The Force is strong with this show. Which facts did you know?
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00:00Star Wars The Clone Wars began with a 2008 feature film, and subsequently spawned a show
00:05that ran for seven fantastic seasons, ending in 2020.
00:09The series gave us the chance to finally understand what happened between Attack of the Clones
00:13and Revenge of the Sith, but there is much more to this show than what lies on the surface.
00:18The series was a maze of planning, well-placed easter eggs, and cathartic resolutions to
00:23many a character's journeys.
00:25So hold tight, because I'm Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, and here are 10 mind-blowing facts
00:29you didn't know about Star Wars The Clone Wars.
00:3210.
00:33The Name Game
00:34Ahsoka Tano is arguably the breakout star of The Clone Wars.
00:38First appearing in the feature film and being expertly fleshed out over the seven-season
00:42show, Ahsoka joined canon as Anakin Skywalker's new and unwanted Padawan.
00:47Ahsoka was created by George Lucas as a way of adding a new layer to Anakin's story.
00:52She represents the true good of the galaxy, and is a great character to juxtapose her
00:56master's darkening personality.
00:58Originally, however, Lucas wanted to call her Ashlar, which he says means light side.
01:03Also, it's been revealed that Ashlar is actually a canon character, a Jedi youngling
01:08who briefly appears in Attack of the Clones.
01:10However, Lucas changed his mind about Ahsoka's name in the end.
01:149.
01:15Crossing Paths
01:16You might remember in Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi come face-to-face
01:20with General Grievous as they attempt to save Chancellor Palpatine from the evil Separatists.
01:26Grievous famously calls Anakin out and says, I thought you'd be taller.
01:29It's a throwaway line in a long and epic film, but one that proved to be quite the
01:33hurdle for showrunner Dave Filoni when he came to make The Clone Wars.
01:38On the show, Anakin is the primary protagonist and Grievous is a major antagonist.
01:42But because it would ruin the continuity of the films if the two were to meet on the show,
01:46Filoni had to execute a series of narrative backflips to keep the two apart.
01:51Every time there's a chance the two will see each other, something steps in to push
01:54him away.
01:56It's a shame in many respects that the two never cross paths and get a chance to fight
01:59on the show, but it's of course necessary for the continuity.
02:02Plus, in its place we get Grievous and Obi-Wan's rivalry, which is one of the best in the entire
02:07canon.
02:088.
02:09Cast Connections
02:10Anyone worth their kyber crystals knows who Mark Hamill is.
02:14But did you know that he was also in The Clone Wars, playing someone radically different
02:17to Ultimate Good Guy Luke Skywalker?
02:20Hamill has a voiceover cameo in Season 6, Episode 13, Sacrifice, where he voices ancient
02:25Sith Darth Bane, who appears as a ghostly vision to Yoda as he visits the Sith planet
02:30of Moraband.
02:32Any trace of Luke's voice is lost in Bane, and it gives Hamill the chance to play someone
02:36who diverges from his more popular role.
02:38Hamill is not the only one who revisits the canon in The Clone Wars, however, as in the
02:422008 film, Samuel L. Jackson got the chance to reprise his role as Mace Windu.
02:47He's replaced for the majority of the show by Terrence Carson, who captures Jackson's
02:51voice beautifully, but he also makes an appearance in Season 7 thanks to archive footage from
02:56Revenge of the Sith.
02:57Liam Neeson, meanwhile, gets to reprise his role as Qui-Gon Jinn for several episodes
03:02of The Clone Wars, where he appears as a Force ghost.
03:05His role is much more significant than both Jackson's and Hamill's, but equally as
03:09rewarding for longtime fans.
03:127.
03:13Animating Dueling
03:14Up until Season 7, The Clone Wars was completely animated, even the lightsaber duels.
03:20This isn't a bad thing by a long shot, as many of the fights in the series rival and
03:24even surpass those in the films.
03:26I know, blasphemy.
03:27That being said, the best duel the show has to offer comes in Season 7, Episode 10, between
03:32Ahsoka Tano and a revitalised Darth Maul.
