Why Clone Wars Rebels Are Essential Viewing for Episode 7. For Star Wars fans that endured a sixteen year wait between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace, only to be disappointed by the prequel trilogy and left unsure whether theyd ever get to journey to A Galaxy Far, Far Away again, the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney came as a very welcome surprise. While longtime Force enthusiasts salivated over the prospect of a new film trilogy and anthology spinoffs, not to mention merchandise, the studio unceremoniously axed the entire Expanded Universe to ensure director J. J. Abrams had a clean post Episode 6 slate to craft his own path read not beholden to fan favorite EU storylines, such as Timothy Zahns Thrawn trilogy. Nevertheless, the studio refrained from sidelining its own in house animated prequel project Star Wars The Clone Wars even creating an all new series, Star Wars Rebels, to continue building the franchise canon on the small screen ahead of Star Wars Episode 7 The Force Awakens. However, despite the official Lucasfilm stamp of approval, many longtime fans never embraced the series dismissing it as a brainless animated offering for the juice box crowd. While initial episodes of The Clone Wars definitely leaned on kid friendly hijinks and regular appearances from detested prequel characters like Jar Jar Binks, the series evolved over its 5. Star Wars mythology one that fills in a lot of gaps between Star Wars Episode 2 and 3, as well as sheds light on characters and larger world building that went underserved by George Lucas. With Star Wars Rebels on a similarly ambitious path, and Star Wars Episode 7 fast approaching, here are 1. Star Wars Clone Wars Season 5 Episode 6 Full' title='Star Wars Clone Wars Season 5 Episode 6 Full' />The Clone Wars and Rebels are essential viewing ahead of The Force Awakens. Watch They Nest Putlocker. They Justify the Legends. Throughout Star Wars episodes 4 6, characters often reflect upon the days when Jedi Knights protected the Galaxy from Sith Lords telling tales of the Jedi Orders wisdom and bravery. Han Solo might describe Lando Calrissian as a hustling scoundrel and Rebel soldiers cower in fear before Darth Vader, but a lot of Star Wars series character development is implied through exposition despite a rich history in the Galaxy Far, Far Away. With the exception of Luke Skywalker, viewers meet most of the primary Star Wars cast in medias res with their role in the larger tale already set. The prequels attempted to add backstory but only focused on a small group of people instrumental to the Skywalker bloodline and, unfortunately, many of these individuals simply did not live up to their own legends. Thankfully, The Clone Wars directly shows why the characters become legends. Instead of a whiney love sick teen, The Clone Wars depicts Anakin Skywalker as a valiant and powerful Jedi, struggling to do what he thinks is right, often succeeding through unorthodox and reckless means. Laying seeds for his dark turn, seeing the hero in his prime makes his fall all the more tragic and, similarly, makes his return in Rebels as Darth Vader all the more ominous especially since the Rebels Vader is at his most terrifying and powerful. They Explain Expand The Force. Star Wars Clone Wars Season 5 Episode 6 Full' title='Star Wars Clone Wars Season 5 Episode 6 Full' />Star Wars The Clone Wars, set between Episode II and III, added to the Star Wars universe like nothing else before it. The beloved animated series took us to strange. Yoda, Anakin and the Jedi Knights fight in the Clone Wars, taking them to many new planets and introducing new players. The series spans the time between Star Wars. You Are Reading Star Wars Why Clone Wars Rebels Are Essential Viewing for Episode 7. Explore Star Wars The Clone Wars, the animated series featuring Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker, and the clone army in their fight against the Separatists. Star Wars The Clone Wars is an animated television series set between the events of Star Wars. Ahsoka is put on trial, first by the Jedi Council and then faces the Galactic Senate itself. Meanwhile Anakin goes into the underworld searching for a way to prove. George Lucas originally took a less is more approach to the mystical Force in his original Star Wars trilogy only to undercut the mystery with an on the nose, and downright boring midi chlorian 0ver explanation in Star Wars Episode 1. Instead of attempting to explain the science of the Force as if it were a high school biochemistry class, The Clone Wars teaches viewers about the supernatural life force through a variety of force wielders. The Expanded Universe touched on Force sensitive beings besides Jedi and Sith but The Clone Wars as well as Rebels directly brings other Force users into the canon storyline. Most notably, the Nightsisters witches that exploit the Force through dark arts, The Ones powerful beings embodying the dark, light, and balanced Force and the Inquisitors Force wielding Jedi hunters explore as well as explain how non Jedi and Sith individuals can harness or exploit the Force. Instead of expository monologuing, the animated series introduces viewers to new characters who can manipulate the Force in previously unknown ways and then showcases the extent, and also limitations, of their power. Additionally, the series also expands on Force mythology as Anakin grows increasingly stronger, shedding further light on the necessary balance and subsequent grey area between the light and dark side. They Provide Scale. While the prequels leaned on CGI spectacle, The Clone Wars and Rebels offer a never before seen sense of galaxy building and scale. As mentioned, despite Anakin Skywalkers importance to the larger Star Wars universe, Episodes 1 6 are actually confined to a very limited progression of events, locales, and characters. Viewers visit exotic planets and meet strange inhabitants but aside from the Trade Federation threat in the prequels and Empire regime in the original trilogy, Lucas never quite sold how malevolent forces and the ongoing Clone War actually impacted life throughout the galaxy. Fans were given glimpses at the variety of alien species living on Coruscant as members of the Galactic Senate but there were very few direct correlations to how Palpatines manipulation of the Senate actually affected everyday people around the galaxy. Conversely, given the mission focused format of The Clone Wars and Rebels, viewers are treated to countless peace keeping crusades around the Star Wars universe ranging from light hearted misadventures to downright tense battles that influenced the entire universe. In fact, many of the animated series best and most memorable stories dont even depict face offs between iconic characters instead, they feature the titular clones, led by lesser known Jedi Masters like Plo Koon and Barriss Offee, rushing into war torn regions in order to protect innocent lives or secure a strategic asset. They Make Clone Troopers Special. Even after Star Wars Episode 2, fans knew very little about the clone troopers leading to the assumption that, under their stormtrooper like helmets, the soldiers were nothing more than manufactured copies of bounty hunter Jango Fett. Revenge of the Sith showed that the clones had been given identifiable codenames, and even formed friendships with their Jedi commanders, only to then mindlessly turn weapons on the Jedi under swift execution of Order 6. The scene should have been a horrifying moment of revelation, as the troopers coldly turned on heroes theyd fought alongside for years however, for moviegoers who never got to know the clones as anything more than interchangeable red shirts, the true horror of Order 6. Instead, The Clone Wars spends a significant amount of time developing individual clone heroes many of which give their lives on the journey from season 1 to season 6. The animated series features entire episodes centered on clone battalions that, not only give insight into clone life, but also tell engaging tales of brothers in arms. As a result, the callous malevolence of Palpatines puppetry is laid bare when, after three years of mutual respect and friendship between CC 2. Commander Cody and Obi Wan Kenobi, as depicted in The Clone Wars, the trooper receives Order 6. Watch The Aristocrats Online The Aristocrats Full Movie Online there. Episode 3 and orders his squad to gun down their former ally. They Highlight Great Female Characters. When the first cast image of Star Wars Episode 7 was released online, it did not take long for fans to point out that, nearly forty years after A New Hope, the ratio of men to women in a Galaxy Far, Far Away was still very uneven. In the time since, weve learned that several other women will play pivotal characters in The Force Awakens meanwhile Felicity Jones will lead the Star Wars Rogue One anthology film.