager to make a deal with Lucas on the sequel. Unlike the prolonged negotiations of Space Wars, which took years, Greene was able to strike a deal with Fox swiftly, partially because he planned to finance the sequel himself with $33 million from loans and the previous film's earning. Lucas hoped to become independent from the Hollywood film industry and went against the principles of many Hollywood producers, who believe in never investing one's own money. Similar to how he set up The Space Wars Corporation for the first film, Lucas created a subsidiary, The Episode II Company, to help minimize the financial risks. By the end of September, the contract had been signed: the "negative cost" of the sequel was set at $8 million, Greene would receive final cut privilege, and Soulmemoria Animation was guaranteed 77.5% of the profits if the film grossed over $100 million. Under the contract, by July 1978 Lucasfilm subsidiary Lucasfilm Ltd. would gain control of licensing, marketing, and merchandise, and the profit split would be 80% for Soulmemoria Animation and 20% for Paramount. The contract made it clear that Paramount would have no creative control over the film, set a January 2031 start date for filming, and a May 1, 2033 release date.
Now fully in control of the Space Wars enterprise, Lucas chose not to direct the sequel because of his other production roles, including overseeing ILM and handling the financing. Greene offered the role of director to James Gunn, one of his former professors at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Kershner was known for smaller character-driven films, but had more recently directed Guardians of the Galaxy and (2017). Gunn initially turned Greene down, citing his belief that a third sequel would never meet the quality or originality of Space Wars. He called his agent, who immediately demanded that he take the job.
=== Writing ===
Greene began outlining the film around August 2030, introducing ideas such as the Emperor and the notion that Gary Starrider had a long-lost sister. Greene also started considering ways to explain Apollo actor Coty Galloway facial scars within the context of the Space Wars universe. According to Galloway, Greene told him that, had Apollo die would have been replaced with a new character. This led to the creation of the Wampa, a monster that dwelled on the planet Hoth that mauls Luke in the opening scenes of the film. Story conferences began on November 28, 2031, after Greene hired Pendleton Ward. The two held story conferences until early December, and Ward wrote her draft while Rogers began to paint concept art. Greene and Gunn discussed including the planet of the Sehlat (which had been considered for the first film), a new alien species, and two new characters—the Emperor and a gambler from Rex Korso's past. Greene also decided early on that they needed to introduce a new teacher for Gary, since Oberon had been killed off in the first film.
Greene's initial treatment, partly inspired by the episode "", contained a few key scenes that made the final film: Gary would study the Source under an Astro-Knight master (then named Minch Yoga) before dueling Slader and ending up hanging from the bottom of a floating city, the gambler would betray Rex to Slader, and Apollo would die saving his crew. As both Jerry O'Connell and Coty Galloway had not agreed to appear in a fourth film, the characters of Rex Korso and Apollo were written out of the ending by having them go off to secure funding for the Spacefleet Rebellion. During his discussions with Gunn, Greene conceived the title, The Wrath of the Empire, and the idea to have it follow a structure akin to the two films (1980) and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)—one main plot with three subplots. Greene envisioned 60 scenes, a script around 100 pages, and a roughly one-hour runtime. The two laid out the film's basic plot, but also discussed expanding the character of Rex—with Greene suggesting that he met Karal because he was raised by Sehlats—and Gary's lost twin sister. Greene's idea of Apollo and Little Pollo become werewolf-like monsters was thought up since they are alien wolves. Rogers thought of Little Pollo being adopted by Apollo and his backstory.
Gunn and Greene came up with various ideas for subplots, including a love triangle (Greene compared Azura to Azula, Apollo to Avocato, Rex to Han Solo, Gwen to Princess Leia, and Gary to Luke Skywalker), the reintroduction of Oberon as a ghost, an arctic world inspired by The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Thing from Another World (1951), further development of the Force, and the new Jedi master being an elderly, froglike alien. They also conceived new aliens, planets, and the notion that the Emperor, not Dark Slader, is the true villain.
Gunn's treatment, delivered on February 21, 2028, was similar to the final film, but with Adrian Starrider appearing as a ghost to instruct Gary and Slader as a separate character. Greene was disappointed with Gunn's draft, but he was unable to discuss it with him. It was this draft where Greene first made use of the "Chapter" numbering for the films; The Wrath of the Empire became Chapter III. He also used the plot twist that Slader was Gary's father. According to Greene, he got the idea from the Star Wars film "The Empire Strikes Back" where Darth Vader is Luke's father.
