Only 1 Star Wars Project Can Officially Redeem The Sequel Trilogy

There’s only one possible project that could truly redeem the Star Wars sequel trilogy in the eyes of most fans. Even fans who love the sequel trilogy of Star Wars movies can recognize that episodes seven, eight, and nine are incredibly divisive. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is also almost universally recognized as the worst live-action Star Wars movie in the entire franchise.

The sequel trilogy needs redemption, but that’s getting harder to accomplish with each passing year. The slate of upcoming Star Wars films are either before the sequels, like The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter, or directly after it, like New Jedi Order and Simon Kinberg’s trilogy. Star Wars is moving on from the sequel trilogy, but there’s still a chance for it to be redeemed.

The Sequel Trilogy Needs Its Own Clone Wars

At this point, the only thing that can truly redeem the Star Wars sequel trilogy is its own version of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The Clone Wars took place in the years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and took a closer look at the battles, politics, and conspiracies of the Clone Wars. The sequel trilogy could do very well with its own show that takes a closer look into the First Order-Resistance War.

With a show like The Clone Wars, Star Wars could give the sequel trilogy much more tension and context to the battle between the First Order and Resistance. A show like that could dive into the First Order’s origins, organization, and the actual concrete effect they had on the galaxy. It could also dive deeper into the Resistance and how Leia mobilized the galaxy’s people against the First Order.

Most importantly, a show like The Clone Wars could give each movie in the sequel trilogy more structure. We could get insight into how the First Order created Starkiller Base before The Force Awakens, how it amassed the giant fleet seen in The Last Jedi, and Kylo Ren’s search for the Sith holocron in The Rise of Skywalker. That’s just the tip of the iceberg as well; a show in the style of The Clone Wars could completely redeem the sequel trilogy.

How The Clone Wars Redeemed The Star Wars Prequels

The proof of what a show like The Clone Wars could do for the sequel trilogy lies in what The Clone Wars itself did for the prequel trilogy. Before The Clone Wars, the prequel trilogy was just as divisive and hated as the sequels. Fans criticized the prequels’ acting, convoluted political plots, overuse of CGI, and particularly Anakin Skywalker’s characterization. After several years of effort, however, The Clone Wars changed that.

The Clone Wars gave the prequel trilogy so much context. Viewers got dozens of hours to spend with Anakin and chances for him to endear himself as a character. The Clone Wars provided so much information about how the Clone Wars were being fought, who was winning, what the state of the galaxy was, and the differing political arguments of the Republic and the Separatists.

All that context redefined the prequels. Anakin went from a whiny brat raging at the Jedi Council to a decorated war hero who was unfairly passed up as a Master. The Jedi themselves went from a group of helpless people who were clueless about Palpatine’s rise to power to a group that was overwhelmed in a fight to save the galaxy. The Clone Wars itself went from a theoretical conflict that was glossed over in Revenge of the Sith to the defining moment of the galaxy.

The best thing The Clone Wars gave the prequels was more time. Nine hours simply wasn’t enough time to tell the sweeping political epic George Lucas envisioned for the prequel trilogy. The Clone Wars allowed Star Wars to flesh out the politics of the galaxy, Anakin and Padmé’s romance, Anakin and Obi-Wan’s relationship, and even side characters like Count Dooku and Darth Maul. It transformed the prequels from a half-baked (but tremendous) saga to a true space opera.

A Clone Wars-Style Series Set During The Sequel Trilogy Is Unlikely To Happen

Unfortunately for the Star Wars sequel trilogy, the time for a show like The Clone Wars may have already passed. The Star Wars timeline simply can’t support it anymore. The First Order-Resistance War began in The Force Awakens. The Last Jedi then picks up in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Starkiller Base, leaving no room for a show to explore. Then, there’s only a year before The Rise of Skywalker ends the entire conflict for good.

Part of the reason The Clone Wars fit so seamlessly into the prequel trilogy is that it filled an existing hole in the movies. There were three years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. That gave The Clone Wars ample time to do whatever it wanted and explore any facet of the Clone Wars. The single year preceding The Rise of Skywalker simply isn’t long enough to let a Clone Wars-style show go into that level of depth.

Star Wars Resistance also already tried to give the sequel trilogy its version of The Clone Wars, set before The Force Awakens, and it failed. Resistance was canceled after just two seasons, and it never got a chance to become the sprawling space opera that The Clone Wars is. So, there’s no room before or between the sequel movies for a Clone Wars-style show to redeem the trilogy.

The only real option the Star Wars sequel trilogy has left for a redeeming show is one set during Ben Solo’s time at Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy. A show set at that time would be able to explore the First Order’s rise to prominence, Leia’s work to oppose them and form the Resistance, and obviously Luke’s decision to go into exile on Ahch-To. Rey could even make sporadic appearances as a junker on Jakku, and we could get an adaptation of her parents’ deaths in Shadow of the Sith.