Brand New Angry Birds Stars Wars Prequel Game to Be Announced Monday

Rovio 15 July 2013 Announcement Teaser ImageIn the gaming world, Rovio has long been regarded as the king of teasers. They announced today that they will announce on Monday, July 15th some info about a brand new game. Seriously, only Rovio can make an announcement about a forthcoming announcement, but I digress. Here are the teasers from their Twitter feed:

Big new game announcement coming on Monday! (Link 1)

And then…

…The new game we’re announcing on Monday will feature our biggest roster of characters ever. Seriously, it’s huge! (Link 2)

If you’re a fan of posts that exceed Twitter’s 140-character limit you can check out the announcement on Rovio’s blog.

So now we’re left to speculate about the picture at the top: What on Earth is it?! Or maybe, and we’re making the obvious speculation here, what on Tatooine is it?

The image certainly implies that it will be a Star Wars themed announcement. Fortunately, we have some die hard Star Wars fans with great memories. GoldenHeartChris made the connection that this picture is of Anakin Skywalker casting an ominous shadow of Darth Vader. David observed that Rovio’s teaser is a parody of a the Phantom Menace poster used by LucasFilms back in the 90’s, suggesting this new app could follow the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. Below is a side by side comparison so you can see exactly what we’re talking about.

Angry Birds Star Wars Phantom Menance Prequel Combo Image

In addition to the obvious connection to the Star Wars prequel; if you look closely you can also see a bunch of slingshot-shaped buildings in the background. That implies that it may be the traditional style gameplay. Hard to say for sure though.

So is this a red herring or will we be seeing a brand new Star Wars game based around the prequels? Your guess is as good as ours right now, so let us know your thoughts!

Comments (76)

By GoldenHeartChris

He’s not Luke Skywalker. He is the young Anakin Skywalker in his podracer helmet with {spoiler removed}

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By Lamia (@lamia)

I 100% agree with you! Maybe There will be racing

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By SouperBrick (@souperbrick)

Hey @lamia! This is speculation, but remember what was awesome with the original star wars game? It was that it was ABSpace and ABO combined? What if they use the engine of the new Angry Birds GO for some racing scenes, combined with the ABS and ABO for others? (If Angry Birds GO is even a racing game)

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By Squirrel61 (@squirrel61)

Talking about the (also mysterious and still unreleased) AB Go game, could it be that this teaser is about the same game? In that case, your guess could be spot on!

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By AMslimfordy (@amslimfordy)

Thanks GoldenHeartChris! I hope you don’t mind me removing the spoiler from your comment — on the off-chance that someone isn’t aware of the plot. ;)

By GoldenHeartChris

No, I absolutely don’t mind. I’m just a bit surprised. I mean, this plot twist is quite obvious nowadays. I think, in 2013 most of the people know this fact already. :-)

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By justpast40 (@justpast40)

I for one have no idea as AMslimfordy has suggested….despite my age, I’ve never seen any of the Star Wars movies

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By bonneypattycat (@bonneypattycat)

I saw the old ones, never got around to the prequels. Maybe it is time!

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By Josm (@josm)

Is this a totally new game, or Angry Birds Go?

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By sal9 (@sal9)

It’s a new game.

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By Josm (@josm)

So they are working on 2 seperate new games, Cool! This looks like an Racing adventure in Star Wars

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By burbman (@burbman)

I was wondering the same thing, guess time will tell!

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By burbman (@burbman)

Maybe this one will be Angry Birds Star Wars GO!

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By Joey (@joeyba)

So mainly instead of having new updates often, we’re having new games now! Not that I mind…

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By Lamia (@lamia)

What is Angry Birds Go? New episode or game?

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By AMslimfordy (@amslimfordy)
By David

For those who don’t know, this is a parody of a poster used for Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. You can see that the red bird (now playing Anakin Skywalker has the shadow of Darth Vader exactly like this teaser poster: http://www.impawards.com/1999/star_wars_episode_one_the_phantom_menace_ver1.html
The teaser from Rovio most likely is pointing towards a prequel themed game.

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By AMslimfordy (@amslimfordy)

Great sleuthing, David! Prequel app???

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By AngerManagement (@angermanagement)

My first instinct was that this may be a prequel app:] I have always wondered how they were going to insert the ‘first’ 3 episodes in to the current app, but I guess creating a new game all together is one way of doing it, I CAN NOT wait:D

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By Bad piggies (@bad-piggies-2)

This might take place at the new Star wars movies.

