Full Series The Arcs that were not

I'd just be happy with more novel or comics adaptations like Son of Dathomir or Dark Disciple. I just want to know how it was all supposed to play out and I want it to be canon. I don't really care about the format (although I wish they could have just finished the series back in the day).

 

After this I think TCW will be done in the animation department. I do think it’s possible to see other arcs in book/comic form

 

You know how it's going to go though, someone will eventually ask Dave if there's any scenario where he'd do more and he'll give one of his silly cryptic answers:

*Filoni voice* "Well, ya know, The Clone Wars was such a great show and a great vehicle to explore more of what we all love about Star Wars. I'm doing other things right now and I think the DNA of Clone Wars is very much in there."

Interviewer: But will we ever get any more?

Dave: Well, that's an interesting question. George wants told me a story about making Star Wars. "Let's get through what we're doing now and then we'll make more." And then we got ya know Empire.

Interviewer, getting annoyed: But are you ever going to want to do more?

Dave: Well, ya know, that's such a beautiful question. What is the notion of "more?" As Yoda would say, "always in motion the future is."

 

I’m worried about the canon status of some of these untold arcs now, I mean with Nossor Ri being alive that contradicts the planned Mon Cala arc where Tikkes would have killed him.

The arcs I want to see animated the most are Son of Dathomir, Dark Disciple, Tikkes arc and assuming such a story existed an arc that would have explained the confusion with the CIS Council, CIS Congress and Coporations.

 

I'm worried about canon status of TCW at all.

 

Did you forget a not?

 

As much as I want to see the animation what I want see is some more comic books and novels on arcs that ain’t coming out in animation

 

...They did that? They really did that? Why? This, after having a Solo character mention in a throwaway line that he killed Aurra Sing? Or Fallen Order presenting a full live clan of Nightbrothers after their village was burned to the ground in Son of Dathomir? All of these characters were supposed to die in TCW. So much for that talk about the unaired episodes actually mattering. What's next, will they show Cad Bane taking a job for Vader? Or maybe give Ahsoka a line saying she never visited the Sith Shrine under the temple?

There's a very good chance that I'm going to leave the Star Wars fandom for good after this final batch of episodes. I've been desperately hoping for over half a decade that the show I loved more than any other piece of media would be able to return, continue, and finish the great things it started--including the fun side stories that were disconnected from the overall narrative--but it looks like I'm supposed to be content with one new arc for just two of the show's main characters, and then skipping ahead to the ending. An ending which leaves nearly two season's worth of material on the cutting room floor while the show is hailed as finally being complete in the headlines and accepted as such by most of the fandom. No, I can't do this anymore. I've given up on hope.

I know in response people are going to tell me, "why don't you just watch Rebels or Resistance or Mando instead?" I gave all that a try, and for various reasons I've found very little enjoyment in it. The reality is, I'm a child of the prequel era. That's the part of the franchise I grew up with and care most about. The Clone Wars is my Star Wars. Filoni wants to leave TCW behind, fine. I'll just have to leave Star Wars behind because there's little in it that appeals to me anymore.

 

I still believe one day we'll get more of the remaining arcs in animated forms where it makes sense. I'm not saying we'll get all of it. I never thought we'd get season 7 as is. I am an animation fan first. The western action cartoon has been dead for a long time. In western animation few shows get an ending at all. I was actually a "casual fan" of Star Wars before The Clone Wars which went on to become one of my favorite animated series of all time. I'll put it right up there with some of my favorite anime like Full Metal Alchemist even. For a long time after its cancellation, I was bitter. Both TCW and Rebels are underrated in western animation in my opinion. A Rebels sequel will be a breath of fresh air in a world full of man of action cartoons. I really have not enjoyed the Mandalorian as much so far but I'll show up for an animated show with Filoni's or Tartakovsky's name on it for that matter.

 

"Star Wars - Crimson Empire" fans did wait 13 years til this comic was finished finally 2011. So there will remain some hope for another wind of change.

And @JKF... no... I didn't omit a "not" in my previous contribution, because I still do remember the vivid discussions here on this board about TCW remaining canon or not.

 

@The Shadow Emperor, Fallen Order doesn't really contradict Massacre or Son of Dathomir all that much. It's the Nightsister clan that was wiped out, and there's only a single survivor presented in FO. It doesn't even feature the same Nightbrother village, though brother Viscus is mentioned.

Nothing seems to have been contradicted from TCW, in fact the portrayal of Dathomir felt very much inspired by the show's version.