03:35But did you know that this fight was created mostly through the use of motion capture technology?
03:40When watching it back, you realise just how seamless and complex the characters' movements
03:44actually are.
03:45In the scene, professional stunt artist Lauren Mary Kim and Ray Park, who played Maul in
03:49both The Phantom Menace and Solo A Star Wars Story, provide motion capture performances
03:54for Ahsoka and Darth Maul, respectively.
03:56Add their talents to the vocal chops of Ashley Eckstein and Sam Witwer, as well as the stylish
04:01animation the series is now known for, and what you're left with is one of the most
04:05visually stunning and satisfying moments of the entire series.
04:096.
04:10The 501st Legion In 1997, in South Carolina, Albin Johnson
04:15and Tom Cruise founded the 501st Legion, a charitable organisation that makes realistic
04:21costumes from the original trilogy.
04:23Johnson and Cruise started by making Stormtrooper costumes, and styled themselves the 501st
04:28Legion, or Vader's Fist.
04:30The name was coined to honour both the films and the real-life heroes of World War II.
04:34Their popularity grew at such a rate that even George Lucas joined them at a charity
04:38event at one point.
04:39Eventually they became canon in Timothy Zahn's novel Survivor's Quest, and the clone unit
04:44subsequently appeared in Revenge of the Sith with Darth Vader as he sacked the Jedi Temple.
04:49Although not named in the film itself, the battalion of clones was revealed to be the
04:52501st thanks to Lucasfilm's merchandising.
04:55Of course, all this eventually led to the 501st Legion becoming a part of the Clone
04:59Wars later down the line, serving under Anakin and his padawan Ahsoka.
05:03All of this makes for a very sweet and respectable way of honouring the many fans of Star Wars.
05:08But perhaps the best thing about the 501st is that it gave us its superior, Captain Rex,
05:13who remains one of the show's most popular figures.
05:155.
05:16Humanising the Clones
05:18Since we're on the subject of Captain Rex and the clones who give the series its name,
05:22let's take a look here at the veteran clone's conception and the work that goes into personalising
05:26the men who all sound and look the same.
05:29Rex was originally going to be called Alpha, after a clone called Alpha-17 who appeared
05:33in the comics Star Wars Republic, but the name was scrapped because Lucas felt the main
05:37cast featured too much alliteration already.
05:40Lucas then decided to call him Rex instead, and gave him the job of being the central
05:43clone character of the show.
05:45Enter Dee Bradley Baker, who had the job of voicing the clones.
05:49Despite all the troopers effectively being the same person, Baker knew as well as Lucas
05:53and showrunner Dave Filoni that the essence of the show was to humanise the clones.
05:57Baker thus went to great lengths to differentiate the troopers, recording all their lines separately
06:02and adding inflections on key adjectives for each one.
06:06This was given the most thought due to his large role on the show, and Baker and Filoni
06:09even made a clone triangle to help rank the troopers by the importance of their role on
06:14the show, which Rex obviously helped.
06:164.
06:17Lost Episodes and Arcs Despite its popularity on Cartoon Network,
06:22The Clone Wars was cancelled midway through season six after being purchased by Disney.
06:26Although Disney brought the show back for a seventh and final season on its new streaming
06:30service, the season was shortened and many key arcs and storylines were left unresolved.
06:34The two key arcs have been made into successful and well-reviewed novels and comics, but would
06:39likely have been better suited to the show, it must be said.
06:41For example, the comics Son of Dathomir detailed a four-episode arc which would have seen Darth
06:46Maul kidnapped and tortured by Darth Sidious following the death of Savage Opress.
06:51The whole story would have been epic, pitting Maul against both Dooku and Grievous.
06:55That's not the arc we long for the most, however, as on the show Asajj Ventress is
06:59robbed of the chance to have her story end on a satisfactory high.
07:03In an epic eight-episode arc, the former assassin would have sought forgiveness from
07:07the Jedi Council, and joined forces with eccentric Jedi Quinlan Vos in a bid to kill Count Dooku.
