Star Wars The Clone Wars Season Five News and Discussion

[Christopher]

When Episode VII comes out, Star Wars may initiate a new genre trend: The expanded universe reboot.

I just blew my mind.

Oh, that's not new. Pocket Books had an evolving internovel continuity in its Star Trek tie-ins in the 1980s, but when TNG came along, that continuity was abandoned. For a decade or so thereafter, the books had to limit themselves to standalone tales, but starting around the turn of the millennium, a new novel continuity began to emerge and continues to this day.

You could also make a case for the separate continuities of the various Trek comic-book tie-ins from various different companies.

Then there's Stargate's three distinct tie-in continuities -- the Bill McCay novels based on the movie continuity, the smattering of Ashley McConnell novels based on SG-1, and the current Fandemonium Books continuity that ignores the others.

 

[Set Harth]

The show's proven itself unwilling or incapable when it comes to consistency with the EU

Not entirely. "Witches of the Mist" acknowledges the EU by dealing with the Iridonia plothole.

Are you having a laugh?

There was no "Iridonia plothole" until TCW retconned Dathomir as Maul's homeworld in the first place. TCW's handling of Dathomir is exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about. The Zabrak males. A sky that looks like "Amok Time" Vulcan or something instead of the way it was described in the EU. No mention of the light side witches whatsoever. No mention of Gethzerion. And a group called the "Nightsisters" that uses green goo voodoo instead of the standard dark side abilities that we saw a similarly named group using in EU.

 

[DarthPipes]

The Clone Wars was not under any obligation the EU, just like the Disney sequels are not under any obligation to make up with the EU or The Clone Wars. They're only supposed to be consistent with the six Lucas films. Although at times I don't think Lucas felt bound to match up with the continuity of his original trilogy with the prequel trilogy.

I didn't say that Disney hated The Clone Wars. I said that Disney just doesn't give a flying fuck about it. When you don't give a fuck about something, you're not in a rush to do more of it. I hope I'm wrong but I wouldn't be surprised if in a couple of months, they say they aren't doing the rest of The Clone Wars because "they're committed to doing the sequel trilogy." That's been their answer to everything. Global mega-brand, billion dollar Disney would have you believe they can't handle more than one thing at a time.

 

[JD]

I don't think it's that they can't handle more than one thing. I think it's just that they want to focus their attention on the new movies. Makes perfect sense to me.
And I don't see them hating anything, I really think it's just a case of them wanting to do their own thing, and not have to deal with something that was started up by a competing company, and someone who is technically no longer with the company. I believe that was the same thing they did with the Marvel animated series when they bought it. I think at times people forget that they are companies who are out to make as much for themselves, and would have probably had to share the profits with the other company.

 

[ALF]

Disney may choose to disregard TCW but there are tremendous opportunities among the characters who survived the series. Maul may be too big a cash register to pass up. I've seen his mask out on kids every Hallowe'en since 1999.

We have to wonder how likely it's going to be to see some of these bizarre, borderline fanwank realities in 2015(2016):

Darth Maul kills Luke Skywalker
Assaj Ventress kills Leia Organa and/or Han Solo
Ahsoka Tano reconnects with ghost Anakin, and/or rejoins the New Jedi Order?

Do any of the original Clones live long enough to survive until the sequel trilogy? What about their grown patterns long term?

 

[cooleddie74]

Wasn't there at least one book or graphic novel that depicted former Republic Clones who were still alive during the time of the Empire and the OT? I vaguely recall hearing about a story that depicted former Clone Troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic who managed to survive for almost 20 years on a remote world while their comrades were decomissioned, died off or became Stormtroopers in the new Imperial military. They had to come to terms with a galaxy that had radically changed since the last time they saw battle in the closing stages of the Clone Wars.

It sounds like something I'd love to have read.

 

[ryan123450]

http://www.bigshinyrobot.com/reviews/archives/50078

This article says Lucasfilm has assured fans that the dismantling of Lucas Animation does not mean we won't get the final Clone Wars episodes we were promised. I guess that's the only real news on that front since the cancellation.

 

[Set Harth]

I don't think it's that they can't handle more than one thing. I think it's just that they want to focus their attention on the new movies. Makes perfect sense to me.

If they can handle more than one thing, why does focusing their attention on new movies mean they can't also focus their attention on something else?