 

I agree with Filoni's decision to tighten the focus down to the essential arcs. A proper landing is a make or break for a show and the last season is not the time to be dabbling around with side stories (let alone letting them take up 70% of the runtime.) Imagine if ROTJ threw in side stories for the droids, smugglers, bounty hunters and cantina drinkers during the final DS2 confrontation. It'd be a mess and the emotional throughline completely disrupted. Hell, as cool as the Sidious Smackdown was in Lawless, I'd trade that off now along with Son of Dathomir in exchange for giving Mother Talzin a proper sendoff in Massacre and not derailing the Mandalore Civil War plot.

I think he'll be open now to releasing them as comics, novels or even standalone releases ("Kashyyyk: A Clone Wars Story?") That way, you get the stories without killing the main series' momentum during its final landing.
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This didn't have to be the final season. They could've picked up where they left off. Considering the amount being spent on Mandalorian they had more than enough money for it.

@darkspine10 Fair enough. You can certainly argue the Nightbrothers' fate was ambiguous in the comic. But my point stands: the fact that they are allowing new canon to brazenly contradict the unaired arcs is an ominous sign for those of us still holding out hope for them. Nossor Ri's death was the catalyst for the unfinished Mon Cala arc. What's the point in doing it now, in any form, if you'd have to rewrite it? Why mess with it at all if there's any intention on telling that story someday? The simplest conclusion is that they don't intend on telling it. And who knows how many other arcs that holds true for.

 

It's not about the season count, it's about where these characters and story have already progressed. We've seen rogue Jedi (Krell, then Barris) corrupted by the war and turned to the dark side. Ahsoka's already disillusioned with the Jedi and left. Anakin's trust in the Council has frayed to the breaking point. Public opinion of the Jedi is at an all time low. Rex already knows something's messing with the Clones heads and is questioning the war's purpose. Yoda has already given up the idea that the Clone Wars can even be won and seems to understand that the Jedi Order as he knows it has to be sacrificed to win the bigger war.

The story path from here to the final destruction of the Jedi Order writes itself. Honestly, it should already have happened given all of the above. Dragging out "business as usual" missions for another two seasons interrupts the throughline and undermines the credibility and importance of all these revelations. And that hurts the credibility of the characters themselves.

The simple fact is that Lucas had an endless font of ideas and not enough outlets to release them in - hence, TCW felt like both a serial narrative bearing inevitably down on ROTS and a collection of anthology stories constantly elbowing for space in the same series slot. With Disney+, they now have the freedom to have multiple series and I think it makes sense to free TCW to be the tight serial and let the side stories have their own space.
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I would call the Cad Bane arc essential and we aren't getting that...

 

I don't think it fits it at all with the thrust of the season. This is all about the Jedi and the Clones and final fall of the Republic. A 4-episode side story about bounty hunters has no place in it.

 

So the thing is, some of the arcs kind of are essential to the narrative; Son of Dathomir and Dark Disciple in particular.

I just don't like the idea that Ventress' story ends in a novel rather than animation; or the fact that Maul is captured in Lawless and free again in season 7; the intervening event which also ends Mother Talzin's story is left untold.

It's odd that, if you want to just sit down and watch Clone Wars, you can't get a full story now without stopping to go read a comic book and a novel because plot points and the death of key characters are left to those other mediums. It's the same problem which has plagued the sequel trilogy... and basically everything from the Disney era. They intentionally leave really critical things unexplained and expect you to go read a comic book or novel. Want to know about the Knights of Ren? Sheev's return? Captain Phasma? Hux? Why there's a Resistance? Who the hell Lor San Tekka is? Who Maz Kanata is? What's going on with the Republic? The scale of the First Order and overall conflict? Go read multiple novels and comic books so that you can piece together an idea of what's happening and why. Not to mention, 'why does 3PO have a red arm?'


I may be a bit biased; I like Star Wars; I like novels; I like comics; I don't really read a lot of Star Wars novels and comics. Star Wars just works back in live action / animation for me. I enjoy the books and comics, but to a much lesser degree.

So for me the arcs I really want to see:

-Son of Dathomir (end of Talzin's story; Maul's escape)
-Dark Disciple (the end of Ventress story)
-Bounty Hunters (end of Boba's Clone Wars arc and the end of Cad Bane (probably))
-Kashyyyk Arc (Good relations with the Wookies I have)
-Sith Temple Arc
-Yuuzhan Vong Arc (Make them canon please)
-Rex & R2 Arc (just seems fun)

and ... why not finish Crystal Crisis?

