The Force is strong with this show. Which facts did you know?
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 Star Wars The Clone Wars began with a 2008 feature film and subsequently spawned a show
00:05 that ran for seven fantastic seasons, ending in 2020. The series gave us the chance to finally
00:11 understand what happened between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
00:14 But there is much more to this show than what lies on the surface. The series was a maze of
00:19 planning, well-placed easter eggs, and cathartic resolutions to many a character's journeys.
00:24 So hold tight, because I'm Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars and here are 10
00:28 mind-blowing facts you didn't know about Star Wars The Clone Wars.
00:32 10. The Name Game Ahsoka Tano is arguably the breakout star
00:37 of The Clone Wars. First appearing in the feature film and being expertly fleshed out over the
00:41 seven-season show, Ahsoka joined canon as Anakin Skywalker's new and unwanted Padawan. Ahsoka was
00:47 created by George Lucas as a way of adding a new layer to Anakin's story. She represents the true
00:52 good of the galaxy and is a great character to juxtapose her master's darkening personality.
00:58 Originally, however, Lucas wanted to call her Ashlar, which he says means "light side." Also,
01:03 it's been revealed that Ashlar is actually a canon character - a Jedi youngling who briefly
01:08 appears in Attack of the Clones. However, Lucas changed his mind about Ahsoka's name in the end.
01:13 9. Crossing Paths You might remember in Revenge of the Sith
01:17 when Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi come face-to-face with General Grievous as they attempt to save
01:22 Chancellor Palpatine from the evil Separatists. Grievous famously calls Anakin out and says,
01:28 "I thought you'd be taller." It's a throwaway line in a long and epic film,
01:32 but one that proved to be quite the hurdle for showrunner Dave Filoni when he came to
01:36 make The Clone Wars. On the show, Anakin is the primary protagonist and Grievous is a major
01:41 antagonist. But because it would ruin the continuity of the films if the two were to meet
01:45 on the show, Filoni had to execute a series of narrative backflips to keep the two apart.
01:50 Every time there's a chance the two will see each other, something steps in to push him away.
01:55 It's a shame in many respects that the two never cross paths and get a chance to fight on the show,
01:59 but it's of course necessary for the continuity. Plus, in its place, we get Grievous and Obi-Wan's
02:04 rivalry, which is one of the best in the entire canon.
02:07 8. Cast Connections Anyone worth their kyber crystals knows who
02:12 Mark Hamill is. But did you know that he was also in The Clone Wars, playing someone radically
02:17 different to Ultimate Good Guy Luke Skywalker? Hamill has a voiceover cameo in season 6,
02:22 episode 13, "Sacrifice", where he voices ancient Sith Darth Bane, who appears as a ghostly vision
02:28 to Yoda as he visits the Sith planet of Moraband. Any trace of Luke's voice is lost in Bane,
02:33 and it gives Hamill the chance to play someone who diverges from his more popular role.
02:38 Hamill is not the only one who revisits the canon in The Clone Wars, however,
02:42 as in the 2008 film Samuel L. Jackson got the chance to reprise his role as Mace Windu. He's
02:47 replaced for the majority of the show by Terrence Carson, who captures Jackson's voice beautifully,
02:52 it must be said, but he also makes an appearance in season 7 thanks to archive footage from Revenge
02:56 of the Sith. Liam Neeson, meanwhile, gets to reprise his role as Qui-Gon Jinn for several
03:01 episodes of The Clone Wars, where he appears as a Force ghost. His role is much more significant
03:06 than both Jackson's and Hamill's, but equally as rewarding for longtime fans.
