Lucasfilm announced Monday that it is “winding down” Star Wars: The Clone Wars after five seasons and more than 100 episodes on Cartoon Network, and putting its previously announced Seth Green animated comedy Star Wars: Detours on hold as development continues on new live-action Star Wars films, starting with Episode VII.
At the same time, a new animated series is being developed that will explore “a time period previously untouched in the Star Wars films or television programming.”
The Clone Wars recently ended its fifth season on a dramatic high note as Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice, turned her back on the Jedi Order after it expelled her when she was framed for murder.
While The Clone Wars is no longer being produced as a televised series, several key story arcs will continue as “bonus content” on a different platform, which has not yet been announced. A video from series supervising director Dave Filoni give us a glimpse at one such story arc: the clones’ impending betrayal of the Jedi, which is baked into their programming as Darth Sidious’ ominous “Order 66.”
Here is the full statement from StarWars.com:
As we enter into an exciting new era focused on the next Star Wars trilogy, Lucasfilm has decided to pursue a new direction in animated programming. We are exploring a whole new Star Wars series set in a time period previously untouched in Star Wars films or television programming. You can expect more details in the months to come.
As part of this shift, we have also made some key decisions affecting Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Detours.
After five highly successful and critically acclaimed seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, we feel the time has come to wind down the series. While the studio is no longer producing new episodes for Cartoon Network, we’re continuing production on new Clone Wars story arcs that promise to be some of the most thrilling adventures ever seen. Stay tuned for more information on where fans can soon find this bonus content. In the video below, Supervising Director Dave Filoni offers a peek of what is to come in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
At Star Wars Celebration VI last year, George Lucas gave fans a glimpse at the animated comedy series Star Wars Detours from Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, and Todd Grimes. Detours was conceived and produced before we decided to move forward with the new Star Wars trilogy, and in the wake of that decision, Lucasfilm has reconsidered whether launching an animated comedy prior to the launch of Episode VII makes sense. As a result, we’ve decided to postpone the release of Detours until a later date.
We are incredibly proud of the teams at Lucasfilm Animation for creating some of the most amazing animation ever produced for TV. Keep checking StarWars.com for new developments on these and future projects.
Episode VII is the equivalent of trotting out an old Playboy centerfold to see what she looks like now. “Star Wars” is pretty much a joke.
$4 billion is nothing to laugh at…
This is a really bad sign. If Disney is worried about people making fun of Star Wars then the next movie may be “too serious” for my taste. I like my Star Wars with a sense of humor.