USA Today has an exclusive clip of some of the upcoming bonus content from The Clone Wars! Link

There’s also a great interview with Dave Filoni on what’s to come! Click on the link above to check it all out! And be sure to share your wants and opinions regarding The Clone Wars bonus content in our forums!

While the future of Clone Wars is a bit hazy, it’s less so for Filoni: He will be continuing on at Lucasfilm “for the foreseeable future” with responsibilities primarily in the animation realm, he says. Filoni is also respected outside of the company because of his respect for the stories he loved as a child raised on the original trilogy.

“I’m able to give a lot back to fans because I’m a big fan myself and I know how important it is to feel that the people behind these things really care about it, and I do. The fans have realized that about me,” Filoni says.

The Clone Wars

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

The Republic is on the hunt for a Separatist super-weapon that has been responsible for the destruction of many ships that have left no survivors. The Jedi Council dispatch master Plo Koon who commands three Republic cruisers for the search, and he eventually finds the massive ship, which is the Malevolence. Unknown to them, Count Dooku and General Grievous themselves are at the helm. Dooku immediately orders them to jam all transmissions.

Plo Koon contacts Anakin and gives him their location just before their signal is lost. Ahsoka wants to join Plo, but Anakin tells her that they must report to the Council first. Anakin then reports via hologram to Mace Windu, Yoda, Obi-Wan and Palpatine, who are discussing the dire situation.

As the Republic ships brace for attack, Count Dooku suggests that the incoming Republic ships would be a suitable test for the super-weapon. The ship fires its primary weapon, which turns out to be a large ion cannon that fires an energy pulse capable of disabling all the ships. With their shields disabled, the Separatist ship opens fire on them. All three ships are quickly destroyed, but several escape pods were successfully launched. However, Grievous launches a hunter ship to locate and destroy the pods, in an attempt to keep their position secret.

Shortly thereafter, Anakin reports that all contact with Plo Koon has been lost and there were no distress beacons sent, suggesting that his fleet was destroyed. Mace orders Anakin’s fleet to guard a supply convoy and says that no ships can be spared for a rescue attempt. Ahsoka objects, feeling that there’s a possibility for survivors. Anakin orders his fleet to proceed to the rendezvous, while deciding to scout ahead for enemy ships. In actuality, his plan is to go look for master Plo.

Meanwhile, the clones in Plo Koon’s escape pod manage to restore power, just in time to receive a distress call from another pod that’s under attack. The hunter ship grabs on to the pod and deploys several battle droids, who proceed to cut open the pod’s viewport. They succeed, and the clones inside, who are not wearing their helmets, are sucked out into space.

Anakin and Ahsoka arrive and begin looking through the debris field for survivors. Ahsoka reveals that Master Plo is the one who initially brought her to the Jedi Temple, which gives her a strong motivation to find him. At that moment, Obi-Wan contacts them and requests that they get back to their fleet before Anakin misses the rendezvous. Just as Anakin turns the ship around, R2 picks up a signal on the emergency channel. Also at that moment, the droids locate Plo’s pod and heads toward it. Plo Koon decides to exit the pod to destroy the hunters, as he can withstand being in space for a short amount of time.

The droids open fire on Plo and activate a claw that begins to pinch down on the pod. Inside, Wolffe receives a hail from Ahsoka. Outside, Plo uses the Force to propel a clone past the droids, who then fires on them and destroys them. Plo uses his lightsaber to slash through the pinching arms and propels the attacking ship toward a large piece of debris. It collides and explodes. Inside the Malevolence, a droid reports to General Grievous that contact with the hunter has been lost.

On Coruscant, Mace, Yoda, Obi-Wan and Palpatine are discussing the Malevolence when Obi-Wan reports that Anakin has located Plo Koon’s fleet. This news surprises the others; Yoda says that this was a reckless decision and that Anakin and Ahsoka are twice the trouble. Palpatine contacts Anakin and also requests that he return to his fleet.

