The Star Wars: The Clone Wars cartoon show was a massive hit during its entire seven-season run, and its success has helped the Star Wars franchise as a whole reach new levels of notoriety. It also has helped attract a new wave of fans to the series. Many younger fans who grew up watching the series have gone on to find an appreciation for the other shows and the movies.
But while the show did help to draw new fans, it also did a great job of appeasing fans who are initially or primarily fans of the films. Viewers can find references, cameos, and other content throughout the entirety of The Clone Wars that connect the show to the motion pictures.
10 Saw Gerrera Was Originally From The Clone Wars
Saw Gerrera was a rebel leader during the rise of the Galatic Empire. Before and during the events of Rogue One, Saw aided Jyn Erso by helping her escape capture by the Empire and by delivering a message to her from her father.
What attentive fans will realize is that Saw was also seen in a few episodes of The Clone Wars. In season five, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka are tasked by the Jedi Order with training a cell of rebels to fight against a Separatist occupation of a planet. Among these rebels was a young and brash Saw, who initially served as the de facto leader of the group.
9 The Clones' Nicknames
Though only a few of them were mentioned by name, all of the clones in Revenge of the Sith had given themselves nicknames to help establish some individuality. The most obvious one was Commander Cody, who served under Obi-Wan Kenobi and led his troops.
These nicknames were much more important in The Clone Wars. With the show often focusing on the clones themselves, there was a need to give them their own personalities and identities. Every clone introduced in the show was given a name, with some noteworthy examples being Captain Rex, Fives, and Echo.
8 Grievous Says "Hello There"
When Obi-Wan chased General Grevious to the planet of Utapau in Revenge of the Sith to engage the general in their fight battle, Obi-Wan greeted the droid general with the now-famous line, "Hello there." The casual introduction annoyed Grievous, which was Obi-Wan's goal. Obi-Wan wanted the droid to understand that he wasn't afraid.
In season one of The Clone Wars, fans learned that Obi-Wan's introduction in the movie was actually a jab he had been planning for a long time. During Obi-Wan and Grievious' first encounter, as Obi-Wan was surrounded by battle droids, Grievous greeted the Jedi with a simple and mocking "hello there." This was the start of a long feud between the two characters that lasted throughout the Clone Wars.
7 Obi-Wan Loses Satine The Same Way He Did Qui-Gon Jinn
When Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn fought the Sith Lord Darth Maul, they became separated for a time and Qui-Gon had to fight Maul alone. This separation gave Maul the chance he needed to deal a lethal blow to Obi-Wan's master. Once Obi-Wan defeated Maul, he ran to help his master, but he was only able to hold Qui-Gon in his arms as he died.
A near-identical situation happened in the fifth season of The Clone Wars. When Obi-Wan infiltrated the capital of Mandalore, the home planet of the Mandalorians. He was captured and taken before Darth Maul, who had taken over the planet and held its duchess, Satine, captive. Satine and Obi-Wan had a special relationship, and Maul knew this. Wanting to break Obi-Wan's heart, Maul killed Satine in a manner similar to what he did to Qui-Gon, with Obi-Wan even holding her the same way during her final moments.
6 There's A Reason The Empire Stop Using The Clones
The Stormtroopers from the original Star Wars trilogy were a powerful military force, despite some concerns about their combat skills. With their numbers and unity, the Empire was able to sweep across the galaxy and secure an almost absolute dominance over every planet. But one detail about the Stormtroopers that fans have noticed and questioned is why none of them are clone troopers.
There are many reasons why the Empire stopped using clones, but one of the most important is that the source material for them was running out. As one of the Kaminoan cloners, Lama Su, explained, their ability to create clones was stressed by the loss of the bounty hunter Jango Fett, who supplied the DNA. Without him, they needed to continually replicate the DNA they had, which meant that there would eventually be a limit to the number of clones they could create.
5 Droids Were Given Autonomy
During the final battle in The Phantom Menace, the people of Naboo needed to find a way to destroy the Trade Federation's command ship. Destroying the ship would cause all of the Battle Droids on the planet to deactivate, as they were controlled remotely from the ship and did not operate independently.
In The Clone Wars, it was explained that this weakness was removed. A group of Battle Droids discovered the remains of another Battle Droid, they remark on how he was probably destroyed because he was one of the older models that were programmed by a central computer rather than thinking for himself.
4 Darth Bane Created The Rule Of Two
Though it's been explained in the Star Wars expanded universe, the origin of the Sith's Rule of Two was never explained in the films. The first mention of the rule was in The Phantom Menace when Yoda and Mace Windu questioned whether Obi-Wan had destroyed the Sith master or apprentice, as there are always two of them.
In season six of The Clone Wars, Yoda traveled to the Sith homeworld of Morriband. While there, he encountered an illusion that took the form of Darth Bane. It is here that the origin of the Rule of Two was explained for the first time. Bane, knowing that the Sith's lust for power would always cause them to destroy themselves, established the rule to ensure that an apprentice would always survive to replace the master.
3 Admiral Yularen
During the meeting between all of the Imperial officers aboard the Death Star in A New Hope, Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, and other leaders discuss the potential threat that the rebels posed. One of the commanders present for the meeting was Admiral Yularen, who had faithfully served the Empire for years.
In The Clone Wars, fans learned that Yularen had been a military leader for far longer than that. He served the Republic before and during the Clone Wars and often fought alongside Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka. He is also the character who narrates the intros for every episode of the show.
2 Aurra Sing
During the events of The Phantom Menace, Qui Gon, Obi-Wan, Padme, and their group became stranded on Tatooine. While trying to find a way to get back into space, they explored the planet's cities in search of parts to repair their ship. It is during this part of the film when fans could see Aurra Sing, a pale, humanoid alien, walking through town.
After these same fans watched the season 2 finale of The Clone Wars, they learned that she was in fact a skilled and extremely dangerous bounty hunter. During the season finale, Aurra helped a young Boba Fett with his plan to exact his revenge on Mace Windu for killing his father, Jango Fett.
1 Darth Maul's Crimson Dawn Organization
The plot of Solo: A Star Wars Story centered on Han Solo and his crew acquiring a shipment of coaxium so they could deliver it to the criminal organization Crimson Dawn. The main antagonist of the film was Dryden Vos, but at the end of the movie, fans learned that Darth Maul was the true leader of the group.
In season seven of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka led an attack on Mandalore to free it from Maul's rule. While his enemies were closing in on him, Maul convened with the crime syndicate leaders to instruct them to go into hiding until further notice.