Full Series Maretz Sisters arc - what was the original plan ?

OK so I heard that one was meant to be a brother and even love interest for Ahsoka (I guess giving Ahsoka a girlfriend instead of a boyfriend was a big no no from Disney) and that Palpatine was also involved but thats all I know. Does anyone have more information ?
Why was it changed especially given how boring the arc ended up being ?

Tbh I always thought Anakin was the best love interest for Ahsoka anyway but that's by the by

Question answered, so locked. - TtJ

 

Palpatine wasn't going to be involved, you're thinking of the Sith Shrine arc, a planned Season 8 arc featuring Ahsoka between the Underworld and Mandalore arcs. In that, Palpatine would have assaulted Ahsoka in the shrine, blasting force lighting at her through a locked door, that she would repel with a saber. Elements of this would seem to have been incorporated in the World Between Worlds arc in Rebels, though to what extent in full is unclear.


As for the Martez arc, Trace and Rafa did not exist in the original cut. Instead there was Nyx Okami, who, from the clips and art we've been shown, would mostly fill the Trace role in terms of pure plot mechanics. He meets Ahsoka after her speeder crash, gets intimidated by the mob boss, is building a ship (the Black Ace, which became the Silver Angel in the final cut. Interesting fact, it was still being called the Black Ace as late as 2018). Tonally there are differences. Trace is more accepting of Ahsoka's assistance, while Nyx was more stubborn. There was mention at some point of him being somewhat of a love interest, though how far that plotline went is unknown.

Rafa's role in the story seems like it would need to be filled by someone, though who or what is unclear. Her character model recycles part of an outfit originally intended to be Ahsoka's in this arc (which she's also seen to wear on the cover of the Ahsoka novel).

Elements that stayed constant in all versions of the arc are the trip to Kessel, including the 'nice' side of the planet and the meeting with the second in command, most of the plot structure regarding the Pykes refinery with all the captures and escapes, the scene with the Toongs and Trandoshan on the dockside.

Rafa's Laundromat was present in the original cut, as was the city street where the droid chase happens. Even the final scene at the wharf cafe was present in some form back in 2012.

As for anachronistic elements, the Maul scene is almost certainly an embellishment added to the new cut. The model he's using for that one scene was newly produced during the new production cycle, not when the episodes were originally made (it features elements inspired by Solo too). Additionally, it messes up the timeline of events, since this arc should take place before both Dark Disciple and Son of Dathomir, a time when Maul is still imprisoned by Sidious. So the one scene with Maul and the following when Ahsoka determines he's broadcasting from Mandalore are new additions.


The presence of Bo-Katan and the Mandalorians is also a bit foggy. There's concept art of Bo-Katan's cloaked model dated to 2018, which could imply they're a late addition, though sometimes concept art is simply 'rebranded'. Example: The Bad Batch all had model sheets made in 2012, but in the new episode galleries we see updated sheets with minor differences marked for 2017. An even better example is that the Pyke landing platform and Toong concept art in the gallery for Together Alone is dated 2012, while the Trandoshan foreman featured in the same scene in dated 2018.

Based on how little they do in the story, it could be argued they were simply added on with a few scenes. The ending was almost certainly different in some way, since Ahsoka wouldn't immediately go with Bo-Katan to Mandalore, since there was whole other arc planned in-between. Who knows, maybe Bo and Ahsoka did meet at the end of the original arc, it's tricky to say either way.


Oh wait, there's some explicit info related to this in one of the trivia galleries that states the Mandos were late addition to the plot, so I guess that's settled then. No, they weren't present in the 2012 cut. Maybe they were going to be in Sith Shrine? Who knows honestly, it's hard to fathom how the plot manoeuvred to get Ahsoka and Bo together originally.

Last little note: the change of characters from Nyx to Trace means that the title of the first episode of the arc is the only one that's confirmed to different to the original title of any episode (since it's now a pun on Trace's name). I dunno what the original was gonna be... guess it was... Nyxed

All of this information was gleaned based on the concept art and trivia galleries released on SW.com, you can find them here:
https://www.starwars.com/series/star-wars-the-clone-wars

The few animatic clips also help give a small picture of the original intentions. All of the clips from this arc are from the first episode:


In conclusion, it would seem the central plot of the arc was mostly unchanged, while the thematic and tonal emphasis was shifted to a degree. The Bad Batch also had some small shifts through minor dialogue tweaking and reordering, mainly regarding Rex's unwavering belief in Echo being brought to the forefront and how the Batch are more uncertain.

 

An edit to the title? I was very confused for a bit about who the Maretz sisters are, then I realized it's a typo.

 

Thank you for that information

It is a typo and I can't change it . Hope its not bothering you to much