Ahsoka then reaches out with the Force and locates Plo. She takes control of the Twilight and locates the Jedi. Anakin deploys a tow cable and they reel the escape pod in. As Plo Koon discusses his findings with Anakin and Ahsoka, the Malevolence appears on their sensors. The three of them quickly work to shut down the ship to avoid detection, including R2. They forget to deactivate the on-board medical droid however, and it’s enough of a energy signal for the Malevolence to pick up. Grievous immediately orders the ship to assume an attack position. Anakin and the others move quickly to get the Twilight back online so they can escape. Just as R2 begins to plot a hyperspace route out of there, the Malevolence fires its ion blast. Anakin races through the debris field as the ion blast bears down on them. The blast is nearly upon them when the hyperspace coordinates come in and they’re able to escape.

There are several nods to previous Star Wars movies in this episode, such as the dialog between the clones as they attempt to repair the escape pod, Ahsoka reaching out with the Force to locate Plo Koon, and Anakin’s race though the debris field to escape. That reminded me of Obi-Wan’s attempt to stay ahead of the sonic charge blast in Attack of the Clones.

The bright red Abregado provided an amazing backdrop to the events happening around it. I thought this episode was exciting, though there were a few distractions, such as the clones having the ability to cry out into space as they were sucked out of the escape pod. And the giddy and silly droids.

The Clone Wars

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

Both the Republic and the Confederacy wish to establish a base in the Toydaria system. As part of a diplomatic envoy, Yoda approaches a neutral moon to begin negotiations with the ruler of Toydaria, King Katuunko. He is unaware that Separatists have infiltrated the moon, led by Asajj Ventress. She appears at the rendezvous point, and presents Count Dooku, who is communicating via hologram.

Dooku urges Katuunko to join the Confederacy, while claiming that the Republic and the Jedi are weak. At that moment, Yoda is ambushed by Separatist ships, and he is forced to abandon ship. Several escape pods are launched to provide a distraction so he can land on the moon safely. On arrival, Yoda contacts Katuunko. Ventress then offers a deal: If she can capture Yoda, Toydaria will join the Separatists. However, if he escapes, the Republic will win the system. King Katuunko hesitates at the deal, but Yoda quickly accepts the challenge.

As Yoda and his small group of troops advance to the rendezvous point, a large Separatist ship passes by overhead, with enough space to hold an entire droid battalion. Ventress clearly has no desire to give Yoda a fair fight, as stipulated by King Katuunko.

It’s not long before they are spotted by the droids, but their small size gives them an advantage. The droid tanks cannot initially pursue because of the large coral foliage, so infantry troops are deployed. They are nearly upon Yoda when he decides to launch an ambush of his own. The group surrounds the droids and opens fire. They make quick work of the droids, but must fall back because of the presence of super battle droids. One of the clones, Thire, is injured by blaster fire. It is then that Yoda appears and moves the troops to temporary safety. Once pinned down, Yoda begins to use the Force against the super battle droids, and destroys them all. The minor victory is short lived, as destroyer droids appear and force Yoda into full retreat.

Yoda and the three clones seek shelter in a cave, where the Jedi Master gives instruction. The clones are doubtful of success, but Yoda encourages them to look past their dire situation and the fact that they are mere clones.

Their rest doesn’t last long. The droids and their tanks are starting to pass by. Yoda decides to jump right in front of the advancing group, where he then sits on the ground. Ventress, suspecting a surprise, orders them to open fire. But Yoda jumps to the attack, flipping and winding his way throughout the group, while cutting down droids and destroying tanks. Ventress then launches a group of destroyer droids.

The clones, who are high above and sense that Yoda can’t take on the destroyers by himself, move to attack. Thire lauches their last rocket at a rock overhang above the destroyers, which causes an avalanche that destroys them all, thereby finishing off the droid attack.

Seeing that Yoda has emerged the victor, King Katuunko declares that Toydaria will join the Republic. Dooku then orders Ventress to kill him, but Yoda intervenes, halting Ventress’s attack with a Force grip. Yoda toys with her, plucking her lightsabers out of her hand, looking them over, then sends them back to her. Ventress then creates a distraction so she can escape. Afterward, Katuunko gives his approval for a Republic base.

The first episode of season one is a fun one. There’s nothing too serious happening here, other than a injured clone. In fact, there are many lighthearted moments, mainly between the goofy battle droids. But Yoda provides some comedic relief as well.

