Rian Johnson Hints These 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Episodes Impacted 'The Last Jedi'

Writer/director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi Rian Johnson recently confirmed on Twitter that he watched the "Mortis" arc from Star Wars: The Clone Wars while writing his film, possibly using the themes of these episodes to help him develop the direction of his film.

When a fan asked Johnson for his opinion on this arc, Johnson confirmed, "I rewatched these eps (on @dave_filoni's advice) early in the writing process, they're so gorgeous and boundary pushing."

The episodes from third season of The Clone Wars, "Overlords," "Altar of Mortis," and "Ghost of Mortis," leaned more heavily into the spiritual elements of the Force. The trilogy of episodes delved into the realm of destiny, the balance of the Force, the legacy of the Jedi and Sith, and much more. While ideas from the arc weren't necessarily overtly incorporated into The Last Jedi in obvious ways, Johnson clearly expanded the concept of the Force into a much larger concept than other entries in the franchise have.

Clone Wars producer Filoni later revisited some of the concepts he introduced in the Mortis arc the fourth season of Star Wars Rebels.

While some Star Wars fans may have dismissed the animated Clone Wars and assumed it was made only for kids, Filoni and his team delivered viewers some of the most thought-provoking themes and compelling storylines seen in any medium of the Star Wars saga. Despite the series' success with fans, Clone Wars was canceled by Cartoon Network before it could deliver viewers an organic ending.

Luckily, after years of asking for it, fans will get a final season of the series with a seventh season landing on Disney's streaming service next year.

The cast and crew are also excited for the series' return, though Filoni detailed the new season brings with it new pressures.

"With Clone Wars, I will say there is a bit of pressure because, obviously from [the reaction to the new season], the people loved it. I mean, they grew up with it. It was massive," Filoni shared with ComicBook.com. "So I do feel the pressure of wanting to make something amazing for them, and I challenge myself to not take the easy outs in the story and not do simple things."

Given Filoni's complex narratives in his TV series, we won't be surprised to see this mythology return in the new episodes. Whether or not these themes will appear in Johnson's new trilogy of Star Wars films is yet to be seen.

What did you think about these episodes of the Star Wars series? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

[H/T Twitter, rianjohnson]