Star Wars: The Clone Wars Still Isn’t Finished Yet

Fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars are still hoping to see Lucasfilm finish the series. That may not be very clear to some fans. Yes, the “final season” of Star Wars: The Clone Wars debuted on Disney+ earlier this year. But there remain untold stories. These stories predate the show’s cancellation. There are enough of them that they could provide material for up to 40 new episodes of the show. The story arcs in the final season of the series came from these unmade reserves. Others became comics or novels, like Son of Dathomir and Dark Disciple. But fans are still holding out hope that the missing chapters will see completion one day.

Recent statements from producer Dave Filoni leave little hope that Lucasfilm will finish these episodes. “I don’t know. Personally for me, probably not,” Filoni said in an interview with regards to possible future episodes of The Clone Wars. “I have a lot of things I’m excited that we’re doing looking forward. I think it’s hard because I so appreciate the fan support, and I appreciate just how excited everybody was that we were back. I understand them wanting more and more episodes. The people that worked on it — myself and the team, basically all the leads — they were on the original run and I think it shows. We’re really thankful we got to finish it. But I also think creatively, you always want to move forward.”

There are also some canon issues to consider. Since these stories went unproduced, they’ve not been considered canon. Other stories that are canon have contradicted what would have been. For example, one of the unfinished episodes would have seen Anakin Skywalker rescuing Yoda from the Sith Temple hidden beneath the Jedi Temple. The novel Tarkin confirmed that Darth Vader was unaware of the temple during the imperial era. Still, the stories in the seventh season of the series all went through changes during production. There’s no reason why alterations writers can’t alter these other episodes to fit the canon as it is now.

But will it happen? It seems unlikely. Star Wars seems to have closed the door on The Clone Wars with the final season’s release. Maybe these episodes will become comics or novels. Or perhaps they’ll remain lost.

Here’s a list of the story arcs from Star Wars: The Clone Wars that haven’t become episodes of the show.

Crystal Crisis on Utapau

This four-episode arc would have seen Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi investigating a mystery on the planet Utapau, a planet rich in Kyber crystals that had attracted the attention of the Separatist Confederacy. Lucasfilm released animation reels of this story arc with full voice cast participation as part of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Legacy project. Disney has since taken them off of the Star Wars website.

Dark Disciple

This storyline consisted of two four-episode arcs taking place at different points in the season. It continues the story of former Sith assassin Asaajj Ventress and Jedi Knight Quinlan Voss. Desperate to end Count Dooku, the Jedi send Quinlan to seek Ventress’s aid in taking down her former mentor, believing that a combination of light and dark side may be the key to his defeat. The story became the novel Dark Disciple, written by Christie Golden.

Son of Dathomir

This four-episode arc would have continued Darth Maul’s story as he escaped imprisonment by his former master, Darth Sidious. From there, he would have sent the forces of his crime syndicate, The Shadow Collective, up against the Separatists. The story instead became the four-issue comic book series Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir, written by Jeremy Barlow and Juan Frigeri.

Bounty Hunters

This four-episode storyline would have brought bounty hunters Cad Bane and Aurra Sing back to the series and offered a new chapter in the life of Boba Fett. Notably, it would have spent on Tattooine and seen Boba Fett put on his Mandalorian armor for the first time. Two animatic clips from the episode were released and concept artwork.

Kashyyyk

This four-episode arc would have seen Yoda and the Bad Batch heading to the Wookie’s homeworld. The episodes would have featured Chewbacca, setting up his appearance in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The story also would have featured kinraths, creatures introduced in the Knights of the Old Republic video game, and references to the Star Wars Holiday Special. Concept art and animatics from the episode were released.

Rex and R2’s Top Gun Teamup

Only concept artwork from this four-episode arc inspired by Top Gun ever saw the light of day. It would have begun in a lighthearted fashion, with Rex pressured into piloting a starfighter with RD-D2 as his mech. He’d have crashed into a moon, where things begin to get darker. He and R2 would have reprogrammed and befriended a super battle droid.

Return to Mon Cala

This arc is another that didn’t make it past the conceptual stage. It’s unclear how many episodes it would have run. The story would have seen Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala returning to the planet Mon Cala, home of the Mon-Calamari people and the Quarrens. Mono Cala would have been on the verge of civil war as some of the leaders wanted to enter open insurrection against Chancellor Palpatine.

Yuuzhan Vong

In a significant crossover from the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, one of the unfinished story arc would have introduced the Yuuzhan Vong to the series. In the Star Wars EU novels, the Yuuzhan Vong became major antagonists attempting to invade the New Republic. The Yuuzhan Vong were immune to the Force, though that would have changed in The Clone Wars. The episode would have had an X-Files feel to it, with the Yuuzhan Vong sending a reconnaissance ship to investigate the Republic.