Today some bittersweet news came down via the official Star Wars site, starwars.com. We had a feeling it would happen eventually, but the site has announced the end, stating:
As we enter into an exciting new era focused on the next Star Wars trilogy, Lucasfilm has decided to pursue a new direction in animated programming. We are exploring a whole new Star Wars series set in a time period previously untouched in Star Wars films or television programming. You can expect more details in the months to come.
As part of this shift, we have also made some key decisions affecting Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Detours.
After five highly successful and critically acclaimed seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, we feel the time has come to wind down the series. While the studio is no longer producing new episodes for Cartoon Network, we’re continuing production on new Clone Wars story arcs that promise to be some of the most thrilling adventures ever seen. Stay tuned for more information on where fans can soon find this bonus content.
A few interesting things of note from this statement, first, it seems that though the Clone Wars will not be airing on TV anymore, it looks as though we may still get more content, possibly online. Or hopefully a season six on Disney DX, though the statement indicates online is more likely.
The second interesting thing of note, and the more interesting one, was the talk of a new series exploring an untouched period of time in the Star Wars Universe. No details were given in the statement, but a new Star Wars animated series is something that will make Star Wars and animation fanboys like me jump up and down with excitement! Stay tuned to Following The Nerd for more details on that as they emerge.
Lastly, it looks like the fate of Star Wars Detours, the animated comedy version of Star Wars from the creators of Robot Chicken, looks like it will be put on hold on for now:
At Star Wars Celebration VI last year, George Lucas gave fans a glimpse at the animated comedy series Star Wars Detours from Seth Green, Matthew Senreich, and Todd Grimes. Detours was conceived and produced before we decided to move forward with the new Star Wars trilogy, and in the wake of that decision, Lucasfilm has reconsidered whether launching an animated comedy prior to the launch of Episode VII makes sense. As a result, we’ve decided to postpone the release of Detours until a later date.
I can’t say I’m upset by that news, though I haven’t seen any footage, we have more than enough Star Wars parody to go around as it is. The statement wraps up with a video from Dave Filoni, supervising producer of the Clone Wars, as he talks about the experience of making the show and even gives us a nice preview of what I can only call season six of the Clone Wars, which you can see here.
http://starwars.com/news/a-new-direction-for-lucasfilm-animation.html
Follow Christopher on Twitter @AUDone44 and The Nerd @nerdfollowing. Also tune in as Marc, Bash and I break down all the Star Wars news on The Empire Talks Back podcast.
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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