WhileStar Wars: The Clone Warsmay have started with a big-screen event in the form of the movie that launched the animated TV show, there’s no doubt that its final arc is its most captivating, and certainly surpasses the original movie’s scale. It’s a fan-favorite among usStar Warsanimation enjoyers for a reason.
I don’t think anyone has forgotten what it was like to tune in duringThe Clone Warsseason 7 in 2020, from the introduction ofClone Force 99 (the Bad Batch)to the highly anticipated Siege of Mandalore andOrder 66. Everyone knew that our understanding of those events would be changing forever.
Now, five years later,The Clone Warsseries finale, “Victory and Death,” remains one of the highest-rated television episodes of all time onIMDb, currently positioned at #18. Despite its excellence on TV, however, Dave Filoni had a specific, bigger vision for it in mind, and I was lucky enough to experience it that way at Star Wars Celebration Japan.
The Siege Of Mandalore Arc Was Absolutely Made For The Big Screen
Every Single Spectacle Was Unbelievably Enhanced
Filoni introduced the screening of the Siege of Mandalore arc fromThe Clone Warsseason 7 at Star Wars Celebration Japan with Sam Witwer, known for voicingDarth Maulin addition to countless otherStar Warscharacters, and he told us attendees about howit was envisioned for the big screen from the very beginning.
They definitely accomplished that. The final four episodes ofThe Clone Warswere screened on the biggest display at Star Wars Celebration Japan, which was essentially a movie theater-sized screen in a large arena. If I thought the spectacles of those episodes were incredible on a small screen, then I was in for a massive surprise.
This experience felt nothing short of cinematic. Even better was getting to experience it with a fellow fan and friend of mine, Maya (who was appropriately dressed as an adult Omega fromStar Wars: The Bad Batch), and listening toall the fans around us cheering, applauding, and mourning along with the charactersthemselves.
My brain chemistry was rewired getting to see it all on such a big display.The work put into making these four episodes feel cinematic paid off tenfold, especially in sequences such as Ahsoka and Maul’s lightsaber fight and the final showdown during Order 66 between Ahsoka and Rex and the 332nd Company. There was, however, another unique layer, too.
I Experienced It For The First Time Again In A Brand-New Language
The Arc Was Played In Japanese
Because we were at Star Wars Celebration Japan, it was the Japanese dub they played, with English subtitles. This was, of course, not a way in which I had ever experiencedThe Clone Warsbefore, especially not these specific four episodes. I thought it wasan absolutely touching tribute to the place where this event was being hosted.
Experiencing it in another language highlighted more emotional moments that I may not have fully recognized or appreciated in the original English version.
It was definitely different not hearing the iconic voices of cast members like Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka, Dee Bradley Baker as Rex and the clones, Sam Witwer as Maul, and more, but it was an experience I’m very glad I had - because it provedhow wonderful visual storytelling is regardless of language barriers. The emotions were all still there.
In fact, experiencing it in another language highlighted more emotional moments that I may not have fully recognized or appreciated in the original English version, simply because of these other voice actors' interpretations. It was fantastic, and it really helped the big-screen experience feel like something brand-new, even if the arc is five years old now.
I Wish Every Big Clone Wars Arc Could Be Played On A Big Screen Now
Star Wars Animation Is Utterly Cinematic
I would love to say that this experience alone fed my desire to witnessThe Clone Wars, especially this iconic arc, on the big screen, butit’s actually made my hunger for more grow. There are so many excellent arcs from the animated TV show that I’m now itching to see on the big screen just like this.
And why stop atThe Clone Wars? My personal favoriteStar Warsanimated TV show isThe Bad Batch, and there’s so much from that series that I would love to experience in the same way I did the Siege of Mandalore at SWCJ. Better yet, why not screen that initialClone WarsBad Batch arc, too?
I guess I’m going to have to find out how to rent a movie theater or something now, becausethis was an incredible experience that I’m itching to recreatein more ways. Of course, nothing will ever quite be the same as this one, being in such community with otherStar Warsfans witnessing something made specifically for this setting.
Only time will tell if future Star Wars Celebrations decide to do something similar, given how special animation is to our fandom, but I’ll definitely have my fingers crossed. If anything, the screening of this specificThe Clone Warsarc should be a regular event, because everyone should get to experience it the way it was originally envisioned.