Basically the only one I left off is the Mon Cala arc. Maybe because I wasn't crazy about the first one? I'd say the list is generally listed in terms of priority for me. I agree they can release these as standalone animated features on Disney+; Even two a year would be great.

Just... why not? Season 7 is now called the 'Final Season' so I don't think we'll get any more batches of episodes. I'm very disappointed about that. But if they return to this as standalone features, perhaps they can finish the rest of the material and what they said will still be true 'from a certain point of view'.

 

Hurr ... to see the rest would be nice but of some arcs we have just some raw scetches.

Yeah... I totally second a release of the Yuuzhan Vong arc. Make the YV canon again!

 

Son of Dathomir is very crucial to the story as it bridges the gap from Lawless to SOM.

 

What happened with Nossor Ri?

 

Did you miss the first 6 seasons? This was never a show with one consistent storyline, or even one consistent theme.

 

Exactly.

TCW had something for everyone. The show may have been about the core Jedi and Clones vs. Separatists conflict at first, but it quickly grew to be more than that and showed us parts of the galaxy that we may not have even knew we wanted. I wasn't that enamored with Cad Bane when I first saw him, but they gave him a different treatment than the rest of the villains up to that point. Hostage Crisis was weird: an entire episode about Bane and his hunters executing a plan to take control of the Senate and actually winning? It's no wonder he became a fan favorite. And they kept supporting that character with more episodes and arcs centered around him, as they later did with Boba Fett, Mother Talzin and Asajj Ventress, all of whose fates are being left untold in the medium in which they started. Son of Dathomir is a great comic, but it is no substitute to seeing the penultimate chapter of Maul's story play out in this gorgeous modern animation. And it really boils my blood to see Ventress getting a spotlight on the thumbnail artwork of a series that began her story and failed to conclude it. Like it or not, the show writers chose to elevate these characters to importance by developing them over multiple story arcs with them as the focus.

It is frustrating to me, after finally getting the show back, to then be implicitly told that my investment in the aforementioned characters will not see any payoff and only Ahsoka and Rex's arcs matter enough to be included in this conclusion. Until those other stories are animated and added it is not a complete series and I will not acknowledge it as one.

 

I agree with you here, TCW really grew on me and it was a very thoughtful show that enhanced the prequel trilogy for me. I know some will come out and say the opposite but the cancellation of the series and then making it the only part of the entire clone wars canon is tough especially when it is incomplete. But with that said though, I do like Rebels because if it wasn't for that show we definitely would not have gotten these last episodes that we are getting. Passing Rebels is a mistake. Yes, it may be clone wars light, but some of the stories really add depth to what TCW was. Resistance, I could care much about it.

There is always the possibility for more but the new trailer bills this the end. I don't really think Filoni wants to go back to this. I personally don't think its complete

 

I'd honestly be happy if we could just get Son of Dathomir, Dark Disciple, Yoda / Kashyyyk, and the Bounty Hunter arcs;

We at least get to see Rex and R2 a lot more after Clone Wars in Rebels and the Original Trilogy respectively; While their arc sounds fun and I definitely would have liked to see it, both characters have a pretty good amount of arcs.

The Yuuzhan Vong arc is something I really want to see; but it's also something that can be done in a different show or era. It would have been great to see it in The Clone Wars, but it could be told another time.

The Sith Temple arc is another I really want to see, but I'll reserve judgment until after season 7; It's possible that with rewrites, the Walkabout and Siege of Mandalore arcs cover the story well enough; It's also possible elements of it were taken for the World Between Worlds / Lothal temple.

Mon Cala would have also be nice, but it's another arc that focuses on characters we have seen a lot of and whose stories continue in the movies set after The Clone wars.

Lastly, Crystal Crisis.... I just don't understand why they would want to leave only this arc as rough animation. It's the last arc that really focuses in on Anakin and Obi-Wan whose relationship is central, not only to the Clone Wars, but the entire prequel trilogy - and the Star Wars saga as a whole really. It also lets us in on Anakin's feelings about Ahsoka's departure, which seems pretty pivotal

I still do feel like the series is incomplete; This revival feels more like an Ahsoka story than Clone Wars. Which, don't get me wrong, is great; Ahsoka is easily one of my favorite Star Wars characters and I would classify her arcs as the top of my priority list as well. However, as others have mentioned, Clone Wars was really about more than Ahsoka and Rex. It was very much still about Anakin and Obi-Wan for example. But also all the other major characters whose stories are either left incomplete or have big holes (Maul, Ventress, Boba, Cad Bane).

