Star Wars fans who love Star Wars: The Clone Wars are in luck, because in 2027, Disney and Lucasfilm are going to release two sequels to the animated series, with both continuing the story told across the seven-season title. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is one of the most successful and beloved projects in Star Wars history. After getting off to a bit of a rocky start and being labeled a kids’ show, The Clone Wars ended its run as one of the more mature entries in the galaxy far, far away. Even though the series technically ended in 2020, Star Wars is still finding ways to continue the story.
In 2027, Star Wars is going to release two projects that are sequels to The Clone Wars. First off, on January 20, fans will be treated to the premiere of Ahsoka Season 2. Then, a bit later in the year, Maul – Shadow Lord, which quickly became one of the highest-rated Star Wars titles of all time, will return for its second season.
Both of these Disney+ shows are sequels to The Clone Wars in their own ways. If The Clone Wars did not exist, those shows likely would not either. Even if they did still exist, their stories would be vastly different without The Clone Wars, and Star Wars fans may not even care that much about them. The Clone Wars directly impacted the directions of Ahsoka and Maul as characters, and events that took place in that series led to the events of both self-titled shows.
While both shows are going to continue stories that were told in The Clone Wars, they are going to do so in vastly different manners. For example, Ahsoka is a live-action Star Wars title, while Maul – Shadow Lord is animated. Shadow Lord takes place just one year after the events of The Clone Wars, while Ahsoka is set roughly 30 years after The Clone Wars.
Ahsoka Season 1 featured a lot of connective tissue to The Clone Wars, and Season 2 likely won’t be any different. In fact, Season 2 could feel more like a sequel to The Clone Wars than any other show that has been released under the Star Wars umbrella.
For example, it has already been confirmed that Ahsoka Season 2 will feature flashbacks to the Clone Wars era in the Star Wars timeline. This was proven in the official teaser that was released for AhsokaSeason 2, which showcased Anakin Skywalker and a young Ahsoka locking blades with a mysterious character.
Speaking of Anakin, Hayden Christensen’s return as the Chosen One and the role he will assume will also continue what was set up in The Clone Wars. As many Star Wars fans are aware, The Clone Wars, at its core, was Ahsoka’s story. Being Anakin’s one and only apprentice, that meant he was also a major protagonist in the series.
After Ahsoka left the Jedi Order in Season 5, a disconnect formed between Ahsoka and Anakin. Ahsoka had to deal with the fact that Anakin had become Darth Vader, but now the two are back on good terms.
Dave Filoni already teased that Anakin is going to go back to being Ahsoka’s mentor and teacher in Season 2, and that his role won’t look dissimilar to Obi-Wan’s role in the original trilogy, where he was Luke Skywalker’s mentor.
This alone will undoubtedly connect back to The Clone Wars in a major way, but that is not the only way that Ahsoka will tie into the animated series.
Anyone who has seen The Clone Wars is likely familiar with the Mortis gods. They were showcased in one of the most memorable story arcs in Season 3, and are finally set to return in Ahsoka Season 2. No one knows what role they will play, but even the fact that they will return says enough about the connections between Ahsoka and The Clone Wars.
While Ahsoka is definitely connected to The Clone Wars and is, in a way, a sequel to that show, Maul – Shadow Lord is more of a traditional sequel to the animated series. As mentioned, the Maul-centric title takes place only one year after the end of The Clone Wars, and directly follows Maul after the events of Season 7.
For reference, in The Clone Wars Season 7, Maul was captured by Ahsoka on Mandalore and was being transported as a prisoner when Order 66 was given. Maul was freed and, during the heat of the battle, escaped on a ship.
Maul – Shadow Lord gives a brief explanation about what happened in the year between that escape and what happens in Shadow Lord, but considering the two projects are so close together, and Maul is essentially just laying low to keep out of the Empire’s sight, one should consider Shadow Lord a direct sequel to The Clone Wars.
One of the biggest narratives of Shadow Lord Season 1 was how Maul dealt with some of the psychological trauma he had endured over the years. A lot of this trauma carried over from The Clone Wars, such as Maul watching his brother die, being cast out by Darth Sidious, and being cut off from the rest of the world and essentially left to die following his defeat in The Phantom Menace.
All of these story beats came back around in Shadow Lord, and some were even resolved. For instance, Maul sort of threw some of his baggage off out of necessity, which gave him the strength to survive Darth Vader’s appearance in the Season 1 finale and claim Devon Izara as his apprentice.
Maul also let his hate for Sidious fully motivate him in Season 1, making him return to the powerful entity he once was.
It is worth noting that Shadow Lord Season 2 probably won’t feature as many connections to The Clone Wars as Season 1 did. Based on how Season 1 ended, it seems as though Season 2 will focus more on the relationship between Maul and Devon, and Maul’s rule in the criminal underworld.
