Ended The Clone Wars have. Sort of.
I've had Ahsoka anxiety for the past month. It died down only to be replaced by a greater worry: was my beloved Star Wars: The Clone Wars going away? I (like many others) just assumed Disney would transfer it to one of their own channels, it's apparently not to be.
Lucasfilm released news today about the direction of Lucasfilm Animation. It's not pretty but not all hope is lost.
The company is headed into a new, busy, and exciting era. The sequel trilogy is ahead, and it seems like that's where they are focusing all their energy. It's hard to fault them for that but as a result, other projects suffer. The Clone Wars as an episodic series is over. The release of Star Wars Detours is postponed indefinitely.
Ouch.
In the camp of better news, we do get more arcs of The Clone Wars. From StarWars.com:
While the studio is no longer producing new episodes for Cartoon Network, we're continuing production on new Clone Wars story arcs that promise to be some of the most thrilling adventures ever seen. Stay tuned for more information on where fans can soon find this bonus content. In the video below, Supervising Director Dave Filoni offers a peek of what is to come in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
In the clip, Filoni assured us it's not over yet and that the best is yet to come. There are gaps crucial to the Star Wars universe that have to be filled in, and he says what's ahead "are the best episodes my crew has committed to screen." You can watch the clip over at StarWars.com. Note that it doesn't say anything about season six or how many episodes we'll get, but there are new stories on the way.
The release also noted "We are exploring a whole new Star Wars series set in a time period previously untouched in Star Wars films or television programming. You can expect more details in the months to come."
I'm thankful we've received over 100 episodes of this series. I understand that's not common for animated shows. I'm grateful we got some resolution for Ahsoka's arc. And hey, we're getting new content somehow somewhere. Filoni and his team are able to wrap things up on their own terms, and I believe Filoni will fight to show us the cool and important arcs we need to see.
Even with those positive spins on the situation, I can't help but feel for the crew though (who I hope at least continue to have jobs working on episode VII) and my fellow fans.
Even with those positive spins on the situation, I can't help but feel for the crew though (who I hope at least continue to have jobs working on episode VII) and my fellow fans.
The Clone Wars is my corner of the Star Wars universe. It pushed my love of Star Wars into an obsession and sparked my passion for the saga. I'll miss having it as a regular part of my life. Thank you to everyone involved with the show who have kept it going for so long.
I also caught that they called the 'wind down' stuff 'bonus content' and not season six. i think that it likely means that we won't be getting a full season's worth of material, but we may get some stuff that wasn't necessarily planned for season six, but is needed to finish the show off right. i'm hoping that we get at least 12 episodes of TCW. interesting that we will be getting this Trench/Order 66 arc with new characters.
ReplyDeleteExactly. I'm guessing it will be a direct to DVD or maybe something online. Maybe. I'm hoping for at least 8 episodes (just guessing that's a minimum because the arcs this season were 4 episodes each).
DeleteI think Disney would be crazy not to take the team that made the series and give them a new, similar direction. Quality cartoons such as this one are rare. And many credit this series for keeping them fans after the poorly received prequels.
ReplyDeleteAnd look at the merchandising from the series (including Lego). If they take what they have built for the Clone Wars and use it for something else, it will help me miss the series a little less
I'm very surprised by their decision.
DeleteThis is just terrible news. I wondered how something this complex and intense would fit on a Disney channel. Now I know. This does not fill me with hope in terms of the directions of the movies.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's got me wondering.
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