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By eherrera32 (@eherrera32)

I remember looking at the Angry Birds Star Wars sticker book, and I noticed the Darth Maul sticker. I can’t find the sticker, but here’s how he’ll look in the upcoming update. http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121020191325/puffleville/images/7/73/33826124904.png

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By Bird Leader (@birdleader)

Pretty sure that’s fan art @eherrera32, but neat nonetheless.

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By AngerManagement (@angermanagement)

Oh my goodness, Darth Maul is my most favourite character ever:D Thanks, @eherrera32 for sharing, is there images for all of the prequel Star Wars characters or just Darth Maul?

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By eherrera32 (@eherrera32)

@angermanagement I just saw this one, but if you are ever at a retail store, look at the stickers in the back of the book! :D

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By Gwarmaxx (@gwarmaxx)

could be a new AB Star Wars with the first trilogy world… why not?

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By CC Jolly (@cc-jolly)

Wohoo great Update news. The Pic above looks really interesting and Tell something awesome :-) i am ready for July 15. i will kill the Piggies soon :-)

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By Batdance (@batdance)

Now that we know they are doing a separate app for the prequels, I wonder with the new Star Wars movie coming in 2015, will they create a separate app for just the one movie? I know that’s a long time away, but I’m excited for the movie and anything AB!

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By SouperBrick (@souperbrick)

@batdance I am sure they would add that movie into the first ABStar wars game. Because it is after Episode 6, which will be in the app soon.

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By AngerManagement (@angermanagement)

Or maybe they will make a third game for the sequel trilogy?

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By RizDub (@rizdub)

I was actually surprised by a few things in this announcement.

First, none of the Return of the Jedi episodes have been released yet. I was sure that they would be released before the prequels!

Also, I was a bit surprised to hear that the prequels might get their own game. I don’t fully see the point of having two ABSW games, one for the originals and one for the prequels…

But anyway, I’m excited to see how this turns out!

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By Josm (@josm)

I have never seen an Star Wars movie, what are the differents between prequels and original movies?

By Fayaz

The prequels were made after word but took place when Luke was a kid.the original films were when Luke was already (or becoming) a Jedi.

By Morph416

Luke wasn’t a child in the prequels.. @Fayaz.. Luke and Leia were born at the very end of Episode III. The supposed time line between each film.. prequel, original.. is anywhere between 5 and 10 years… however, between III and IV, roughly 20.

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By AngerManagement (@angermanagement)

@josm, I am sure you know what a prequel is:] Basically, in the original 3 films, Luke Skywalker is the main protagonist who is a farmboy turn rebel turn Jedi Master who was the key in the destruction of the Empire and the liberalisation of the galaxy, and they are set between 0 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin [which is the battle in which Luke Skywalker destroyed Death Star Mark I]) to 4 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin). The original 3 were done between the time span of 32 BBY and 19 BBY, and they document the life of Anakin Skywalker being a Padawan, then a Jedi Master, nearly a Council Member, and then he turned to the dark side of the force to try and save his secret wife Padme (as Darth Sidious…The Emperor…the wrinkly one with the hood…planted premonitions of her death at labour in his dreams) she then died after having Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker while Anakin was oblivious to his masters wrongdoings, so he became Darth Vader… 19 years later the events of A New Hope occurred:) Not sure where else to mention my aspirations, but I excessively hope that Episode VII and it’s sequels are as good as the prequel and sequel trilogies, at least an 11 out of 10 rating;D

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By Josm (@josm)

Thanks for your answer!

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By wrw01 (@wrw01)

Thank you @angermanagement for this memory jogger and an account of the past links between the different movies. I am a fan of Star Wars, saw all the movies but did I forget a bunch. Thanks AM.
Wow another new game in Star Wars. This is great and also a bit overwhelming with the games and levels yet to play on my iPad. Hope it has all the diversity of the past SW levels but sounds like there will be some new personalities and characteristics of the birds and pigs.

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By Bad Piggy (@danimario9)

Original movie: the film you saw first.
Prequel: the film that came after the original film, but the story represented precedes that of the original film’s. A backstory, in a nutshell.

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By laurafj (@laurafj)

Notice how Anakin is clearly a ‘child’ bird? Different expression, eyebrows, almost a chubby appearance.