03:11 7. Animating dueling Up until season 7,
03:15 The Clone Wars was completely animated, even the lightsaber duels. This isn't a bad thing by a
03:20 long shot, as many of the fights in the series rival and even surpass those in the films. I know,
03:26 blasphemy. That being said, the best duel the show has to offer comes in season 7, episode 10,
03:31 between Ahsoka Tano and a revitalized Darth Maul. But did you know that this fight was created
03:36 mostly through the use of motion capture technology? When watching it back, you realise
03:41 just how seamless and complex the characters' movements actually are. In the scene, professional
03:45 stunt artists Lauren Mary Kim and Ray Park, who played Maul in both The Phantom Menace and Solo,
03:51 a Star Wars story, provide motion capture performances for Ahsoka and Darth Maul,
03:55 respectively. Add their talents to the vocal chops of Ashley Eckstein and Sam Witwer,
04:00 as well as the stylish animation the series is now known for, and what you're left with
04:04 is one of the most visually stunning and satisfying moments of the entire series.
04:09 6. The 501st Legion
04:11 In 1997, in South Carolina, Albin Johnson and Tom Cruise founded the 501st Legion,
04:18 a charitable organization that makes realistic costumes from the original trilogy. Johnson and
04:23 Cruise started by making Stormtrooper costumes, and styled themselves the 501st Legion, or Vader's
04:29 Fist. The name was coined to honor both the films and the real-life heroes of World War II. Their
04:34 popularity grew at such a rate that even George Lucas joined them at a charity event at one point.
04:39 Eventually, they became canon in Timothy Zahn's novel Survivor's Quest, and the clone unit
04:44 subsequently appeared in Revenge of the Sith with Darth Vader as he sacked the Jedi Temple.
04:48 Although not named in the film itself, the battalion of clones was revealed to be the
04:52 501st thanks to Lucasfilm's merchandising. Of course, all this eventually led to the
04:56 501st Legion becoming a part of the Clone Wars later down the line, serving under Anakin and
05:02 his padawan Ahsoka. All of this makes for a very sweet and respectable way of honouring the many
05:06 fans of Star Wars. But perhaps the best thing about the 501st is that it gave us its superior
05:11 Captain Rex, who remains one of the show's most popular figures.
05:14 5. Humanizing the Clones
05:17 Since we're on the subject of Captain Rex and the clones who give the series its name,
05:22 let's take a look here at the veteran clone's conception and the work that goes into personalizing
05:26 the men who all sound and look the same. Rex was originally going to be called Alpha,
05:30 after a clone called Alpha-17 who appeared in the comics Star Wars Republic. But the name was
05:35 scrapped because Lucas felt the main cast featured too much alliteration already. Lucas then decided
05:40 to call him Rex instead, and gave him the job of being the central clone character of the show.
05:45 Enter Dee Bradley Baker, who had the job of voicing the clones. Despite all the troopers
05:49 effectively being the same person, Baker knew as well as Lucas and showrunner Dave Filoni
05:54 that the essence of the show was to humanize the clones. Baker thus went to great lengths
05:58 to differentiate the troopers, recording all their lines separately and adding inflections
06:03 on key adjectives for each one. Rex was given the most thought due to his large role on the show,
06:08 and Baker and Filoni even made a clone triangle to help rank the troopers by the importance of
06:13 their role on the show, which Rex obviously helped. 4. Lost Episodes and Arcs
06:19 Despite its popularity on Cartoon Network, The Clone Wars was cancelled midway through season 6
06:24 after being purchased by Disney. Although Disney brought the show back for a seventh and final
06:28 season on its new streaming service, the season was shortened and many key arcs and storylines
06:33 were left unresolved. The two key arcs have been made into successful and well-reviewed novels and
06:37 comics, but would likely have been better suited to the show, it must be said. For example, the
06:42 comics Son of Dathomir detailed a four-episode arc which would have seen Darth Maul kidnapped
06:47 and tortured by Darth Sidious following the death of Savage Opress. The whole story would have been
06:52 epic, pitting Maul against both Dooku and Grievous. That's not the arc we long for the most, however,
06:57 as on the show, Asajj Ventress is robbed of the chance to have her story end on a satisfactory
07:02 high. In an epic eight-episode arc, the former assassin would have sought forgiveness from the
07:07 Jedi Council and joined forces with eccentric Jedi Quinlan Vos in a bid to kill Count Dooku.
