As theStar Warsfranchise has grown with new filmsand television seriesover the years, the realm of animation has become one of the most successful avenues for the franchise to engage and expand its passionate fan base.There have been over a dozen animatedStar Warsseriesover the decades, with the best and most famous released over the last decade or so. Most of the modern renaissance inStar Warsanimation was kicked off by Dave Filoni’sThe Clone Warsanimated series, which began airing on Cartoon Network in 2008 before eventually wrapping up with its final season on Disney+ in 2020.
BeyondThe Clone Wars, theStar Warsfranchise has produced other quality animated shows ranging fromRebelstoThe Bad Batch,Visions,Tales of the Jedi,and more. Over the last decade, there has been a fairly consistent output of newStar Warsanimation, typically with one primary show at the center of it all at any given time. The baton has been passed fromThe Clone WarstoRebelstoResistance, then briefly back toThe Clone Warsand on toThe Bad Batch.
However, with the third andfinal season ofThe Bad Batchcompleting its run earlier this summer,the animated side of the galaxy far, far away appears to be directionlessfor the first time in years. With that in mind, we want to take a look at the pattern for releasing newStar Warsanimated shows, when we expect to hear about what’s coming next, and how this part of the franchise needs to evolve to stay alive.
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
The end ofThe Bad Batchwasn’t just the end of the latest core series inStar Warsanimation, it wasthe end of theClone Warseraas we’ve known it. For over a decade now, the defining animated series fromStar Warshas been Filoni’s take on the Clone Wars, for good reason. That show redefined what episodic storytelling within theStar Warsfranchise could be and almost singlehandedly repaired the reputation of the prequel films. After it was canceled (temporarily) following Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm,The Clone Warswas built upon withRebels, which incorporated many of the most famouscharacters fromThe Clone Warsand in many ways operated as a sequel series to that hit show.
Is Star Wars Relying Too Heavily on its Animated Shows?
With characters like Bo-Katan, Ahsoka, and Thrawn jumping from animation to live-action, Star Wars is becoming reliant on Dave Filoni and animation.
Shortly afterRebelswrapped in 2018,Star Warsanimation debutedResistance, a new series set in the lead-up tothe sequel trilogy. That show lasted a couple of years. Then,The Clone Warsreturned with its seventh and final season in the early summer of 2020. That season also introduced Clone Force 99, a new bunch of experimental clone characters who would receive their own spin-off series,The Bad Batch, in 2021. Although neitherRebelsnorThe Bad Batchtakes place during the Clone Wars, they very much build on the story of theClone Warsseries, and as such, they exist in a very similar space creatively. However,the end ofThe Bad Batchshows that the story of theClone Warsera is pretty definitively finishedat this point.
WhileThe Clone Warsmay live on to some degree through theTalesseries –Tales of the JediandTales of the Empire– those series are mainly anthology stories focused on the broaderStar Warsgalaxy rather than just theClone Warsstories. On top of that, theTalesanthology series are also released very sporadically, with short episodes (typically less than 20 minutes) and abbreviated six-episode seasons. It’s hardly the driving force thatStar Warsanimation fans have become used to.
The Future of Star Wars Animation Is Uncertain
Although theClone Warsseries has come to an end, that doesn’t mean thatStar Warsanimation is going away anytime soon. We will almost assuredly receive new installments in theTalesanthology at some point, and the same is likely true of the non-canonVisionsseries. On top of that,there’s alsoYoung Jedi Adventures, a much more child-oriented series that will be debuting its second season at the end of this summer.
While all of these shows are on the docket,the future ofStar Warsanimation still feels somewhat uncertain and directionlesswithout a major show to center it on. There have only been minor periods like this over the last decade of animatedStar Warsshows, though they’ve never lasted more than a few months. Back in 2013,Rebelswas announced only two months after the cancelation ofThe Clone Wars. Then,Resistancewas announced only a few weeks after the conclusion ofRebelsin 2018, with the revival ofThe Clone Warsfor its final season unveiled shortly after. AfterThe Clone Warswrapped up in May 2020,The Bad Batchwas then announced just two months later, in July. Since then, we have not had a substantial gap of any sort.
The Mystery Behind The Acolyte’s Sith Master Was Never the Point of the Star Wars Series
The identity of the Sith Lord called The Stranger was never the central mystery of The Acolyte. The real focus of the story is on the Jedi’s failure.
If Disney and Lucasfilm Animation continue this trend, that would mean that the announcement of a new mainlineStar Warsanimated series could be coming any day now. That seems unlikely, though, as the focus of the franchise appears to be squarely on thelive-action seriesThe Acolyteat the moment, withSkeleton Crewfollowing in just a few months. On top of that, there is no Star Wars Celebration, the convention at which these shows are usually announced this year. While it’s always possible fans will get a surprise announcement at San Diego Comic-Con in a couple of weeks, we aren’t holding our breath.
Explore New Eras of the Star Wars Franchise
With all that said, it appears thatStar Warsanimation is taking a bit of an unannounced break. Lucasfilm is leaving a gap between its shows, likely to let them stand alone a bit more and not overwhelm audiences with an avalanche of new material. They have clearly applied this same approach to feature films, as we haven’t gotten a newStar Warsmovie sinceThe Rise of Skywalkerin 2019, and we will not get one untilThe Mandalorian & Groguin May 2026at the earliest.
Whenever Lucasfilm Animation comes back with a new coreStar Warsanimated series,it will likely be something completely new. They have developed a reputation for expanding the franchise in unexpected ways, and we have no reason to believe this will stop anytime soon. Personally, we hope that they will maintain the same animation style ofThe Clone WarsandThe Bad Batchand bring it to a new era, such asThe High Republicor even The New Republic, in which it could be set alongside live-action shows likeThe MandalorianandAhsoka.
Star Warsanimation has failed to expand beyond theClone Warsera before, withResistance, an animated show that was set in the same era as the sequel trilogy. The short-lived series only lasted two seasons, with its first season set immediately beforeThe Force Awakensand its second set concurrently with and afterThe Last Jedi. WhileResistancefailed to grow an audience, that doesn’t mean the idea behind the series should be abandoned.
Whatever direction Lucasfilm Animation decides to go with the nextStar Warsanimated series, it needs to be something fresh to get fans excited. WhileTales of the Empirescratched that itch temporarily,Star Warsanimation needs to go further and produce something completely original to keep this corner of the franchise alive and growing.Star Warsis streaming onDisney+.