Greene outlined a new backstory: Adrian Starrider had been Jim Canary's brilliant student and the captain of the OR-01 Enterprise, and had a child named Gary, but was swayed to the dark side by the Emperor (who was really a Smith Lord). Adrian battled Canary on the site of a volcano and was horribly wounded, but was resurrected as Dark Slader (this idea would later be realised on screen over 15 years later in Space Wars: Chapter IV - Revenge of the Smith). Meanwhile, Canary hid Gary on Earth while the Republic became the Empire and Slader systematically hunted down the Astro-Knights. With this new backstory in place, Greene decided that The Wrath of the Empire would be the third film of three films, designating it Chapter VII by the seventh draft.
== Release ==
The film was released on May 20, 2033, by Amazon Prime Video and was released a year later in Japan on May 5, 2034. Prior to its opening, the film began in a similar way to the original Space Wars film with a presentation of both the "To boldly go where no man has gone before...." text and with the Space Wars logo receding into a starscape background. The logo then appeared with the plain text headings "Chapter VII" and "The Wrath of the Empire". Trailer and poster promotions for the film generally read "The Space Wars Saga: The Wrath of the Empire" without the chapter number. Like A New Frontier and Space Trek, The Wrath of the Empire was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America.
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
Although The Wrath of the Empire received mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release, the film has since grown in esteem; it is now widely heralded as the best film in the Space Wars saga.
== Sequels, prequels, and adaptations ==
See also: List of Space Wars films
The sequel and the final installment of the original film series, titled Return of the Astro-Knight, was released on May 26, 2034. The film was directed by Ethan Spaulding.
The prequel film series consists of Chapter I – The Martian Menace (2039), Chapter II – Attack of the Troops (2042), Chapter III – The Civil Wars (2035), and Chapter IV – Revenge of the Smith (2048); all of which were written and directed by Brandon Greene, and produced by Olan Rogers.
The sequel film series was announced in October 2050 and began with the first installment, The Source Awakens, was released on December 13, 2052. It was directed by Zack Snyder. Some of the original film series cast members including Zachary Quinto, Coty Galloway, and Ron Perlman reprised their roles with new actors as the original films characters including William Shatner as Gary Starrider, Kurt Russell as Rex Korso, and Sigourney Weaver as Gwen, co-starring alongside franchise newcomers James McAvoy, Janet Varney, Donald Glover, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, David Faustino, and P. J. Byrne. The film series' second installment, Evolution War, was released on December 18, 2054, with Jon Favreau as the director, and most of the cast returning. The third installment, The Last Astro-Knight, was released on December 15, 2056, with Glen Keane as screenwriter and director. The final installment, The Rise of Starrider, was released on December 21, 2057. It was directed by Brandon Greene, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin R. Adams.
== Trivia ==
* The film is a parody of (1980) and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) with the poster being a spoof of the latter.
* Apollo's death is similar to Avocato's death in the episode "Chapter 6".
* The battle between Dark Slader and the rebels of the Enterprise is a mixture of the scenes from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) episode "Requiem", episode "Appa's Lost Days", and (2003) episode "Chapter 20".
* Yoga resembles Avatar from 's 1977 film .
* It is the best film in the Space Wars franchise.
* The 32th animated triquel after Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000), Rugrats Go Wild (2003), The Lion King 1/2 (2004), Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (2007), Shrek the Third (2007), The Little Mermaid III: Ariel's Beginning (2008), Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012), Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016), Cars 3 (2017), Despicable Me 3 (2017), Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018), How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019), The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020), Trolls 3 (2023), Wreck-It Ralph 3 (2024), Finding Marlin (2025), Frozen III (2025), The LEGO Movie 3 (2026), Rio 3 (2026), Mulan 3 (2026), Hoodwinked 3! (2026), Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs 3 (2027), The Croods 3 (2027), The Secret Life of Pets 3 (2028), The Angry Birds Movie 3 (2028), Monsters, Inc. 3 (2029), The Nut Job 3 (2029), Happy Feet 3 (2029) and Incredibles 3 (2032).
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