The future of the Star Wars franchise, for the time being at least, seems to be firmly on Disney+. After the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga with The Rise of Skywalker in December of 2019, Star Wars has pivoted to its parent company’s streaming service as new feature films, and possible a new central saga, remains in the works. The Mandalorian has become a massive hit, not only amongst Star Wars fans but with a broader audience. It has proved to be a solid entryway to the franchise for first time viewers due to its semi-isolated nature and focus on two new characters in the form of Din Djarin and Grogu. The second Star Wars live action series The Book of Boba Fett, premiered late last year and continued into 2022. Even more shows are set to debut later this year, with Obi-Wan Kenobi coming in just a few weeks' time.
Despite the sheer amount of Star Wars shows on the way, of which there are many (even beyond the year of 2022, with no signs of slowing down), the franchise has a long history in animation television over the years as well. Although George Lucas attempted to move the franchise into live action TV during the latter years of his tenure at Lucasfilm with an Emperor Palpatine origin story show, the creator himself ultimately opted to shelve these ideas to focus on The Clone Wars, an animated project he first developed as a movie with Dave Filoni. The Clone Wars went on to become a TV show in 2008, a few months after the premiere of the feature film in movie theaters. It lasted for 8 seasons, with the final episodes coming out in early 2020 after a long hiatus.
Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: Resistance are two other shows in the franchise, with the former garnering immense praise and support from fans and critics. With all of these Star Wars television titles, it’s difficult to determine which project is ultimately the best show in the franchise, but a couple do stand out.
The Clone Wars Paves The Way
The Clone Wars is arguably the Star Wars show with the biggest cult following, as the series’ cancellation upon Disney’s takeover of Lucasfilm only fueled some fans’ love for the title. The show has been praised for its crucial role in improving the prequel trilogy, which many viewers believed to too world-focused and, therefore, left plot holes and inconsistencies, along with the main characters not being developed or fleshed out enough. In recent years, the prequels have seen a massive surge in popularity, and The Clone Wars deserves a lot of credit for the reevaluation that many audience members have had.
One of the key reasons for this is the show’s depiction of Anakin Skywalker and the relationships he holds with others, in particular those closest to him. Anakin and Obi-Wan are described as brothers in Revenge of the Sith by the latter Jedi, but fans hadn’t seen much of that relationship prior to that moment on Mustafar. The opening of Revenge of the Sith certainly depicted this, but the two were largely separated in Attack of the Clones and, when they were together in the second of the trilogy they were mostly antagonistic and at odds with each other.
The way in which The Clone Wars depicted the two’s relationship, though, was truly remarkable. It was this element that made the ending of the prequel trilogy, the rise of Darth Vader, and Obi-Wan’s eventual downfall at the hands of his former apprentice on the Death Star all the more tragic.
Another crucial aspect of The Clone Wars was the introduction of Ahsoka Tano, the Jedi padawan that was under Anakin's wing. That Ahsoka is now in live action, first appearing in The Mandalorian before arriving in The Book of Boba Fett and also starring in her own solo series (which recently began filming), is proof of The Clone Wars’ success, as the character is so crucial to this animated show. By the end of the series, Ahsoka was essentially the lead character, a far cry from the early days that heavily featured Anakin and Obi-Wan in almost every episode. Ahsoka’s relationship with Anakin is also another huge positive, as the two have a younger sister, older brother vibe that is emotional, heartwarming, and ultimately tragic. Just as Obi-Wan’s interactions with Anakin helped to elevate the latter’s character arc, Ahsoka ultimately played a huge role to better Anakin as a hero and villain. The show expanded on characters the audience loved, making them deeper than the movies ever did.
The Mandalorian Takes The Crown
As mentioned, The Mandalorian was the first live action series in the franchise and one that, almost immediately upon release, became the main thing in Star Wars at the moment. Din Djarin and Grogu stole the hearts of audiences around the world and helped to introduce Star Wars to new fans who hadn’t seen any of the films, even those who were unfamiliar with the story of the main saga in general. Clone Wars may have pioneered Star Wars TV shows and demonstrated how they could be great, but The Mandalorian took it to the next level. It's not only a great Star Wars show, but just good television, enjoyable even outside the larger context of the franchise.
It’s the two main characters that are the primary reason for The Mandalorian being the best show in the franchise. Djarin and Grogu are two of the best characters to ever appear in Star Wars, which is quite a feat given the presence of figures like Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Rey Skywalker, and more. The two have such a heartwarming bond that it doesn’t even seem to matter if a viewer is unfamiliar with the lore of the franchise or the broader story of the galaxy. They also manage to hold their own amidst a whole host of guest stars and surprise appearances, including one by the arguably main hero of the whole franchise in the form of Luke Skywalker’s arrival in the season two finale.
With Luke, Ahsoka Tano, Cobb Vanth, and more all appearing in the second season, it would have been easy for Mando and his son to fade into the background as interest switches to the more famous heroes, but if anything it’s the opposite. Luke’s arrival is emotional on its own, but the best aspect of the sequence is the way in which it further solidifies the bond between Djarin and Grogu. In turn, this scene confirmed The Mandalorian to be the most emotionally touching Star Wars show.
There are plenty of new Star Wars shows on the way, and anticipation for Obi-Wan Kenobi in particular is incredibly high. The jury will be out as to whether it is the peak (so far) of Star Wars television, but as of right now, that title belongs to The Mandalorian.