Will Clone Wars season 7 feature Order 66?
A war left unfinished . . . until now. Does that include Order 66?
The tagline promises a great deal for the highly anticipated season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Cancelled before it could reach completion, many of the show’s planned arcs never became an onscreen reality. Some were adapted into comics like Son of Dathomir or novels like Dark Disciple, continued into Star Wars Rebels, or released as unfinished story reels on StarWars.com.
Now season 7 promises a chance to feature those planned arcs that haven’t been adapted into other mediums. One of the arcs that many fans are confident will appear in season 7 – largely because of the scene at the end of the season 7 trailer with Ahsoka Tano, Captain Rex, and Bo-Katan Kryze –is the siege of Mandalore. Alluded to in the novel Ahsoka, the siege of Mandalore actually happened during Revenge of the Sith and is a mission during which Republic forces worked to capture Maul on Mandalore.
Even though she was no longer a part of the Jedi Order, Ahsoka was still trusted by the Jedi and Republic. Along with Captain Rex, Ahsoka and a battalion of clone troopers were sent to Mandalore to deal with Maul. It is during this mission that the Jedi Purge known as Order 66 occurred. With the aid of Captain Rex – who had removed the inhibitor chip that caused all the clones to obey Order 66 and turn on their Jedi allies – Ahsoka was able to survive, but Maul managed to escape.
More from Editorial
- How animation changed Star Wars: Ewoks and Droids
- The Acolyte might change Star Wars storytelling
- No Star Wars for Feige, and I’m ok with that.
- 3 major ways the Star Wars Holiday Special changed canon
- If Jon Favreau remakes the Holiday Special, it needs to star Peli Motto
Finishing the series with the siege of Mandalore and Order 66 would make a lot of sense. Not only is it a story fans have wanted to see told onscreen for several years now, but it works well with the timeline. The Siege of Mandalore is one of the final battles of the Clone Wars. If the television series is telling the tale of a war left unfinished, it’s fitting to finish it off with one of the last battles, and also one that included a key step of Palpatine’s endgame. After all, the Clone Wars was largely just a crucial stepping stone to wiping out the Jedi and creating the Galactic Empire.
Season 7 is releasing several years after the show was cancelled, but all the seasons are still part of one overarching story. One of the series’ all-time best arcs is in season 6 when clone trooper Fives essentially uncovered and nearly exposed the truth of Order 66. From a narrative perspective, it works well to heavily tease the Jedi Purge one season and then execute it the following season.
While it might make sense, there’s one glaring problem if season 7 ends with Order 66. Even though season 6 and at the time the entire show concluded with many incredible arcs untold, the ending worked well because of its optimistic nature. Even though he didn’t know the specifics of what would come, the show ending with Yoda seeing that there was a bigger picture beyond the Clone Wars, a more important path offered by the Force. They might not win the Clone Wars, but a more important and long-term victory could be achieved through Yoda’s discoveries on his season 6 journey.
That kind of hopeful ending is aligned with the true spirit of Star Wars. Even darker stories like The Empire Strikes Back, Revenge of the Sith, and Rogue One have ended with optimism. Amidst the Rebel fleet, Luke, Leia, C-3PO, and R2-D2 stand united, watching Chewbacca and Lando beginning the journey to save Han Solo. Obi-Wan watches as Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru look toward the iconic Tatooine sunset, baby Luke cradled in Beru’s arms. After receiving the Death Star plans, Leia literally says they’ve been brought “hope.”
Next. How Solo can tie into Episode IX. dark
Order 66 would make it challenging to end on anything other than a depressing note. Fans can be heartened by the survival of Ahsoka and Rex, but even that isn’t enough to alleviate the horrific tragedy of witnessing Order 66. The Clone Wars certainly dived into darker material in its later seasons, but ending with Order 66 might be too dark for the show.
Do you think we’ll see Order 66 in season 7 of The Clone Wars? Let us know in the comments below!