Star Wars the Clone Wars Comic Con 2018 review and discussion
And the award for biggest comic con surprise goes to! Seriously, I would have never imagined that Clone Wars would get a proper finale and a sense of closure. Dave Filoni, during his ten-year anniversary panel shocked everyone that the Clone Wars will return with 12 new episodes on Disney's upcoming streaming service. At long last, after all these years of asking, it is finally being done! The trailer gives fans a lot to look forward to, but also leaves us asking a lot of questions as well.
The first part of the trailer shows a collection of pretty much every clone troopers' helmet that we've seen in the show, plus narration of the clones as well. It's a nice trip down memory lane, and it shows that each clone was given his own sense of character and personality, which I credit to the writers and Dee Bradley Baker's performance. Also, whenever the helmets explode, I feel it's a metaphor for the end of the war and the bleak future of the galaxy and the clones in it.
Here we see what appears to be the planet Anaxes and the trooper Hunter. For those that might not remember Hunter, he was the leader of the squad of troopers called the Bad Batch, and they were one of the central characters of unfinished episodes that were released in rough animated form on Star Wars.com. My guess is that the four-episode arc will be incorporated into the season.
Here we see updated models of Anakin and Obi-Wan to reflect how close in the timeline we are to Revenge of the Sith. In fact, the original ending of the show, which we will probably see, takes place during the film.
It's always nice to see Ahsoka. She is with a younger Bo-Katan, and yeah, this signals that one of the cancelled arcs that will be brought back is the Siege of Mandalore. This arc was intended to be the series finale and, without giving away too much, would involve Ahsoka leading an army of clones with Bo-Katan to fight Maul on Mandalore. The events of this arc were previously mentioned in the novel Ahsoka and in Rebels, as well as told in detail how the story would go by Filoni, but it will be awesome to see the arc in full animation. Plus, even though it won't be out until next year, the brief bit of animation looks stunning.
Now, the question remains, since this is most likely, (but not officially confirmed) to be the final season of the show, and only 12 episodes, (really Disney, you couldn't give a full 22?) it begs the question, what previously abandoned story arcs will be a part of this season? Obviously, the Siege of Mandalore will be a part. Plus, it would make sense to do the Bad Batch Arc and Utapau arcs that were partially animated before.
There was also seven other 4-episode arcs that were in some form of writing and/or production. While I don't expect all of it to be a part of the season, Filoni did mention this season will "tie up all story ends." For reference, here is what was previously planned.
The first arc," "Bounty Hunter arc," involved Cad Bane and Boba Fett working together and Bane mentoring Fett along the way. I think that arc would be nice to see. Two arcs would involve Ahsoka more. One, "Ahsoka's Walkabout," would see Ahsoka on Coruscant under a new identity after she first left the Jedi Order, and was see her have a 'close relationship' with someone. The other, "Return to the Jedi," would see Ahsoka work with the Jedi to investigate the Sith Shrine underneath the Jedi Temple, and would be confronted by Darth Sidious. I feel like both of the arcs could be condenses and adapted for the season.
Another arc, "Kashyyyk," would see Yoda and the Bad Batch work with the wookies on Kashyyyk, and would explain why Yoda has 'good relations' with them. Again, I can see this arc getting adapted in some way, yes. The next two, "Rex and R2 Top Gun," and "Return to Man Cala," I don't see being included, and could possibly see in some way in a comic in the future.
The former would see Rex, R2, and a super battle droid working together to survive being stranded, while the latter would be about Padme dealing with trying to get Palpatine to step down as chancellor and dealing with political drama on Man Cala.
Finally, the ever-divisive Yuuzhan Vong would be loosely adapted in an arc titled "Yuuzhan Vong." I doubt this arc will ever see the light of day because I'm not sure Lucasfilm has any intention on bringing them back to canon.
Overall, I know I seem like I'm complaining, I'm not. Even if we only get one revival season, I'm finally happy we get a proper conclusion and Filoni gets to finish the story he wished to tell all those years ago.