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By Dr. Omega (@dr-omega)

I ran a news update way back on February 12 that showed prequel toys coming from Hasbro here:
https://www.angrybirdsnest.com/forum/discussion/comment/101257#Comment_101257

Also, interesting that they used Anakin with his pod racing helmet. With AB Go! rumored to be a racing game, it would make sense to use the same engine with Star Wars and make pod racing.

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By AngryBirdsSpaceMaster (@spacemaster)

And Space Racing is coming out. I think this will be some new game mode that will eventually be applied to all games.

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By Lisa85 (@lablanche)

That poster looks kind of weird to me. I mean, Darth Vader is a pig in ABSW. Red can’t become a pig, can he??? I’m confused, quite honestly. We’ll see on Monday, I suppose.

By GoldenHeartChris

Only his helmet resembles a pig. Maybe there’s a bird behind the mask.

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By AngerManagement (@angermanagement)

I completely agree with you, GoldenHeartChris :D

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By Oobgular (@oobgular17)

I wonder how they’ll pull this off and still make it child friendly… it’s kind of traumatizing when your favorite bird turns into an evil pig lord!

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By Oobgular (@oobgular17)

I am rather surprised they are making a separate game instead of making ABSW a two-parter. (like Seasons with the 2011/2012/2013 seasons)

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By theanonymoussomeone (@anonymousomeone)

I am also wondering….. Pig Vader has a piglike appearance, just look at him, a green pig, and the real Darth Vader at the same time. This looks awesome though….. July 15. Can’t wait! :^D

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By theanonymoussomeone (@anonymousomeone)

Anyone else notice the details of Pig Vader in the background? Creepy.

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By Tahir Jamy (@tahirjamy)

Okay, this is a bit old (dates back to November 6, 2012) but this is a sort of proof that they already had this planned out I guess…

“And, when we finally do put Yoda in action, we have something equally special up our sleeves for him! Just have to wait and see, you will.” – from the art director for ABSW – Toni Kysenius!

Source: http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2012/11/06/a-look-behind-the-look-of-angry-birds-star-wars/

So we’ll finally be able to see Yoda’s powers!! :D

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By AngerManagement (@angermanagement)

CAN NOT wait to see Yoda’s powers:D

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By Omega X (@omega-x)

Ok, here are my thoughts:

I am surprised at this move by Rovio.

Firstly, at the timing of this announcement, as some users mentioned above, the Episode 4-6 ABSW is not completed yet, and I really was expecting the prequel to come after the original ABSW draws to a close. I was expecting this update to come sooner or later, one way or another, but I was definitely not prepared for this.

Secondly,at the method of presenting this update. I really was expecting this to be in the format of Seasons, with season 1,2,3….etc……with 1 representing Episodes 4-6, and 2 representing Episodes 1-3, and 3 representing the rumored Episodes 7-9. Apparently, Rovio decided that releasing so much content in one game is too much, in terms of the size(I doubt that), or to decide to earn more money! (I think that the latter sounds more convincing…..). Again, Rovio=King of Teasers, and I always appreciate the design and method of teasing the AB community, and this is no exception. Using a parody of the original poster is pure genius.

Thirdly, at the storyline itself. I have been wondering how in the world of Angry Birds is Rovio going to present the classic storyline. Several points I would like to point out, some which are already mentioned above.

*1) Darth Vader: Red Bird represents him in the poster above, and I wonder how on earth is a bird going to turn into a pig. As mentioned above, it may just be a helmet, but it is still confusing………..

*2) The Chancellor/Emperor: The Dark Lord. Is a pig. Well, I would really like to see how they represent him in the game as a bird……if he is one in the first place.

Basically it’s just these two, and some other thoughts…

Podracing. Rovio is really into a racing spree these days! Let’s count. AB GO, Bad Pigges, AB Space…and now this! It’s really unavoidable to introduce this in ABSW, but the timing is really amusing……if the next episode of ABS is related to racing, I will really be most amused.

Design. I have been a fan in all sorts of design, and I look forward to the design of the characters.

Music. I also have been a fan of AB music, and I really do hope to hear the AB theme in this new game. The original one was just a remix, which I find interesting, but it would be even better to merge both themes together.

