With Star Wars: The Clone Wars concluding with Season 7 on Disney+, it seems fitting that Lucasfilm starts development on a new TV series. This series, if serving as a replacement for The Clone Wars, would potentially be animated for the sake of this post. This series should also be focused on exploring things we already have as one of the greatest additions to the Star Wars universe via The Clone Wars was developing the characters of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano.
Doing the heavy lifting of Anakin Skywalker’s character development, The Clone Wars served as a spectacular bridge between Episode II (Attack of the Clones) and Episode III (Revenge of the Sith). Also, it highlighted how animated or live-action Star Wars series could develop moments and characters teased or absent from the films. In this post, we’ll compile a list of the top Star Wars animated series we’d like to see, in no special order.
1. Adventures with Rey, Poe, and Finn
With the Skywalker Saga concluded on film, Daisy Ridley and other cast members have been transparent regarding their current lack of desire for another adventure. I think the hesitation is understandable yet takes away a great opportunity to explore the galaxy in a status of rebirth. We were originally promised this with future installments beyond Return of the Jedi through the Legends continuity, but Disney erased that canon upon their LucasFilm acquisition. Making a new series featuring Rey’s character communicating with Master Jedi force ghosts, developing a new Jedi order, or exploring the Star Wars universe could be exciting for fans.
Her story-line post-Episode IX could delve into her ancestry via Palpatine and potential remnants of the Sith Eternal. Making this type of series animated could be a great method of expanding on the characters without requiring the original actors to return. Having everything animated can help bring certain worlds, aliens, force abilities, and technologies to life due to the creative freedom provided by animation not as accessible in live-action due to CGI budgets. Based on the fandom popularity of the unmade Duel of the Fates script, it would be interesting to see certain aspect adapted as well. Personally, I think three interesting things to adapt for this theoretical series would be:
- Rey’s double-blade lightsaber (but still remains yellow)
- Fighting a Sith Eternal/Dark side user on Mortis who’s attempting to gain a great Sith power
- Finn leading a battle to retake Coruscant from First Order remnants
2. The Knights of Ren
Before The Rise of Skywalker was released, Marvel Comics published a mini-series which showed Ben Solo’s journey into Kylo Ren. While left vague throughout the films, the comic series introduced the original leader of the knights, named Ren, and defined his motivations behind the group. Based on their long-standing history before Ben Solo interacted with them and no ties to government factions, a series following Ren and his Knights would work well. This series could highlight the lawlessness of the galaxy and the first followers of Ren, potentially with the series concluding when Ben Solo takes over.
Providing background history and development of underutilized figures like the Knights fits well with the Star Wars animated series approach. Darth Maul, a key character from A Phantom Menace, was heavily expanded upon after his reintroduction in The Clone Wars. If the series didn’t focus on Ren and the original Knights, an equally interesting series could be Kylo Ren leading the Knights of Ren on various missions. This could contain flashbacks which feature the original Ren and Ben Solo’s time as a student under Luke Skywalker.
3. Luke Skywalker: Jedi Adventures
Maybe the most uninspiring choice on this list, something fans have always desired to see are the solo adventures of Luke Skywalker in his prime. With the Legends canon no longer in continuity, an animated series is one of the few ways to portray his post-Return of the Jedi adventures. As a side note, Sebastian Stan would be a solid choice for a live-action movie based on his physical likeness to Mark Hamill. Something the animated series could build upon are the struggles involved with developing a new Jedi Order in the wake of the Empire’s demise. This series could feature Princess Leia as a recurring character, receiving training from Luke which was seen in The Rise of Skywalker, and potentially answer the question of Luke interacting with Anakin’s force ghost.
Personally, I’d love to see Luke study and practice Force techniques contained in ancient Jedi texts, such as the Force Projection technique displayed in The Last Jedi. It would also be interesting to see if Lucasfilm could introduce a new version of Mara Jade. This could make fans happy if Lucasfilm decides to leave the Skywalker bloodline alive through a secret child between her and Luke. Luke could be ignorant to his child’s existence which would mirror Vader’s ignorance to Luke and Leia’s birth. A lot could have happened with Luke in 30 years between the original trilogy and sequel trilogy.
A Luke Skywalker series would likely be one of the most-watched Star Wars affiliated TV series, with Mark Hamill likely able to do Luke’s voice based on his love for the character and voice acting experience. After all, Lucasfilm and Disney convinced James Earl Jones and Ian McDiarmid to voice Darth Vader and The Emperor respectively for Star Wars: Rebels. Mark Hamill also voiced Darth Bane in The Clone Wars, which makes me optimistic he’d at least cameo if asked.
4. Master Yoda & The High Republic Era
This addition to the Top 5 stems from one of the most overlooked parts of the High Republic Era…Master Yoda in his prime. There was a rumor before the High Republic novels and comic books were announced that we’d see a young Master Yoda and several other Jedi battle ancient evils described as figurative Sith Gods. While that wasn’t announced, a High Republic Era series starring Master Yoda and several Jedi prominent in other High Republic media would be a complimentary way to expand that initiative. Think of the fan love and mainstream attention “Baby Yoda” received, that would be a drop in the bucket compared to a prime Master Yoda showcasing force abilities other couldn’t comprehend.
Yoda would be a big marketing tool for audiences while his long lifespan and strong connection to the Force could make for interesting stories. Worst case scenario, the High Republic Era novels and comic books don’t gain traction but a Disney+ series starring Yoda does well, keeping the creative additions for that time period alive. Best case scenario, fans of Star Wars receive rich storytelling on the events and characters who built the Jedi into the powerhouse religion and organization shown in The Phantom Menace. Witnessing the Jedi transforming from their idealized and virtues ways into the ignorant parody of themselves by the events of The Phantom Menace would be interesting.
5. Darth Vader & The Rise of the Empire
A conflicting candidate, because fans might beg for it but Lucasfilm would resist the temptation, a Darth Vader series could further expand on the most tragic character in the entire franchise. When the prequel trilogy was announced, filmed, released, and received, fans expected the untold story of Anakin Skywalker’s descent into Vader. What we received was a tragic story, simplified by this sentence, as a man with impossible expectations trying to save the woman he loves after he lost his mother…that raised him while they were both slaves on a desert planet…deceived and manipulated by the only father figure he had left after the Jedi Council’s unfair treatment towards him.
We only received three movies of Anakin Skywalker with mixed reception, but The Clone Wars series provided proper character development for Anakin. In a way, that series made Revenge of the Sith more impactful upon viewing, as Anakin’s journey was properly explored in a way films can’t due to duration. Within The Clone Wars, audiences were introduced to Ahsoka Tano, who became the apprentice fans never knew Anakin had yet has become a major addition to Star Wars fandom.
In the same way The Clone Wars provided more character development and context behind Anakin’s tragic story, a series could do that for Darth Vader. Vader in other media has been given a secret apprentice, which could be revisited whether it’s the fan favorite Starkiller or a new creation. An inspiration for this series could build from the Marvel Comics series written by Charles Soule, which was titled Star Wars: Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith.
This series depicted Vader’s adventures immediately after Revenge of the Sith, which could provide the series material before it expands with its own story-lines. We’ve received doses of Vader in his prime, but a dedicated series could really highlight Darth Vader’s role as Palpatine’s enforcer and his journey of redefining himself across the galaxy into one of the most feared personalities. The biggest challenge would be exploring the character without making him less intimidating, because during the years before Luke met Vader there was barely any mercy or “light” within the Sith Lord.
