Summary

The Star Wars animated series, especially The Clone Wars, provides additional backstory and development for the core characters of the prequel trilogy, making the overall era feel more complete. The animated shows have started to crossover into live-action shows and movies, raising concerns about the complexity of the core Star Wars stories and the obligation to watch multiple seasons of the animated shows. However, Dave Filoni, the creative force behind the animated shows, has stated that new viewers don’t need to watch the old animated shows in order to understand and enjoy the newer installments in the Star Wars franchise.

The Star Wars franchise has expanded exponentially over the last decade. In the years since Disney purchased Lucasfilm, the number of new Star Wars films, shows, books, comics, and more has skyrocketed. After the acquisition in late 2012, the decision was made to de-canonize most of the previously existing Star Wars stories that weren’t in the Skywalker Saga in order to clean up the franchise’s timeline and provide a lot more room to work when developing new stories. One of the few projects to survive the purge of Star Wars’ extended universe was the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which had been overseen by series creator George Lucas and his padawan Dave Filoni.

The Clone Wars animated series is beloved among die-hard Star Wars fans, as the show provides a lot of additional backstory and development for the core characters of the prequel trilogy. It fills a lot of the gaps left by the movies and makes the overall era of the prequel films feel a lot more complete and well-thought-out. Because of the show’s success, Disney has continued to place an emphasis on animated series set within the Star Wars universe, largely under the creative control of Filoni.

However, as of late, the characters and stories of the animated shows have started to crossover into the live-action shows and movies. Some people have said this decision has needlessly complicated the core Star Wars stories and burdened audiences with the obligation to go back and watch multiple seasons of several animated shows. Here’s what you need to know about the animated Star Wars shows and their importance to the overall galaxy.

Updated November 30th, 2023: Those interested in Star Wars’ animated universe will be glad to know this article has been updated with even more information.

The History of Star Wars Animation

There have been over a dozen different Star Wars animated shows and micro-series over the years, and it can be overwhelming trying to figure out which ones are key and which ones can be skipped. The first animated Star Wars series was technically the series Star Wars: Droids, which ran on ABC in 1985 and ’86. The animated series Star Wars: Ewoks also ran at about the same time on ABC. Those two shows don’t provide anything of consequence to the overall franchise, but they are available to watch on Disney+ if you’re in the mood for a retro take on the galaxy far, far away.

The next major animated Star Wars story premiered on Cartoon Network in 2003, and that was the collection of 2-D animated shorts from Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky titled Star Wars: Clone Wars (not to be confused with the 3-D animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars, from Lucas and Filoni). All three of these shows – Droids, Ewoks, and Clone Wars – were removed from the Star Wars canon by Disney.

As for Lucas and Filoni’s series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which detailed the wartime events between the films Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, that show premiered in 2008 following the theatrical release of an animated film that served as a pilot for the show. The series ran uninterrupted until Disney announced in 2013 that the show would be “winding down” as Lucasfilm shifted focus to new films and series. Despite this sudden stop to the series, the decision was made to keep the events of the show as canon within the Star Wars universe so that they could be built upon moving forward. The sixth season of the series was eventually released on Netflix in 2014 before the series was revived for a seventh and final season that was released on Disney+ in 2020.

The series that Lucasfilm and Filoni shifted their focus onto after The Clone Wars’ seeming cancelation in 2013 ended up being Star Wars Rebels, which ran for four seasons on Disney XD from 2014 to 2018. Rebels was set in the five years before the original Star Wars film (Episode IV – A New Hope), and many familiar characters from both the original trilogy and Filoni’s Clone Wars series made appearances in the series. Since then, there have been a handful of other canon Star Wars animated series that have been produced. Star Wars Resistance ran for two seasons on the Disney Channel and served as a prelude to the sequel trilogy of films.

On top of that, there have been three new animated series on Disney+. The biggest of these three is The Bad Batch, which serves as a direct sequel to Filoni’s Clone Wars series. There have also been two different anthology series. The first, Tales of the Jedi, explores the stories of various Jedi in the Star Wars universe. The second, Star Wars: Visions, is a non-canon series that sees various animation studios from around the world given the chance to develop their own mini Star Wars stories in their own style. The Bad Batch, Tales of the Jedi, and Visions have all been renewed for new seasons that will debut in the next year or two.

Dave Filoni’s Jump to Live-Action

In recent years, Filoni, the chief creative behind The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Bad Batch, and Tales of the Jedi, has become increasingly involved with the live-action side of Star Wars. On Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian, Filoni has served as a producer since its first season. He has remained involved in the series throughout its run, and he has written and directed several episodes in all three seasons.

Additionally, Filoni has written all eight episodes of Ahsoka. He is also the series co-creator with Favreau. It makes sense that Filoni would be so thoroughly involved in this series, as he created the character of Ahsoka nearly two decades ago for his Clone Wars series. He has been the steward of the character ever since, as she has shown up in Rebels, The Mandalorian, and The Book of Boba Fett since then.

Related: Star Wars: Why Dave Filoni’s ‘Mandoverse’ Movie Could Be the ‘Episode VII’ Fans Always Wanted

The Ahsoka series also seems to be pulling a lot from Filoni’s second animated Star Wars series, Rebels. Numerous lead characters from Rebels, such as Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, Hera Syndulla, and Grand Admiral Thrawn, have returned in central roles in the Ahsoka series. This is why some have labeled Ahsoka as a fifth season of Rebels.

Do Casual Viewers Need To Watch the Animated Shows?

Considering how much the Ahsoka series is going to pull from Rebels, and how much The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett have already incorporated material from both The Clone Wars and Rebels, it’s clear to see that Filoni is interested in bringing much of the material from his animated series into live action.

Season three of The Mandalorian upgraded Bo-Katan Kryze, a character from The Clone Wars and Rebels, into what was essentially a co-lead for the show. For reasons like this, many people have begun to question if the animated Star Wars shows are required viewing at this point. However, Filoni is aware of people’s concerns, and he doesn’t want viewers to feel like they have to do homework in order to understand what is going on in Star Wars.

In an interview with IGN Filoni pretty firmly said that new viewers don’t need to go back and watch the old animated shows in order to keep up with these newer installments. He stated, “We never want to create a situation where you feel like you have to have seen these things because then you’re missing out… No. You don’t have to have seen [Clone Wars to understand Ahsoka].”

Related: Genndy Tartakovsky’s ‘Clone Wars’: Why the Star Wars Microseries is Still Great

He also added that Star Wars as a whole started with Episode IV, so the franchise has a long history of throwing audiences into the middle of the story. Filoni is doing the same with Ahsoka by jumping directly into the story and letting audiences become familiar with the characters and the world along the way. When The Mandalorian brought elements from the animated series into live-action, Filoni and Favreau went out of their way to re-establish those characters and stories so that they make sense for new viewers.

Fans Might Get New Star Wars Movies Soon

Star Wars fans who aren’t too happy with the TV shows will only have to wait a little longer to get new feature films. New Jedi Order is set to start production in 2024, and it’s set 15 years after Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This movie will be crucial in the franchise’s timeline, since it’s a great moment for Rey Skywalker’s return, as the sequel trilogy movie events took place across a full year.

Another movie to be excited about is James Mangold’s Dawn of the Jedi. This one will focus on the origins of the Jedi Order and how they made their connection to the Force in the first place. There’s also the Mandalorian movie to look forward to, which Filoni will direct, and that we can expect Jon Favreau to be heavily involved in as well, so there will be something for everybody soon. Stream the Star Wars animated shows on Disney+.

Ahsoka fans can check out some fun facts about the series below: