Monday’s announcement that Lucasfilm was taking its animation division in a new direction, focusing on exploring a new series while bringing a graceful end for Star Wars: The Clone Wars and a hard stop for Detours, brought out a lot of mixed feelings from fans. Many, like Stooge and me, were sad and angry to see The Clone Wars get shut down at its peak. I’ve rounded up reactions from the voice cast of the show, as well as from bloggers and entertainment reporters.
Voice actor James Arnold Taylor wrote a large post about his thoughts on the show winding down, giving thanks and praise to his colleagues on the show, and really expressing what this show meant to him:
“You get used to shows ending, but this one was different, for many reasons. Star Wars is not just another show or film, it is a part of history and the stuff of legend….
It brought families together on Friday nights from everyday folks to big name celebrities that told me they watched religiously with their kids, it gave the first generation of Star Wars fans the chance to share their love of the franchise with their children, making new generations of fans, it regenerated past characters we’d thought we’d never see again (sometimes to this Jedi’s displeasure) and it even brought us new characters and new depths of understanding to our favorite ones. It was and is a crucial piece of the Star Wars universe and it will be greatly missed by myself and thousands upon thousands of fans across our galaxy…
I only wish the show had been more recognized within our industry with awards to the writers, artists, and of course our greatest proponent and visionary for it, Dave Filoni.”
Taylor and Catherine Taber took to the Full of Sith podcast on Monday evening for their first post-Clone Wars interview. Wayne at Big Shiny Robot captured the thoughts of several other voice actors, including Stephen Stanton and Tom Kane. Rebel Force Radio also interviewed Taylor as well. Newsarama snagged an interview with Ashley Eckstein, in multiple parts, but also confirmed from Lucasfilm that at least two story arcs would be released. Daniel Logan gave a quick thought on Facebook, saying that there are still a few epic story arcs coming.
On the Detours side, Seth Green hinted that postponed may actually mean postponed, and not canceled with this post on Monday.
Here’s what different entertainment sites and geek blogs are saying:
- Chris Taylor at Mashable sums up the move: “Lucasfilm was signaling to the hardcore fans: mourn that old stuff now. There’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is J.J. Abrams.” and points out that even the Detours clips on the official Star Wars Youtube channel are now no longer public.
- Eric Goldman at IGN hopes that fans angry at the cancellation will calm down because we are still getting something (and the show was nearing its end), and Eric believes we will get ALL of what was in the season six pipeline. Meanwhile, Jesse Schedeen examines the different eras that the new animated series could use as a setting.
- Amy Ratcliffe at Geek with Curves starts with “Ouch” but is thankful that Filoni and crew get to end the series on their own terms.
- Skuldren at Rooqoo Depot dissects the official announcement and tries to keep a little optimism among all the disappointing news.
- Bryan at Big Shiny Robot wants more answers and concludes “Sure, The Clone Wars is done and certainly before its time, but we’re getting what’s left.”
- The Prequel Appreciation Society declares Rest In Peace to The Clone Wars and feels that Disney needs to inspire trust after this announcement and others.
- Chris Seekell at Star Wars Underworld hopes that trimming several future seasons worth of material into an abbreviated ‘winding down’ doesn’t mean a drop in story quality.
- Christian Blauvelt at Hollywood.com leaves us with 15 reasons why The Clone Wars was Star Wars at its best.
Keeping the fight going: Before the big announcement, there was already a campaign going to let Disney and Lucasfilm know that The Clone Wars was supported by its fans. It’s not time to give up – fans of The Clone Wars should continue to write letters and otherwise create buzz to keep the show alive, so that we get the most ‘bonus material’ from the winding down that we can get, and in the best formats for us to enjoy it. While online petitions are popular, the best way to let your voice be heard (short of buying advertising space in Hollywood periodicals) is to send letters to both Disney AND Lucasfilm.
Walt Disney Studios
500 S Buena Vista St
Burbank, CA 91521
Attn: Bob IgerLucasfilm
P.O. Box 29901
San Francisco, CA 94129-0901
Attn: Kathleen Kennedy
A lot of people assume that Disney’s leadership is the one that made the call about not renewing the show for a full sixth season and beyond, and thus Bob Iger needs to get those letters. I am of the opinion that Kathleen Kennedy at Lucasfilm also needs to hear that we support the show and want more of it. In this post-cancellation time frame, it’s probably good to reference the announcement, and show your support for the decision to not simply kill it entirely.
Fans should keep on pushing for the Clone Wars harder than ever. Despite all the respect I have for Mr. Goldman from IGN, the cancellation of the show is NOT ok. 8 seasons of the show have been written, and the ending ties in directly with the Battle of Coruscant according to reliable sources from the SWU. So the approach of Revenge of the Sith doesn’t justify the end. We are simply getting an unfinished show, ending after 5 seasons instead of 8. I am also afraid I do not share Mr. Goldman’s optimism towards the bonus content, which I expect to be around 8-16 episodes long, not a full season.
WE ARE BEING HEARD! It is a fact! Dave Filoni mentioned the letters in the video, which means part of the message went through! So we have to push even harder, to get the full message through! If we managed to get heard when many didn’t believe the show would end, we can change this decision by being even louder, now that we all know and agree the show will end! DO NOT LOSE HOPE! A Disney show, Kim Possible, was already brought back by fan support when it was canceled. If Kim Possible fans can do it, we can! We are Star Wars fans after all! The largest, toughest, most stubborn fanbase that ever came to existence! This is our chance to show Disney that we are masters in our own land, no matter what corporation possesses it.
I already sent a letter to Bob Iger, I’m going to do it again, and I will send a letter to Kathleen Kennedy. I sent already three e-mails, and I am going to make that weekly.
Goldman’s article is essentially claiming that a bird in the bush is worth more than a bird in hand. However, we have no idea if the new show will even happen, much less match the quality of TCW. Unless Goldman knows something more about the new show that reassures him – maybe he does.
I love how Clone Wars has gone from “that dumb kid’s show that messes with continuity” to “Star Wars at it’s best.” It’s a well-deserved transition of opinion, although I think the show grew up a lot from some of its season one clumsiness. Has anyone considered the possibility that the new animated show will simply be a spin-off of the Clone Wars set after Episode 3?