Star Wars: Does the Clone Wars Finale Happen During Episode III?

The long wait for the seventh and final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is almost over. Disney just dropped a brand new trailer for its revival of the animated series, one which offers a much closer look at Ahsoka Tano, Darth Maul, and the final battles leading up to the events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. But surprisingly enough, the trailer contains clues that Clone Wars Season 7 doesn't just lead into Episode III, but happens concurrently with Revenge of the Sith, as showrunner Dave Filoni originally intended. Read on for a closer look at the evidence and why we may get a chance to see Order 66 from a very different perspective. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/22/star-wars-the-clone-wars-final-season-official-trailer"]

Ahsoka Tano and Darth Maul on Mandalore

Much of the footage in this trailer focuses on the Siege of Mandalore, a cataclysmic conflict that also serves as one of the very last battlegrounds of the Clone Wars. This conflict was always intended to serve as the climax of the animated series, but because the show was prematurely canceled in 2013, fans never got to see that story play out. Dave Filoni even revealed the original plan was for the final episodes of the series to take place during and after Episode III. However, the Siege of Mandalore is referenced after Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex resurface in the followup series Star Wars Rebels, which takes place in the years and months leading up to A New Hope. It's also explored a bit in the 2016 novel Ahsoka, which follows the character's journey in between The Clone Wars and Rebels. Based on those references, we know The Siege of Mandalore happened during the events of Revenge of the Sith. In fact, according to the novel, Palpatine's activation of Order 66 happens during the course of the battle, further throwing the war-torn planet into chaos. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-star-wars-movie&captions=true"] In the trailer, Maul tells Ahsoka, "Every choice made has led to this." It's no coincidence the series is culminating in one last battle between two characters who don't actually appear in Episode III. Watching the nine Skywalker Saga movies, there's no reason to assume Maul didn't die after being sliced in half in Episode I. After that, his story becomes almost entirely the purview of the animated shows. Apart from Ahsoka's brief vocal cameo in The Rise of Skywalker, she never appears in the movies at all. Even Captain Rex is a character whose story is largely told in the animated realm. The goal with The Siege of Mandalore seems to be exploring what role these characters played in the final days of the Clone Wars, explaining how all three survived that conflict and setting the stage for their respective returns in Star Wars Rebels. The Siege of Mandalore storyline gives an in-story explanation for why these pivotal characters didn’t appear in Episode III, even as it lays the groundwork for what comes next. Not only that, this final storyline looks to be exploring the events of Revenge of the Sith from different perspectives. The new trailer footage emphasizes Ahsoka's distaste for what the Jedi have become as she briefly reunites with her former master. Rex acknowledges the dilemma of being a clone bred for only one purpose. Episode III showed us how the end of the Clone Wars affected Anakin, Yoda, and Obi-Wan, but this series has an opportunity to chronicle the human toll of the war and showcase Clone troopers torn between their forced obedience to the Republic and their loyalty to their Jedi comrades. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/03/the-mandalorian-season-1-review"] Some fans have speculated the flashbacks in The Mandalorian are showcasing the Siege of Mandalore conflict spilling out into nearby worlds, so it's possible Season 7 could even show us Din Djarin's origin from a new angle.

Anakin and Padme's Children

Even if past Star Wars projects didn't give us a good idea of where the Siege of Mandalore falls in the Star Wars timeline, there's another telltale clue that at least some of The Clone Wars: Season 7 takes place concurrently with Revenge of the Sith. We see Anakin communicating with his wife Padme via hologram. Padme is clearly pregnant and cradling her unborn twins in this shot. Because Anakin doesn't learn about Padme's pregnancy until after he and Obi-Wan rescue Chancellor Palpatine in Episode III, that's a clear indicator of when this shot is taking place. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-10-best-star-wars-movie-moments&captions=true"] The Clone Wars explores Anakin's gradual downfall, with the character succumbing more and more to his darker tendencies and developing a friendship with the authoritarian Captain Tarkin. Season 7 will likely accelerate that trend, as we see Anakin grappling with the prospect of fatherhood and his growing fear over losing his family. The series may also give us a better idea of exactly how much time passes during the course of Episode III, a movie where Padme seems to go from tiny baby bump to full-term in the blink of an eye. There are surely important stories to be told in those missing months. One scene in the trailer pointedly mirrors moments from Episode III, as we see a grim-faced Anakin approaching what looks to be a group of Separatist leaders and activating his lightsaber. This scene almost looks like it could be an alternate take on Anakin's murder spree on Mustafar, but the absence of his cloak and his red Sith eyes suggests otherwise. The specific shot of Anakin igniting his lightsaber while his victims look on in fear also directly mirrors his murder of the Jedi Younglings in Episode III. Instead of being a new rendition of the Mustafar massacre, this scene is likely meant to foreshadow the climax of Episode III and show fans just how far gone Anakin is even before becoming Darth Vader.

The Jedi Council vs. Palpatine

The trailer includes several glimpses of the Jedi Council gathered in a wartime meeting, including a young Caleb Dume (aka Kanan Jarrus) making his Clone Wars debut. Mace Windu can be heard uttering the line "I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi," seemingly a literal recreation of a moment from Episode III. We also hear a different piece of that same conversation when Yoda says "Great care we must take." Here is further evidence The Clone Wars will explore iconic moments from Revenge of the Sith from different perspectives. In the movie, that scene takes place on Coruscant, as Master Windu and his colleagues discuss the possibility of arresting and overthrowing Palpatine. In the animated series, we may see how other Jedi Masters in the field react to the idea of the Jedi wresting power away from the Republic's democratically elected leader. It could further Ahsoka's disillusionment with the Jedi and give other like-minded Jedi Masters a chance to voice their concerns. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/06/star-wars-will-ahsoka-tano-appear-in-the-mandalorian"] Given how quickly Mace's line transitions into the failed arrest of Palpatine and the commencement of Order 66, this scene is probably taking place just before the Siege of Mandalore gets underway. That may limit how much the series is able to explore the reaction to Mace's plan. Still, the hope is that this is just one example of many where The Clone Wars: Season 7 gives us a different point of view on a story we already know. For more on The Clone Wars, learn how the series is connected to The Mandalorian and how you can watch The Clone Wars in chronological order. Then learn more about the planet Mandalore and its heroes. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.