The Star Wars Prequels Were a Joke. Then Came The Clone Wars.

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idi-chlorians. Clunky dialogue. Intergalactic trade disputes. That electrifying John Williams theme with all the chanting—but also Jar Jar Binks. The legacy of the Star Wars prequel trilogy is littered with missteps and missed opportunities. Instead of the good man seduced by the dark side we were promised, the movies gave us a precocious messiah with a bowl cut who grows into a deeply troubled teen and then barely gets in a few heroics before being encased in the famous black armor. Despite remarkable achievements in special effects, costuming, and cinematography, the prequel era is best remembered for a cartoon rabbit and a cringeworthy speech about sand.

This week, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the animated series that was canceled and then revived by Disney after an improbable, yearslong fan campaign to bring it back, offered a different set of words and images to remember that era by. Though it was launched in 2008 with a goofy movie of its own—the worst-reviewed theatrical release of the entire franchise, in fact—The Clone Wars got past its growing pains to become a vital bridge between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, paving over the movies’ plot holes, fleshing out characters who had been squandered, and taking the time to explore the nooks and crannies of George Lucas’ richly imagined galaxy. Anakin, now voiced by Matt Lanter, received some much-needed development, his willingness to turn on his order and commit atrocities made more tragic and more believable by showing the deep-rooted corruption in the Republic and the Jedi during the war. After Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, Star Wars: The Clone Wars received only a truncated sixth season, but the launch of Disney+ created an opportunity for supervising director Dave Filoni and his team to bring the show back to finally tip the dominoes they’ve spent years setting up.

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