What I think is appealing about the remaining unfinished arcs is that they touch on each of the groups of main characters one last time - many who will have a fairly limited role in the seventh season; some whose stories do not go on beyond this series.

Son of Dathomir - Maul, Talzin, Dooku, Grievous, Sheev
Dark Disciple - Ventress, Voss
Wookies - Yoda, Chewbacca
Bounty Hunters - Boba, Bane, and the rest of the Bounty Hunters; with rewrites, maybe include Beckett and the death of Aurra Sing?
Mon Cala - Padme and the other politicians
Crystal Crisis - Anakin and Obi-wan
Rex & R2 - ... Rex and R2; The droids were another big part of Clone Wars
Vong - I dunno, but it seems cool

Fortunately, we did get arcs for some of these characters in season 6; The Order 66 arc was mostly told from the perspective of Fives, but it was an important part of Rex's journey as well. The Clovis arc focused in on Anakin and Padme's relationship. I really liked the Disappeared 2 part arc... the dynamic between Mace and Jar Jar was really fun. Yoda's journey in the s6 finale was also great.

I really don't think I can get past Dark Disciple and Son of Dathomir being left as comics / novels. It's a big problem with the Star Wars saga as a whole after the Disney purchase. Big chunks of the story are being left to comics / novels, which is really weird for such a massive franchise. Maul is the best example of this;

His actual film / animation appearances:

Phantom Menace - Sidious apprentice; cut in half; seemingly dies
Brothers - Found in a scrap planet by Savage; revived by Talzin
Lawless Arc - Recruits the Underworld to form the Shadow Collective; Rules Death Watch / Mandalore; Savage is killed and Maul is captured by Sidious
Siege of Mandalore - Maul rules Mandalore
Solo - Maul is in control of the Black Sun
Rebels S2 - Maul is defeated and alone on Malachor

If you don't read comics / novels there are three huge gaps in Maul's story; How does he get from The Lawless to Siege of Mandalore? How does he go from Siege of Mandalore to Solo? What happens to him after Solo to leave him in such a state on Malachor?

When did Sheev have a son? How is he so well adjusted? Where did the Knights of Ren come from? Who is Phasma? Is there supposed to be a familial relationship between Jannah and Lando? How did Sheev survive Death Star II? What happens to Qi'ra when she goes to work for Maul? How did Maz get Anakin / Luke's lightsaber after Cloud City? What / who is Maz? Who was Lor San Tekka and why does he have a map to the Jedi Temple? What are the dynamics of the relationship between the Republic, the Resistance, and the First Order? (I have watched Resistance and the sequel trilogy and still don't understand the scale of the conflict).How did Han lose the Falcon?

Clone Wars excelled expanding the lore of Star Wars while also filling important gaps in the story; Not every question needs to be answered explicitly. But it seems like the scattershot approach to Star Wars storytelling has punched a bunch of holes in the narrative, leaving a lot of questions that really do need to be answered if you want a complete story. I really don't like the idea that you need other mediums, books and comics, to fill in those gaps. It's like Zuko's mom in Avatar or the Shepherd's backstory in Firefly, both of which were explained through comics. The big difference here is that Star Wars is a massive franchise. It should not have the same storytelling limitations as series with a much smaller audience.

I feel like Dave Filoni is ready to move on and I understand that; But with so much work already done, couldn't someone else from the team step up into his role while he oversees from a distance? I'm sure he's busy with The Mandalorian. Maybe the animation team can't be diverted from the Rebels follow up series?

I understand not wanting to commit to a full series revival, but it would be nice if they acknowledged the possibility they could release them as standalone features in the future. Disney+ will need content. I just don't like the finality of the marketing. Why close off the opportunity to do more when there is so much left untold.


I could see an 8 part miniseries adapting Dark Disciple; 90 minute animated features to adapt Son of Dathomir, Yoda / Kashyyyk, and the Bounty Hunter arcs; And just finish the animation for Crystal Crisis. If they did that, I'd be pretty happy. Still bummed at some of the things that could have been, but those stories seem essential to me for the story to feel complete. It would amount to 24 episodes of animation, which could have been two more seasons of the revival, but ultimately could be repackaged to be told at some other point in the future. Maybe they could just call them more 'Lost Missions', leaving Season 7 as the final chronological season in the timeline, but not the final Clone Wars content produced... making the marketing true, from a certain point of view.

 

I don't see how calling it "The Final Season" precludes doing future standalones.

It just means they won't be under the "The Clone Wars" banner but the stories will still be there. You can even integrate them into your TCW watches if you like - everyone seems to watch TCW in a different order anyway.