The best thing about the prequel movies was the expansion of the Star Wars universe. In the original trilogy most planets only had one aspect to them: Hoth was the ice planet, Endor was the forest world and Tattoine was the desert one. Additionally, there were not that many locations in the Star Wars universe, and in the context of the original trilogy, a galaxy far far away was actually pretty small. The prequels changed all that and introduced new planets with more depth to them. The Clone Wars in particular explores many great stories set in this expanded universe.
The Television series was initially aimed at children, but by its 3rd season it had taken on a much darker tone that was more in line with Revenge of the Sith. The animation is great and the lightsaber duels and large scale battles are some of the best in the series. The voice acting is also brilliant, despite not having any of the cast of the films (apart from Anthony Daniels as C-3PO and Liam Neeson reprising his role as Qui-gon Jinn in some capacity.) The Clone Wars biggest strength though, is in the stories it chooses to tell. Questions you have had since the last movie are answered, such as ‘what was Boba Fett doing after Genosis? Why did Yoda choose Degobah as his new home?’ Other stories focus on familiar characters, with the series showing the origins of Grand Moff Tarkin, while on the other side of the spectrum we see Admiral Akbar’s rise to prominence. One of the of the most enjoyable stories centres on the return of Darth Maul and his burning desire to have revenge on Obi-Wan. Despite his robotic limbs, the character is finally done justice and he is much more fleshed out than in his cinematic appearance.
The best narrative thread however, follows a clone who discovers that he has a chip in his head that will make him kill the Jedi. He reveals this to some of his fellow clones, which leads to them eventually returning in Star Wars Rebels, fighting against the Empire. Clone Wars tells some excellent and intriguing stories, and perhaps the most rewarding part is that the entire series is canon. Bounty hunter Cad Bane, an original character from The Clone Wars, is rumoured to be a part of 2016’s Rogue One, showing how seriously Disney value the lore created by the series and that it is a must watch for any Star Wars fan.
