Before Disney purchased Lucasfilm, the STAR WARS franchise was alive and well in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, an animated TV series which stretched the gap between ATTACK OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH. Unfortunately, the series never reached its conclusion as Disney elected to pull the plug rather than continue. The remaining episodes of the sixth season were later released on Netflix as The Lost Missions, but they couldn't hope to wrap up all of the series' dangling plots. That was that, or so we thought.
During the Star Wars: The Clone Wars panel at San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that the series would be returning for another tour of duty. Check out the trailer below.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be returning with 12 all-new episodes on Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming service sometime in 2019. So break out your celebration lightsabers! While speaking with StarWars.com, Dave Filoni, supervising director of the series, revealed that although he never thought this day would come, he knew that the enthusiasm of the fans would keep hope alive. Now, Filoni has the chance to finish what he started a decade ago.
Personally, it’s very rewarding. Any opportunity to put the final pieces of the story in place is meaningful as a storyteller. I’m happy for the opportunity to define these things and the end of this part of the Clone War. It also makes me reflect on all the people that I got to work with over the years. It reinforces the things I learned from George. It reminds me of the important elements that go into making Star Wars. So, it’s nice on several levels, and I think for the crew that’s still here that worked on Clone Wars, they feel that, as well.
It's been ten years since Star Wars: The Clone Wars was first released, but it seems that the popularity of the series has only grown stronger, and Dave Filoni has a theory as to why that is. "I think the variety of stories was a big part of it. You also can’t underestimate how important it was that so many people grew up with the show. Clone Wars was a piece of Star Wars that older fans might have, initially, not taken seriously because it was animated, but that wasn’t a barrier for kids," Filoni said. "They loved the clones and identified with them. Ahsoka gave kids a character that was like them — someone their age that was experiencing life’s challenges and learning along the way. Plus, having a new episode each week really allowed us to explore what was going on with the new and legacy characters in a dynamic way, including Anakin and Obi-Wan. I think the stories left an indelible impression and, of course, George knew it would. He always knew."