Star Wars Speculation: #CloneWarsSaved

It's been awhile since I last wrote a Star Wars Speculation post because I decided to take some time off after the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story. I had been contemplating putting together a post centered around The Clone Wars for the ten year anniversary (and likely still will), but I certainly didn't anticipate this announcement...

Series Background and some Personal Anecdotes

For those unaware, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was an animated television series set in the time period between Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith which aired from 2008-2013. It all kicked off with a theatrically released film that compiled four episodes intended to be part of the first season. The film itself was met with a lackluster reception by critics and fans alike, but the series later won many over in the coming years. I can recall myself that it came at a time where there really wasn't much other Star Wars content being produced. There were toys, books, and video games I suppose, but no onscreen adventures in a galaxy far, far away. The time after the release of Revenge of the Sith was a bleak one for Star Wars fans to say the least... Till 2008 that is...

On August 15, 2008, I was seated with my family ready to see another Star Wars film. It may have been animated, but that didn't mean jack-squat to me. I could hardly believe it. There was ANOTHER Star Wars film in theaters. I distinctly remember being convinced that the franchise was done forever once the Prequel Trilogy wrapped. The idea of never seeing any new Star Wars content in a cinema was an unfortunate one that took hold in my mind far too quickly. If only eleven year old me had known what great wonders would come his way seven years later and beyond...

Anyways, as I'm sure you all can tell, Star Wars has always been something quite special to me. I loved it ever since being introduced as a child, and that passion burns in me to this very day. Not to get all sappy or melodramatic, but The Clone Wars came at the perfect time for me. It was a weird time in my life. I was entering middle school and my parents were getting divorced. I've certainly come to grips with that and moved on in the time since, but I didn't fully grasp the situation at eleven years old. However, when times were tough, I always looked forward to sitting down and watching The Clone Wars every Friday evening on Cartoon Network (it later changed time slots, but you get the jist).

I watched the show religiously, and loved just about every second of it. It deepened the mythology, further developed pre-existing characters, and introduced plenty of exciting new concepts, characters, and planets. It fleshed out the prequels in a way that no book or comic could ever hope to do, and made me appreciate those films more than I ever had before. With that being said, it was bitter-sweet to learn Disney purchased Lucasfilm. On one hand, they were going to make new live action films, including the Episode VII I had always dreamed of. However, the series was retracted from Cartoon Network and cancelled once Disney acquired Lucasfilm. All was not lost though...

Since work had already started on additional episodes for future seasons, an agreement was made so that thirteen episodes could be completed and released on Netflix as "The Lost Missions." About a year after the final episode of the fifth season, "The Lost Missions" debuted on Netflix and I quickly binged the thirteen episodes. Upon completion, I figured that was the last I would ever see of any new, completed Clone Wars content (rough animatics for Seasons 7 & 8 wound up online). Star Wars Rebels debuted later that year, and I discovered that certain characters would be returning as I latched onto that show. Even though Clone Wars hadn't properly concluded, there was going to be some semblance of finality through Rebels. I was happy Filoni got to carry on with his story, but I certainly still wanted to see a proper send-off in the form of a final season. Little did I know that I'd get my wish once more...

#CloneWarsSaved Breakdown

For those who don't know, San Diego Comic Con is currently going on this week and a panel was held yesterday in honor of the tenth anniversary of The Clone Wars. When it was announced, I figured it might primarily be a look back at the series, a look at some things that could have been, and a sneak peek at Filoni's next animated series Star Wars Resistance. Well, I was kind of right. Filoni was joined by some members of the cast and crew, and together they reminisced on various episodes of the series as well as discussing some of the behind-the-scenes development on the series. They also showcased some concept art and discussed ideas Filoni had for the seventh and eighth seasons, but that wasn't all... At the end of the panel, every Clone Wars fan's wildest dreams finally came true.

Filoni mentioned that hardly a week went by where he wasn't tagged on Twitter by a fan asking him save The Clone Wars. He then acknowledged that the fans deserved something for being so great, loving, and supportive for ten years. That something turned out to be a trailer announcing the return of The Clone Wars.

What followed was footage of Clone Trooper helmets with blaster-fire and explosions overhead featuring voiceover from various episodes. Text appeared saying "A war left unfinished..." referring to the series of course. Then "till now" to imply it would be continued in some capacity. Additional footage followed that showcased various vehicles, ships, Captain Rex, Anakin Skywalker, and other clones as they looked out of the hanger and into the horizon. Title card.

Anakin and Obi Wan enter a conference room as Anakin asks "Alright Rex. What's so important that you brought all the way back here?" We then see Bo-Katan and Ahsoka via hologram with Rex standing at attention near the holo-table. Ahsoka acknowledges Anakin by saying "Hello master. It's been awhile." Then "#CloneWarsSaved" appears...

What does this mean? 

So Clone Wars is being saved, but what does that mean exactly? Well, Disney is looking to debut their own direct-to-customer streaming service next year to compete with Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon among many others. The Clone Wars will return for an additional twelve episode season that will be available to watch through said streaming service. Whether it will be exclusive to the service in the long run or not remains to be seen, but I imagine the eventual release of a Blu-Ray box set including every season is a likely possibility. Also, it hasn't been explicitly said whether these will be the final episodes of the series or not. What this means is that an eighth season is not outside the realm of possibility. However, I think these twelve episodes will likely wrap things up for good and that they will be available as soon as the service launches. There's no official word on if that will be the case, but it's what I'm currently predicting.

Disney is clearly going all in on this streaming service between the revival of Clone Wars and Favreau's live action Star Wars series, so I imagine more information will surface eventually. We just need to be patient... I predict we'll get plenty of news at next year's Star Wars Celebration, but things will likely stay quiet till then.

Some Speculation 

As for the series itself, I imagine there will be an arc detailing the Siege of Mandalore which will probably play a significant part in the series finale. Seeing Bo-Katan with Ahsoka certainly implies that will be the case. When you couple that with Ahsoka's account of Order 66 from the Ahsoka novel and the early animatics for future seasons, it seems as though many of these episodes will be finalized versions of the planned episodes. I also think we will get more information as to the fate of Maul between Clone Wars and Solo based on this emphasis on Mandalore.

I also presume that these episodes will be MUCH closer to the beginning of Revenge of the Sith based on Anakin's longer hair. I actually wouldn't be surprised to see some direct tie-ins to Revenge of the Sith such as the reveal that Palpatine has been kidnapped, causing Obi Wan and Anakin to go back to Coruscant, and/or Order 66 from the perspective of the clones and other Jedi we didn't see in Revenge of the Sith. 

Conclusion

To wrap things up, I'm obviously ecstatic about the return of The Clone Wars. If you haven't seen the series and this post perked your interest, all six seasons and the theatrical film are currently available to watch on Netflix. You can certainly watch them in release order, but if you'd like to watch them chronologically, here's a hyperlink that will take you to the official Star Wars website with a chronological episode order. I never would have imagined this announcement would have happened, but it did on account of a passionate fanbase, and it's amazing how it's already helped tremendously in unifying the fanbase again. Hopefully, fans will stick together through 2019 because next year is going to be a big year for Star Wars! I absolutely can't wait for all the content coming our way!!

-As always, thanks for reading and May the Force be with you!!