By Patrick Kevin Day
March
07, 2014 | 8:30 a.m.
“Star
Wars” fans let out a collective howl of anguish last year when it was announced
that one of the casualties of Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm was the animated
series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” The fan-favorite series was canceled
without a satisfactory conclusion, yanked from the schedule of Cartoon Network,
where it had aired since 2008. That ultimately made way for a new series, “Star
Wars Rebels,” set to premiere on the Disney Channel before moving to Disney XD.
So,
when word came that the final 13 episodes of the show’s sixth season would
become available to fans on Netflix, the news was met with good cheer. As of
Friday, viewers can check out “The Lost Missions,” which will join the previous
five seasons on the streaming video service, including some director’s cuts of
those earlier episodes.
“The
Lost Missions” follows a rift in the Force caused by Ahsoka Tano’s departure
from the Jedi Order and the growing menace of Sith lords and apprentices
throughout the galaxy. In an interview with Hero Complex last fall, executive
producer Dave Filoni teased that the final set of episodes would “really please
the diehard ‘Clone Wars’ fans, especially the story arc with Master Yoda.”
However,
anxious fans who have been waiting and hoping for final word on the fates of
characters introduced within the confines of the series — most notably Ahsoka
Tano, the Jedi apprentice to Anakin Skywalker who was introduced in the 2008
“Clone Wars” movie — will have to wait longer. Although the final season
provides answers to many of the “Star Wars” mythos’ mysteries, her fate isn’t
one of them.
“What’s
important to me that came out of ‘Clone Wars’ was to learn from George [Lucas]
about big portions of this time period” in the “Star Wars” universe, Filoni
said. “While I know the fans might not get every answer they want … we now have
all these stories that I believe will come out over the next decade in one form
or another.”
“Star
Wars” fans let out a collective howl of anguish last year when it was announced
that one of the casualties of Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm was the animated
series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” The fan-favorite series was canceled
without a satisfactory conclusion, yanked from the schedule of Cartoon Network,
where it had aired since 2008. That ultimately made way for a new series, “Star
Wars Rebels,” set to premiere on the Disney Channel before moving to Disney XD.
So,
when word came that the final 13 episodes of the show’s sixth season would
become available to fans on Netflix, the news was met with good cheer. As of
Friday, viewers can check out “The Lost Missions,” which will join the previous
five seasons on the streaming video service, including some director’s cuts of
those earlier episodes.
“The
Lost Missions” follows a rift in the Force caused by Ahsoka Tano’s departure
from the Jedi Order and the growing menace of Sith lords and apprentices
throughout the galaxy. In an interview with Hero Complex last fall, executive
producer Dave Filoni teased that the final set of episodes would “really please
the diehard ‘Clone Wars’ fans, especially the story arc with Master Yoda.”
However,
anxious fans who have been waiting and hoping for final word on the fates of
characters introduced within the confines of the series — most notably Ahsoka
Tano, the Jedi apprentice to Anakin Skywalker who was introduced in the 2008
“Clone Wars” movie — will have to wait longer.
Although the final season
provides answers to many of the “Star Wars” mythos’ mysteries, her fate isn’t
one of them.
“What’s
important to me that came out of ‘Clone Wars’ was to learn from George [Lucas]
about big portions of this time period” in the “Star Wars” universe, Filoni
said. “While I know the fans might not get every answer they want … we now have
all these stories that I believe will come out over the next decade in one form
or another.”
Whereas
the “Star Wars” prequel films, especially “Episode I — The Phantom Menace,”
were criticized for being too juvenile in tone, “The Clone Wars,” set in the
years between “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars:
Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” earned praised for its sophistication.
Rather than focus on one or two main characters, the series jumped around the
galaxy, telling stories from many perspectives.
“The
series really aged up over the years,” said Sean Carey, Netflix vice president
of content acquisition. “It went to a darker place and didn’t fit the Cartoon
Network brand any longer. So it was a hidden gem that Disney brought to our
attention, and we jumped all over it.”
“It’s
a fun way to tell a tale,” Filoni said. “Start in a light way we can all identify
with and slowly take them into a darker place with more meaning and depth.”
Although
Filoni was not able to execute his plan to dovetail the “Clone Wars” series
directly into the opening of “Revenge of the Sith,” he did manage to ensure
that the new episodes delve further into the mythology of the Force than ever
before — and, in doing so, provided an almost biblical level of import to an
arc involving Jedi Master Yoda and his journey to understand the roots of that
mystic force.
It’s
still a cartoon based on a popular space opera, but the passages with Yoda that
close out the new episodes use imagery straight out of the Old Testament.
“The
story went to a very dark place in ‘Revenge of the Sith,’” Filoni said. “So it
was always my plan to come out of the prequel era of ‘Attack of the Clones’ and
‘Phantom Menace,’ which were more lighthearted … to the end, when the
[characters] finally see the traps that have been laid for them and be
powerless to stop it.”
At
this point, Filoni and his creative team have moved on to “Star Wars Rebels,”
which is set to premiere in the fall and takes place in the time between
“Revenge of the Sith” and “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.”
Of
the differences between the two series, Filoni told Hero Complex last year:
“’Rebels’ will be different from ‘The Clone Wars’ in a couple ways, and one is
the decision to stick with one story and one main group of characters. We
wanted fans to get to know the new characters and what they are fighting for.
Each episode has its own unique story, while still fitting into the much larger
picture of what is going on in the ‘Star Wars’ universe. ‘Rebels’ will tell the
story of a group of characters — in this way it is more like the original trilogy
which followed Han, Luke and Leia — where the prequels showed us the grand
scale and political as well as personal.”
Now,
as the “Star Wars Rebels” publicity campaign rolls into high gear, he said he’s
ready for the reaction from the heavily invested and re-energized fan
community.
“I
prefer to meet the fans out on the battlefield head-on and discuss things with
them,” he said. “I love hearing theories … and I love hearing the passion
behind it.”
As
for any lingering questions about Ahsoka, Filoni is able to provide these words
of calm:
“I’m
really protective of that character, having written her and worked alongside
George on all of her thoughts and actions,” he said. “One thing I’m really
grateful for is even though there’s been a lot of transition at Lucasfilm,
everybody here working creatively understands I feel that way and comes to me
with questions about her.
“I
have a good idea of what happened to her, and I’ll just leave it at that,”
Filoni said.
–Patrick
Kevin Day | @patrickkevinday
Follow
us on Twitter: @LATHeroComplex
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