In conclusion, I really look forward to this new game in a lot of ways! :D

Omega X

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By Josm (@josm)

I think it is a totally different gameplay, and maybe in first case they would add it to the original ABSW game, but after the ‘commotion’ about RMF in ABO, they have decided to make an seperate second ABSW app :)

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By Omega X (@omega-x)

Hm…that thought never actually crossed my mind! If so, I would have mixed feelings. As long as it involves launching birds via Slingshots, I would be happy. :) However, if it is an entirely new gameplay with no connection to AB, except of course, the birds, I would be most disappointed.

Omega X

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By Birds! (@theog)

This teaser reminds me that Lucas released Star Wars episode 4,5 and 6 before 1,2 and 3. Really weird O_o

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By dmsral (@dmsral)

With new Star Wars movies in development, Rovio needs to do the prequels so they will be caught up with the series and they co-launch with the first new movie in 2015.

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By lostgreybird (@lostgreybird)

It’s best to do it as a separate app because they can make a splash with it in marketing and in the apps store. The timing is now instead of after ABSW finishes because they probably want to get all their merchandise out there for the holiday season or school season.

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By bubbles (@hans-peter)

Sounds awesome anyway! If i am Not Mistsken, no rovio has Announced 5 Things to come: firstly, there’s Angry birds go, assumably all-New Racing gameplay. Secondly, an Angry birds Space Update is Announced, with “Space races” Announced presumably somewhat similar gameplay. Thirdly, there is this announcement nie, which also suggests Racing gameplay (?) Then, there is also an Angry birds original Update to come, bringing Traditional-style gameplay back to red’s Mighty Feathers. And finally, there is also a (minor?) Update for Angry birds Rio waiting, which has something to so with the golden beachball Levels (Maybe the 4 Bonus Levels are bring incorporated into the golden beachball chapter? Anyway, everything just awesome!

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By Omega X (@omega-x)

Yes indeed! I am simply struggling to keep track of updates these days!

Omega X

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By AngryBirdsSpaceMaster (@spacemaster)

Maybe there will be a link between the new Space Race gameplay they’re teasing, Angry Birds Go, and podracing! Whatever it is, I am SO excited!

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By Miezko (@miezko)

why are all in the web saying its going to be released tommorow?

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By AMslimfordy (@amslimfordy)

Most people aren’t too smart ;)

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By theanonymoussomeone (@anonymousomeone)

What does that mean?

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By AMslimfordy (@amslimfordy)

Not sure what your question is.

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By theanonymoussomeone (@anonymousomeone)

I meant what do you mean by that reply? Does it mean it isn’t tommorrow? Is it an insult (which I highly doubt from a guy like you)?

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By Josm (@josm)

The game is NOT going to be released on monday, they only give us an announcement of the game

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By AMslimfordy (@amslimfordy)

Rovio said the announcement was tomorrow. People who think that the app is being released tomorrow are twisting “facts”.

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By AngryBirdsSpaceMaster (@spacemaster)

I hope they announce the release date tomorrow though. I’m stoked for this.

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By Miezko (@miezko)

I think they will release the release date today, but i dont think that the release will be very far away. Maybe one month like ABSWO ( Maybe we have to call it so, after the Prequels-Game was announced.

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By Bad piggies (@bad-piggies-2)

On tumblr it says: “This tumblr won’t be quite the same on Monday…”

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By kathi17 (@kathi17)

Hmmm, sort of like Skylanders with AB play. I’m not sure I like the idea of having to purchase the figures though.

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By Bad piggies (@bad-piggies-2)

I agree. Not really Rovio style anymore…

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By AMslimfordy (@amslimfordy)

You don’t HAVE to purchase anything. The gameplay looks exactly like classic AB style.

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By Mighty (@)

http://www.rovio.com/en/news/blog/338/announcing-angry-birds-star-wars-ii-coming-september-19 In the last of the page- Also, look out for Return of the Jedi in the original Angry Birds Star Wars! is written meaning a update to Orignal Star Wars

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By AMslimfordy (@amslimfordy)

Thanks, already included in the post. Just finalizing the images before pushing it live.

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By thee-michelle (@thee-michelle)

Thanks @kooop.
I can’t wait!

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By cosmo2503 (@cosmo2503)

I read about on Rovio’s blog and expecting you guys write an article. This is amazing! Really new, really great. OMG over 30 characters to play?!? That’s I believe great for both companies business and I am sure that it would be hard to chose just one figure to play with. I HOPE that figures will be sold worldwide just like the game is internationally available.

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