07:13 These stories would have been an excellent addition to the series, and would have added
07:16 further gravitas to characters we had grown to root for already.
07:19 3. Radically Different Pitch
07:22 There was actually once a time when Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi were set to be
07:26 side characters on the show. I know, imagine that. Instead, Dave Filoni wanted the series
07:30 to revolve around the crew of a ship reminiscent of the iconic Millennium Falcon. On the ship,
07:36 audiences would have met a smuggler, his girlfriend, a Gungan called Lunker,
07:39 a Jedi Padawan called Ashla who would go on to become Ahsoka Tano, and her master. A lot of this
07:44 went on to become the basis of Star Wars Rebels. Filoni's vision was put in place to steer clear
07:49 of the continuity of the films, as he didn't want to interfere with what had already been put into
07:54 canon. However, George Lucas eventually joined the project and decided the series would be better if
07:58 it focused on the characters audiences already knew. On top of that, Filoni later wanted Ahsoka
08:03 to be Obi-Wan's Padawan. But once more, Lucas saved the day and steered him in a more compelling
08:08 Skywalker direction. 2. Honouring the Past
08:12 In the early development of The Clone Wars, Lucas said he didn't want certain characters
08:16 appearing in the film or the series. These primarily included Chewbacca, Jabba the Hutt,
08:20 Boba Fett, and Han Solo. Although the former three were all eventually added to the show,
08:25 everyone's favourite Rebel smuggler never made an appearance. However, that doesn't mean his legacy
08:30 strayed too far. Captain Rex, for example, bears a small scar on his chin as reference to a similar
08:35 cut on solo actor Harrison Ford. Also in a less direct reference to the famed pilot, a season
08:41 three arc sees some of our favourites freezing themselves in carbonite. The fact that the
08:45 carbonite freezing was a success during this dangerous mission gives us insight into how
08:50 Darth Vader knew it would work on Solo years later. Whether this was direct foreshadowing or not,
08:55 it nonetheless remains a nice little nod to one of the original trilogy's most iconic moments.
09:00 1. Familiar Soundtracks Music has always been a unique selling point
09:05 of the Star Wars films and The Clone Wars. John Williams' masterful and suspenseful score is a
09:10 pop culture touchstone, and The Clone Wars does well by honouring the maestros' tones. Although
09:15 Williams himself has not written any music specifically for the show, his most famous
09:19 numbers still make it into the series. The most prominent examples can be found in season seven,
09:24 as the threat of Order 66 begins to loom over the galaxy and the fate of our heroes.
09:29 For example, as the Siege of Mandalore unfolds, we get the chance to hear the same music used in
09:33 the opening of Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin and Obi-Wan are seen racing to save the Chancellor,
09:38 showing that they are taking place at the same time. But the most compelling use of
09:42 Williams' work comes when Captain Rex gets the famous Order from Darth Sidious. It's a heartbreaking
09:47 and unfortunately inevitable moment, as Rex turns on his friend and joins his brothers in trying to
09:53 kill Ahsoka. As Ahsoka holds them off, you can hear Williams' "Anakin's Dark Deeds" play,
09:58 the same song used in Revenge when Darth Vader eliminates the Separatist Council.
10:02 It's a sneaky easter egg, and easy to miss given the tension of the events unfolding.
10:06 But once you notice it, it's the kind of thing that makes you both smile and feel a sudden
10:10 pang of nostalgia. And that's our list! Know of any other mind-blowing facts fans didn't know
10:15 about Star Wars The Clone Wars? Let me know all about them in the comments section right down
10:19 below and do not forget to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
10:22 Also make sure to head on over to WhatCulture.com and find some more incredible articles just like
10:27 the one this video you're watching right now is based on. I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Star
10:31 Wars, thank you very much for watching this video today, may the force be with you and I will see
10:35 you very, very soon. Bye!