07:13These stories would have been an excellent addition to the series, and would have added
07:16further gravitas to characters we had grown to root for already.
07:203.
07:21Radically Different Pitch There was actually once a time when Anakin
07:24Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi were set to be side characters on the show.
07:28I know, imagine that.
07:29Instead, Dave Filoni wanted the series to revolve around the crew of a ship reminiscent
07:33to the iconic Millennium Falcon.
07:35On the ship, audiences would have met a smuggler, his girlfriend, a Gungan called Lunker, a
07:40Jedi Padawan called Ashla who would go on to become Ahsoka Tano, and her master.
07:44A lot of this went on to become the basis of Star Wars Rebels.
07:47Filoni's vision was put in place to steer clear of the continuity of the films, as he
07:52didn't want to interfere with what had already been put into canon.
07:54However, George Lucas eventually joined the project and decided the series would be better
07:58if it focused on the characters audiences already knew.
08:01On top of that, Filoni later wanted Ahsoka to be Obi-Wan's Padawan.
08:05But once more, Lucas saved the day and steered him in a more compelling Skywalker direction.
08:102.
08:11Honouring the Past In the early development of The Clone Wars,
08:14Lucas said he didn't want certain characters appearing in the film or the series.
08:18These primarily included Chewbacca, Jabba the Hutt, Boba Fett, and Han Solo.
08:23Although the former three were all eventually added to the show, everyone's favourite
08:26Rebel smuggler never made an appearance.
08:28However, that doesn't mean his legacy strayed too far.
08:31Captain Rex, for example, bears a small scar on his chin as reference to a similar cut
08:36on solo actor Harrison Ford.
08:38Also in a less direct reference to the famed pilot, a season three arc sees some of our
08:43favourites freezing themselves in carbonite.
08:45The fact that the carbonite freezing was a success during this dangerous mission gives
08:49us insight into how Darth Vader knew it would work on Solo years later.
08:53Whether this was direct foreshadowing or not, it nonetheless remains a nice little
08:57nod to one of the original trilogy's most iconic moments.
09:011.
09:02Familiar Soundtracks Music has always been a unique selling point
09:05of the Star Wars films and The Clone Wars.
09:07John Williams' masterful and suspenseful score is a pop culture touchstone, and The
09:12Clone Wars does well by honouring the maestro's tones.
09:15Although Williams himself has not written any music specifically for the show, his most
09:19famous numbers still make it into the series.
09:21The most prominent examples can be found in Season 7, as the threat of Order 66 begins
09:26to loom over the galaxy and the fate of our heroes.
09:29For example, as the Siege of Mandalore unfolds, we get the chance to hear the same music used
09:34in the opening of Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin and Obi-Wan are seen racing to save
09:37the Chancellor, showing that they are taking place at the same time.
09:41But the most compelling use of Williams' work comes when Captain Rex gets the famous
09:45Order from Darth Sidious.
09:46It's a heartbreaking and unfortunately inevitable moment.
09:50As Rex turns on his friend and joins his brothers in trying to kill Ahsoka.
09:54As Ahsoka holds them off, you can hear Williams' Anakin's Dark Deeds play, the same song
09:59used in Revenge when Darth Vader eliminates the Separatist Council.
10:02It's a sneaky easter egg, and easy to miss given the tension of the events unfolding.
10:06But once you notice it, it's the kind of thing that makes you both smile and feel a
10:10sudden pang of nostalgia.
10:11And that's our list!
10:13Know of any other mind-blowing facts fans didn't know about Star Wars The Clone Wars?
10:17Let me know all about them in the comments section right down below and do not forget
10:20to like, share and click on that subscribe button while you're at it.
10:23Also make sure to head on over to WhatCulture.com and find some more incredible articles just
10:27like the one this video you're watching right now is based on.
10:29I've been Gareth from WhatCulture Star Wars, thank you very much for watching this video
10:33today.
10:34May the Force be with you, and I will see you very, very soon.
10:36Bye!