The story will be set in the Clone War era,and deal with Obi-Wan's training of Anakin Skywalker,Anakin's fall to the dark side,and the fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin that turned him into Darth Vader "as we know him today".It will also deal with the Emperor's rise to power, the fall of  the republic, and the birth of Luke and Leia, among other things.

Obi-Wan will be 25 in the first film and Anakin around 8. In the second Anakin will be in his 20's and Obi-wan will be in his late 40's.

Characters who will be in the  new movies : Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Senator (later Emperor) Palpatine, Yoda, R2-D2, and (the beginnings of) C-3P0,Jabba the Hutt (a short appearance) and Boba Fett (without his armor).
 

A character known as the young queen will have an important role in the films,she will be the wife of Anakin and the mother of Luke and Leia.

 AND YES James Earl Jones will provide the voice of Darth Vader but only in the third film.and George Lucas will direct the first film.

 The Prequels will be more informative to the more seasoned Star Wars fans but will have plenty of Clone War battle scenes for the yonger viewers so it will draw the intreste of everyone.
 

 All three films will not be filmed back to back.Episode I will be filmed by itself and II and III will be filmed back to back.

Among the planets that will apear in the prequels you will see Coruscant and Tatooine.

Liam Neeson will be playong the role of a mentor to the young Obi-Wan.
 

Ewan McGregor will be playing the role of the young Obi-Wan.
 

Natalie Portman will be playing the role of  The Young Queen "the wife of Anakin and the mother of Luke and Leia".
 

Pernilla August will be playong the role of Shmi Skywalker "Anakin's mother"
 

Jake Lloyd will be playing the role of the young Anakin Skywalker.
 

 Ian McDiarmid "the original Emperor Palpatine" will be back again playing the same role.
 

And Frank Oz will be playing his old role of Yoda "our favorite little smart ass Jedi"

LOS ANGELES - Liam Neeson may be mentoring young Jedi knights as the star of the first Star Wars prequel, Daily Variety reported Thursday. George Lucas and Neeson have met several times and he has emerged as the top choice for top billing, the industry newspaper said. Though Lucas' script for the first of three more planned Stars Wars movies has been a tightly guarded secret, sources told Variety that Neeson would play a new character, a master Jedi knight much like Alec Guinness' part of Obi Wan Kenobi. A spokeswoman for Lucas denied that any final casting decisions have been made. She said Lucas has been meeting with many actors. 

 Bail Organa (Leia's adopted father) and Mon Mothma will be in the new films.And I think we will also see a young Akbar as Palpatine's military aid.
 
 

In the recent Star Wars Insider issue #33 George Lucas was quoted as saying this of the outline of the films: "Episode One, we introduce the characters, Episode Two, Anakin falls in love, Episode Three, Anakin's fall." Also in this issue Rick McCallum says that sets are being build at Leavesden now, and two sets are already finished. The film's post production will take about a year and a half to complete. Shooting of the film is scheduled to start in August.

The Official Star Wars Trilogy Home Page has been updated with information about the Star Wars Prequels. It is reporting that they are almost prepared to announce Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Jake Lloyd as starring in the new films. Neeson would be a jedi knight, McGregor would be the young Obi-Wan, Portman would be the young queen, and Lloyd would be a young Anakin. Check out the Star Wars: Episode I page for more info.
 

George Lucas and Rick McCallum had a press conference in Italy on July 25.  Among other things they said that in the film we would see where R2 and 3PO came from, that Steven Spielberg would not direct the other 2 prequels, and that the Caserta palace is part of the queens home city.  For more check out the transcript on the Official Star Wars Web Page.

There is a new section at the Official Star Wars Web Page called News from the set which gives news from the set of Episode I.