Yoda definitely shines as the star of the episode, as he cuts his way through battle droids with ease. He is poised from start to finish, especially when he yanks the lightsabers out of Ventress’s hands and gives them back to her. The Sith may be powerful, but even a “small shriveled green one” can stop them dead in their tracks.

We all knew this day would come eventually, but for many, perhaps not this soon. The Clone Wars, as we know it, is done. Here’s the Lucasfilm press release: Link

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.

It seems that there will be at least some final content from The Clone Wars slated for a future release. In what form? We don’t know. Perhaps they’ll hold screenings across the country as they did for the Savage Opress arc. Or maybe straight-to-DVD/Blu-ray releases.

Many fans are upset about this breaking development, but consider: The Clone Wars era can only go so far. I can’t imagine this series lasting more than another season. We may not be getting an entire season on television, but at least we’re getting something. (See the video above for what might be in store.) Most cancelled shows don’t have options. Personally, I’d be happy if the show ended now, on a somewhat happy note. The absolute end of the Clone Wars era is not a pleasant one, as we all know.

As far as Detours, the future looks bleak. Shame that the producers of the show went to all that trouble to promote Detours at Celebration VI, only to have it shelved a few months later. But again, television is an unpredictable beast.

It has been a great run for The Clone Wars. The series truly became a legend among the rest. But what really made it special was the PR from Lucasfilm. They treated their TCW fans like family in so many ways. That will never be forgotten.

To all the voice actors that made The Clone Wars spectacular: Thank You.

To Dave Filoni and the rest of the production team: Thank You.

To George Lucas: Thank You.

The Clone Wars

SPOILERS!

Synopsis:

At the Jedi Temple, the Council is listening to Admiral Tarkin, who reports via hologram that Ahsoka Tano killed the clones in the Republic prison. Anakin refuses to believe that Ahsoka is guilty. The Council decides to send Anakin and Plo Koon to search for Ahsoka, who is in the depths of Coruscant.

Deep within the lower levels, the Coruscant Security Force is told to be on the lookout for Ahsoka, who is trying to blend in among the citizens. She contacts Barriss Offee, who says that she’ll be on the lookout for more information. Afterward, she approaches a drunk and gives him some food in exchange for his cloak.

Ahsoka then boards a train, which also happens to be boarded by members of CSF, who start asking for train passes. At the next stop, Ahsoka tries to leave, but runs head first into more CSF guards. As she runs through the train, with the guards in pursuit, a citizen reaches out to grab her. He, of course, is on match for her, but his interference provided security the ability to pin her down. Another citizen, however, comes to her aid and knocks the guards off of her. At that point, she opens a door on the moving train and jumps out. More guards find her, and she runs into a turbolift. The guards shoot the elevator controls, which causes the lift to free fall, but a young alien inside is able to stop the car. Ahsoka exits the car, and once again blends into the crowd, but she is discovered by none other than Asajj Ventress.

Ventress sneaks up on Ahsoka, knocks her off her feet, and pins her down with her two red lightsabers. Ventress, who is now a bounty hunter, intends to turn Ahsoka in so she can collect the bounty. Ahsoka thinks that she is behind the Temple attack and cover-up, but Ventress denies the charge. After a brief conversation, Ahsoka decides that Ventress could help her. Ventress is hesitant, but Ahsoka explains her situation, and offers to get Ventress a pardon for her past crimes. Ventress agrees, but they are then spotted by Anakin and Plo Koon. As they take off running, Anakin jumps out of the ship to pursue. Ventress activates a force field and they are able to escape. Anakin then deploys probe droids to look for them.

Ahsoka contacts Barriss again, who claims to have a clue. Barriss tells Ahsoka of an abandoned munitions warehouse a few levels away. Before Ahsoka and Ventress can leave, however, they are surrounded by a group of clones. It takes all of 30 seconds for the two fugitives to incapacitate the entire group.

