This year Disney is celebrating Star Wars Day in style!
I am a huge Star Wars fan. I have Star Wars decals all over the place, most of my nerdy t-shirts are Star Wars-themed, and let’s not forget about my cat, General Kenobi. That’s why May 4th is a particularly favorite day of mine because it’s Star Wars Day!
This is an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan. I admit that I was a little trepidatious when Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012. Now don’t get me wrong–I’m a huge Disney fan as well. I was just a little worried that my favorite franchise was going to be watered down a bit. Then again, I thought it wouldn’t be any worse than some of the Episode I, II, and III nonsense that happened under George Lucas’ watch too.
My other hope was they would release an original version of Episodes IV, V, and VI that didn’t have the CGI alterations. Sadly, that hope may never be realized. Han shot first, ladies and gentlemen–never forget.
Glad they proved me wrong
I’m happy to say that my anxiousness was for nothing. The content they have gifted us with the last decade has been stunning. The movies have been great too. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story which is now my favorite of all the movies. The Mandalorian was brilliant and I’m really looking forward to the spin-offs of that show. I’m also looking forward to getting some of the backstories of my favorite characters brought to life.
If you haven’t watched The Clone Wars because it’s “just a cartoon”–which is where I was at with it for a very long time–you really should. I loved how every episode started with a poignant quote full of wisdom and some brilliant person made a video of all of them in chronological order and I thank them for their efforts.
I love so many of the quotes but this one especially hits home for all of us that do project work for a living.
It’s about the characters
The new characters developed for this show are some of my favorites. I can’t tell you how much I love Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan in The Clone Wars, and how excited I am for the new show. Rosario Dawson is a genius choice for the live-action version of Ahsoka. No word on when the new show is scheduled to air yet, unfortunately.
Bo-Katan features pretty heavily in The Mandalorian and it was great to see the actress who voiced her in The Clone Wars–Battlestar Galactica alum Katee Sackoff–bring her character to life in live action.
It gave us more depth
But the best thing about The Clone Wars was that it gave them a chance to flesh out the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin. They always hinted at how close these two were but never proved it, not even in the prequels. The Clone Wars provided time to show how closely they worked together during the war and how much of a brotherhood they cultivated. It helps you really feel how much it must have pained Obi-Wan when Anakin turned toward the Dark Side. They also showed Obi-Wan’s true character and made him more relatable. There is a reason I call Kenobi “General” and it’s because of The Clone Wars.
It’s not just about that but the villains are so great too. The Grand Inquisitor, Cad Bane, Pre Viszla, a bunch of Sith, and even Admiral Tarkin are as brilliant as the Clones themselves. Some of these characters and more feature in Star Wars: Rebels too so you should check that one out when you get a chance. Star Wars: Rebels was just as fun and great. Grand Admiral Thrawn could feature heavily in upcoming shows entering the universe so you should brush up on this one too.
Disney’s Star Wars Day Gifts
So why am I waxing on about The Clone Wars? Disney is giving us a great gift on Star Wars Day: a new series about the clones with genetic mutations known as Clone Force 99. This crazy group of Elite Clones featured in the last season of The Clone Wars is getting their own show called Star Wars: The Bad Batch and I’m completely chuffed about it!
The 70-minute premiere episode drops on May 4th with new episodes posting on Disney+ every Friday starting May 7th. Disney has some great features about the new show on StarWars.com including a fun little quiz to find out what member of The Bad Batch you are.
The best part is that’s not all they’re giving us for Star Wars Day. They are doing a commissioned fan art takeover of their website and the Disney+ app! This means from May 4th until May 9thfan art will be taking over the landing pages of Star Wars movies and series. It’s so great to see Disney supporting fan artists like this. They are stunning and wonderful so check them out!
May the 4th be with you!
