(Graphics/Dior Brown)
Luke Brantley
Variety Editor
Returned, “The Clone Wars” has.
Last Friday, the animated “Star Wars series” “The Clone Wars” returned for a final season on Disney +.
The original series aired for five seasons on Cartoon Network from 2008 to 2013. A sixth season was released on Netflix, but the series never had an official ending.
Until now.
The new season is being released after the success of “The Mandalorian,” the first ever live action “Star Wars” series, which was also released on Disney’s streaming service.
Unlike “The Mandalorian,” “The Clone Wars” is an animated series. Despite being a cartoon, “The Clone Wars” manages to appeal to wide audience of “Star Wars” fans.
The series has always managed to strike a good balance between dealing with mature themes and being enjoyable by fans of all ages.
The first episode of the new season — season seven — is called “The Bad Batch.” The episode follows a group of clone soldiers known as Clone Force 99, who all have a mutation of some sort. The unit is named for a popular character from earlier in the series, another heroic deformed clone known as 99.
“The Clone Wars” has always done an amazing job of turning a bunch of identical clones into individual, unique and memorable characters.
One of the things that really stood out to me in this episode is that all of the main protagonists share the same voice actor.
Despite this challenge, it never really stands out. Each character has a unique voice that fits the character’s design.
This episode contains some great action and battle scenes.
Clone Force 99 likes to get up close and personal, using some unorthodox tactics that lead to some great moments of droid-fighting action.
These characters seem to have taken inspiration from the old “Star Wars” video game “Republic Commando,” with each one having a unique set of armor and skills.
Overall, this episode shows that this final season has great potential to become another memorable addition to the series, and to the “Star Wars” franchise as a whole.
Many fans have been divided about the recent live action movies, particularly “The Last Jedi,” “Solo,” and “The Rise of Skywalker.” However, Disney’s two new “Star Wars” series have met with a lot of positive reception from the “Star Wars” community, as well as newcomers.
The new season of “The Clone Wars” is an indicator that, despite the shortcomings of the recent films, “Star Wars” still has a bright future ahead of it.
This future looks like it will be in the form of more series later down the road, although several more movies are still in the works.
Disney + offers a great platform for releasing series, as well as a place to try new things, such as “The Mandalorian.”
I’m excited to see where “Star Wars” goes in the future, because what I’ve seen so far has been great.
So for all the fans concerned about the future of “Star Wars,” don’t worry, there is hope.