Once Ahsoka and Ventress reach the warehouse, they part ways. As Ventress makes her way through an empty alley, she is ambushed and beaten by a mysterious figure, who then grabs her lightsabers and her face shield. Meanwhile, while Ahsoka searches the warehouse, she is ambushed by the same person, who is now wearing Ventress’ face shield and activates the red lightsabers. Ahsoka immediately thinks it is Ventress, and the two begin a fierce lightsaber duel. The mysterious attacker is able to wear Ahsoka down with her considerable power. She knocks Ahsoka into a lower level of the warehouse that is full of crates of nanodroids, the same used in the Temple attack. It is then that she is discovered by clones and immediately shot by a stun blast. Anakin enters the scene and they are able to apprehend Ahsoka.

On the way to the Jedi Temple, Anakin and Plo Koon contact the Council with their findings.

To Catch A Jedi is part 3 of 4 in the season 5 finale arc. It continues the story of the Jedi Temple attack and framing of Ahsoka.

This episode gives us our first major glimpse of the Coruscant underworld. It seems like discovering a new world that is vast and teeming with life. It’s immediately apparent, though, that the quality of life below the surface is harsh at best.

It is here that Asajj Ventress makes a dramatic entrance. It is quite a surprise, though, to see her and Ahsoka team up to achieve their goals!

This episode is quite suspenseful; from the pursuit of Ahsoka, to the appearance of the mysterious stranger, who perhaps is the one behind the Jedi Temple attack. Ahsoka is eventually captured alive, but she now faces an uncertain future in the hands of the Jedi and the Republic.

Here we are, at the season 5 finale of The Clone Wars. What will happen to Ahsoka? Tune in to Cartoon Network this Saturday to find out!

Part 3 of 4 of The Clone Wars season 5 finale show Ahsoka Tano still on the run from authorities. What will happen to her? Watch To Catch a Jedi this Saturday!

Two previews of part two of The Clone Wars season 5 finale arc are online! Be sure to check out some images from The Jedi Who Knew Too Much below. (Click on images for larger sizes.)

As the Republic military takes over the Temple bombing case, Ahsoka finds herself at odds with Admiral Tarkin in “The Jedi Who Knew Too Much,” Saturday, February 16th at 9:30am ET/PT on Cartoon Network.

Look out, Ahsoka fans. It looks like we’re in for a dramatic ending to season 5 of The Clone Wars!

The story of Ahsoka Tano takes an unexpected and shocking turn in the four-part conclusion to Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season Five. Watch as the story unfolds on an all new Star Wars: The Clone Wars, TOMORROW at 9:30a/8:30c on Cartoon Network!

Did you miss the first ever official Star Wars Google Hangout this past Saturday? No worries! A video of the chat is now up on YouTube. From Lucasfilm:

Featuring The Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni, Matt Lanter (Anakin Skywalker), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka Tano), and Sam Witwer (Darth Maul), fans had the chance to connect with the cast and creators of the series like never before, asking questions about the episode and gaining insight into the making of the show. The Hangout also included an exclusive preview of “Sabotage,” concept art, and other surprises.

You can now watch the Hangout in its entirety below.

SEE ALSO:
The Clone Wars Google Hangout

We now have two new clips and several images from the upcoming The Clone Wars episode “Sabotage”! Read the episode details below:

In the first of this four-part episode arc, Anakin and Ahsoka are called back from the frontlines to investigate a deadly explosion at the Jedi Temple. Clues surface that a Jedi might have been responsible for the blast in “Sabotage,” Saturday, February 9th at 9:30am ET/PT on Cartoon Network.

Trivia:

• The four episodes of this arc are all named after Alfred Hitchcock films: Sabotage (1936), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), To Catch a Thief (1955) and The Wrong Man (1955).
• “I’m afraid one can become the other,” says Anakin, referring to past political idealists who have betrayed the Jedi, including Count Dooku and General Krell from Season Four. It’s ironic, given his future.
• Russo-ISC’s speech pattern, name, and habit of flipping his visor to punctuate his speech are all nods to David Caruso’s role in CSI Miami.
• In addition to an image of a crossed-out clone trooper, the Temple protestor signs said “The Jedi are corrupt,” “Stop cloning violence”

“The Lawless” will be a major television event for The Clone Wars fans!

SEE ALSO:
The Clone Wars Episode 5.16 Preview: The Lawless