More intrigue, more action, more romance?and a lot less Jar Jar Binks. ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY goes behind the scenes of Star Wars: Episode II?Attack of the Clones, and offers two collectors? Star Wars covers for its May 17 issue:

?The first one had lot of setup to do and had to be the foundation for the six movies,? says Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi) of the much-maligned Episode I?The Phantom Menace. ?Episode II returns to the original swashbuckling fairy-tale form of the first Star Wars films.? Samuel L. Jackson (Jedi Master Mace Windu) adds up the difference: ?Menace was a kiddie movie. This one?s not. I think the fans are more excited this time around, because everyone has heard that George heard their criticisms, took them to heart, and made something special.?

An encouraging analysis for jilted Star Wars lovers, but if audiences think George Lucas calibrated Attack of the Clones to fix a suddenly sputtering franchise??That?s ridiculous,? says Lucas, whose rebuttal starts with a check-the-scoreboard nod toward Episode I?s $431 million domestic box office gross. ?I made More American Graffiti,? cracks Lucas, citing the flop 1979 sequel to his Oscar-nominated 1973 smash. ?I know what happens when you have a big hit and you bring out a sequel and people don?t like it: They don?t go! It?s just the nature of the beast.? Question his assumption that quantity equals quality and Lucas cites research, conducted during The Phantom Menace?s release, that found 70 to 80 percent of the audience either ?liked it? or ?loved it.? ?It was basically the media and the Internet fan base?all late 20s, early 30s, 40s?who didn?t like it,? Lucas concludes.

Make sure to visit EW.com/starwars tomorrow for the full story and other in-depth articles.