6 Years Later, George Lucas' Sci-Fi Masterpiece Is Still the Only Reason Modern Star Wars Works

6 Years Later, George Lucas' Sci-Fi Masterpiece Is Still the Only Reason Modern Star Wars Works Darth Maul holding his lightsaber in Star Wars: The Clone WarsImage via Disney By  Hannah Hunt Published Mar 8, 2026, 6:36 PM EDT

Back in 2021, Hannah’s love of all things nerdy collided with her passion for writing — and she hasn’t stopped since. She covers pop culture news, writes reviews, and conducts interviews on just about every kind of media imaginable. If she’s not talking about something spooky, she’s talking about gaming, and her favorite moments in anything she’s read, watched, or played are always the scariest ones. For Hannah, nothing beats the thrill of discovering what’s lurking in the shadows or waiting around the corner for its chance to go bump in the night. Once described as “strictly for the sickos,” she considers it the highest of compliments.

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When Star Wars: The Clone Wars premiered in 2008, it was easy to underestimate what George Lucas was attempting. The animated series arrived alongside a theatrical pilot film and initially looked like a companion piece to the prequel trilogy. But over the course of seven seasons, The Clone Wars evolved into something much more ambitious. By expanding the conflict between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, the series explored the political, emotional, and philosophical consequences of the war in ways the films never could.

Six years after its final season debuted on Disney+, The Clone Wars stands as one of the most important projects in the entire Star Wars franchise. More than simply filling narrative gaps between the prequel films, the series fundamentally changed how the saga tells stories. From the introduction of characters like Ahsoka Tano to the deeper exploration of Mandalorian culture and the clone troopers themselves, The Clone Wars helped create the foundation that much of modern Star Wars now rests on.

‘The Clone Wars’ Expanded the Prequels Into Something Greater

Set between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars transformed the galactic conflict from a backdrop into a living, breathing war that touched nearly every corner of the galaxy. The series followed Jedi generals like Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) as they led the Republic’s clone army against the Separatists, but it quickly proved that its ambitions extended far beyond straightforward battle stories. One of the show’s greatest achievements was how it reframed the prequel trilogy’s characters. Anakin Skywalker, in particular, became far more layered through the series. Instead of the sometimes abrupt character progression seen in the films, The Clone Wars allowed viewers to watch Anakin grow into a respected leader and mentor. His relationship with his Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), added a new emotional dimension to the character that made his eventual fall to the dark side even more tragic.

The show also humanized the clone troopers (Dee Bradley Baker) themselves. Characters like Captain Rex, Fives, and Echo transformed the Republic’s army from faceless soldiers into fully realized individuals with personalities, loyalties, and doubts about the war they were fighting. Story arcs such as the Umbara campaign highlighted the moral complexity of the conflict and emphasized that the clones were far more than expendable assets. At the same time, The Clone Wars introduced some of the franchise’s most memorable stories. The Mortis arc explored the mythology of the Force in bold new ways, while the Siege of Mandalore delivered one of the most emotionally powerful finales in Star Wars history. Even years later, these arcs are frequently cited among the best storytelling the franchise has produced.

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Dave Filoni Used ‘The Clone Wars’ to Shape the Disney Era of Star Wars

Ahsoka protecting younglings in 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'Image via Lucasfilm

Perhaps the clearest sign of The Clone Wars’ importance is how many of its characters and ideas continue to shape modern Star Wars. The series was overseen by Dave Filoni, who worked closely with Lucas during its production. Filoni has since become one of the franchise’s most influential creative voices, and much of his storytelling approach can be traced directly back to the lessons learned on The Clone Wars. Several of the most prominent figures in the current era of Star Wars first appeared in the animated series. Ahsoka Tano, originally introduced as Anakin’s apprentice, has since become one of the franchise’s most beloved characters. After playing a key role in Star Wars Rebels, Ahsoka eventually made the leap to live-action in The Mandalorian before headlining her own series. The same is true for characters like Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), who became a major presence in The Mandalorian, and Saw Gerrera (Andrew Kishino), who later appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Andor, as well as branching into the canon video game series Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Even Darth Maul (Sam Witwer), whose story seemed finished after The Phantom Menace, was dramatically expanded through The Clone Wars, eventually leading to further appearances in both Rebels and live-action films.

Entire shows have also grown directly out of the animated series. Star Wars Rebels continued several of its storylines and characters, while The Bad Batch spun off from a group of clone troopers introduced in the final season. In many ways, the interconnected storytelling that now defines the Star Wars television universe began with The Clone Wars.

‘The Clone Wars’ Proved Star Wars Thrives in Long-Form Storytelling

Anakin sees his future as Darth Vader.Image via Cartoon Network

Another lasting impact of The Clone Wars is how it demonstrated the power of long-form storytelling within the Star Wars universe. While the films had always delivered sweeping mythological narratives, the episodic format of the series allowed the franchise to slow down and explore its characters and worlds in greater detail. Multi-episode arcs gave the show the freedom to examine complex ideas that would have been difficult to explore within the runtime of a feature film. Storylines about the corruption within the Republic, the individuality of the clone troopers, and the cultural history of Mandalore added layers to the galaxy that hadn’t previously existed on screen.

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This storytelling approach has since become the backbone of the modern franchise. Many of the Disney+ series, including The Mandalorian, Andor, and Ahsoka, rely on the same type of serialized narrative structure that The Clone Wars helped popularize within Star Wars. By giving characters time to develop and stories room to breathe, the series showed how expansive the galaxy could truly feel when explored outside the confines of the big screen. Six years after its final season concluded, The Clone Wars remains far more than just an animated expansion of the prequel trilogy. It reshaped the franchise’s storytelling, introduced characters who now stand among the saga’s most important figures, and laid the groundwork for much of the modern era of Star Wars. What once seemed like a side project from Lucas has ultimately become one of the most essential chapters in the entire saga.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Like Follow Followed TV-PG Animation Science Fiction Action Adventure Release Date 2008 - 2020-00-00 Network Cartoon Network, Netflix, Disney+ Showrunner Dave Filoni Directors Brian Kalin O'Connell, Steward Lee, Giancarlo Volpe, Bosco Ng, Danny Keller, Rob Coleman, Justin Ridge, Nathaniel Villanueva, Saul Ruiz, Jesse Yeh, Duwayne Dunham, Atsushi Takeuchi, Robert Dalva, Walter Murch Writers Katie Lucas, Christian Taylor, Brent V. Friedman, Matt Michnovetz, Drew Z. Greenberg, Steven Melching, Chris Collins, Charles Murray, Eoghan Mahony, Bonnie Mark, Craig W. Van Sickle, Daniel Arkin, Jose Molina, Steven Long Mitchell, Cameron Litvack, George Krstic, Carl Ellsworth, Craig Titley, Julie Siege, Jonathan W. Rinzler, Ben Edlund, Douglas Petrie, Kevin D. Campbell, Kevin Rubio

Cast

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• Tom Kane Narrator / Yoda / Medical Droid / Yularen / Kraken (voice)
• Matt Lanter Anakin Skywalker (voice)

Franchise(s) Star Wars Powered by Expand Collapse

• TV Features
• Animation
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars

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