Wasn't there at least one book or graphic novel that depicted former Republic Clones who were still alive during the time of the Empire and the OT?

I don't think it's the one you're thinking of, but Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor is set around a year after ROTJ and features a clone who's been in action since Geonosis.

This article says Lucasfilm has assured fans that the dismantling of Lucas Animation does not mean we won't get the final Clone Wars episodes we were promised.

Well, that's a relief. For a second there I thought we were going to get out of TCW without them fucking up Order 66 because some fedora-wearing douche can't follow AOTC.

Dodged a bullet there!

 

[Booji]

If they can handle more than one thing, why does focusing their attention on new movies mean they can't also focus their attention on something else?

they are. they have already stated they are doing a new animated series.

 

[cooleddie74]

Shadows of Mindor could possibly be what I was thinking of, but I'm not sure. It involves just one Clone character, not several or more. Thanks for mentioning it. I'll just do a little more digging.

 

[JD]

I don't think it's that they can't handle more than one thing. I think it's just that they want to focus their attention on the new movies. Makes perfect sense to me.

If they can handle more than one thing, why does focusing their attention on new movies mean they can't also focus their attention on something else?

Because they want to make the best possible movie, and they've chosen to focus all of their creative energy on it. Which is fine with me, I'm up for anything that would increase the chances of EPVII being good.

 

[ALF]

I don't think it's that they can't handle more than one thing. I think it's just that they want to focus their attention on the new movies. Makes perfect sense to me.

If they can handle more than one thing, why does focusing their attention on new movies mean they can't also focus their attention on something else?

Because they want to make the best possible movie, and they've chosen to focus all of their creative energy on it. Which is fine with me, I'm up for anything that would increase the chances of EPVII being good.

I'm hoping for an awesome Episode VII as well, but the apologist theories about canning a TV series "focusing energy to make the film better" is all bullshit. It's a familiar tune. It's something that comes out of a press release that we're asked to chew and swallow.

It's doesn't take an infinite number of people to make a great movie. If it took 2000 people to make a great film, how can it be proven that it would take 4000 people to make a movie twice as great?

The show was turfed to put more money in the pockets of Disney investors. Corporate decisions favor the consumer last.

This new animated series... chances are it will be set during the Old Republic Era, right? Were I one of Disney's bean counters, I'd want to fanbase to start thinking of another time period (besides the Clone Wars era) and fast.

 

[PsychoPere]

Wasn't there at least one book or graphic novel that depicted former Republic Clones who were still alive during the time of the Empire and the OT? [...]

Karen Traviss's Republic Commando novel series ended with several clones living on Mandalore, having gone AWOL during the waning days of the Clone Wars. Her books in the Legacy of the Force series somewhat picked up on some of those threads - namely, Boba Fett and Jaina Solo encountering one of those former clonetroopers, as well as the son of a Jedi and a clonetrooper.

 

[cooleddie74]

Ah! Good. Thank you. I now have two different titles to work with.

 

[ryan123450]

TheForce.net reports rumors that there will be two final arcs but a third featuring Boba Fett, Aurra Sing, and the final fate of Cad Bane will not be completed.

If we don't eventually see the final fate of Ahsoka, Maul, Bane, Mandalore, and Rex I'm gonna be pissed. And I figure I might as well start getting pissed now.

 

[cooleddie74]

I wouldn't use the word "pissed" to describe my own reactions if this is true, but let's just say I'd be very disappointed. Those characters deserve closure, and not just in some future video game or book that far fewer people will play or read.

If nothing else show what Maul's ultimate fate is. That'd be something. One character is better than none at all.

 

[ALF]

TheForce.net reports rumors that there will be two final arcs but a third featuring Boba Fett, Aurra Sing, and the final fate of Cad Bane will not be completed.

TheForce.Net:
"This story arc, which my source tells me was almost done, would have shown us the fates of Cad Bane and Aurra Sing."

Almost fucking done? Well then....

Welcome to my shit list, Disney.

 

[Mr Light]

Maybe they can just give us the animatic of it...

 

[cooleddie74]

I'll remain open minded for now about the wrapup of the series and some of the loose ends, but let's just say I'm not enthralled with the folks who made these recent decisions and they're not off to the best start with the television branch of the Lucas franchise.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Maybe they could do novels or comics of the rest of the series that they don't show us? Probably a pipe dream...but I'd take it if it happened.