Since its debut in 2005, the LEGO Star Wars video game series has seen a great deal of success across five well-received entries. With the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, nearly every prior entry looks set to receive a makeover with enhanced visuals and reworked gameplay mechanics, both of which seem to serve the purpose of making this the definitive LEGO Star Wars experience.
But there’s one notable entry in the Star Wars canon that appears to be missing in action. The iconic animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, has yet to be represented in previews of this all-encompassing retelling of the Skywalker Saga, despite the large role the series plays in rationalizing Anakin Skywalker’s inevitable fall to the dark side. However, there may be a very good reason for its apparent exclusion.
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So far, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is only confirmed to adapt the nine numbered entries of the Star Wars films. There’s no indication that The Clone Wars will be a part of this package, at least at launch. But that’s not to say any possible post-launch support couldn’t feature elements from the series.
The deluxe edition of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will have DLC consisting of extra characters from various Star Wars side-stories like The Mandalorian, Rogue One, and The Bad Batch. Interestingly enough, despite its characters being heavily featured in some of these Star Wars offshoots, The Clone Wars is notably absent. That said, it is worth noting that this specific animated series has much more in the way of original characters, locations, and storylines than its neighboring shows, given its 133-episode run. As such, it stands to reason that any future Clone Wars content that The Skywalker Saga may receive might warrant more than just a few exclusive characters at launch, possibly explaining its absence in the deluxe edition’s seemingly simple extra content. However, the extent of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga’s post-launch support, if any, remains to be seen.
Many followers of Traveler’s Tales’ works might have raised their eyebrows upon seeing no sign that the the previously released LEGO Star Wars 3: The Clone Wars would be a part of the upcoming LEGO Star Wars collection. If there was already a LEGO adaptation of The Clone Wars, one can’t help but wonder why it wasn’t included alongside the rest of the mainline entries.
It bears mentioning that LEGO Star Wars 3 isn’t a complete retelling of the series, as it was released right around the time the third season was coming to a close; the television show wasn’t even halfway through its seven-season run. While the first three seasons of of the show are chock-full of memorable moments that would be wonderful to see included in a LEGO Star Wars game, so are the remaining four seasons, and to only adapt the existing LEGO content would arguably do a disservice to the rest of the series.
Furthermore, it’s also worth mentioning the sheer size of The Clone Wars. With seven seasons and 133 episodes, it’s not a stretch to assume that adapting the entire series would likely result in this spinoff of the Skywalker Saga taking up more in-game space than any one of the saga’s individual entries. It’s possible The Clone Wars’ inclusion would’ve detracted from the real stars of this collection — the films being adapted — and might have resulted in the game feeling more like a Clone Wars game than one centered around the Skywalker Saga.
Regardless of the reason for The Clone Wars’ absence, one can only hope the show will one day get a chance to bask in its own LEGO spotlight, whether that be as DLC for The Skywalker Saga or in its own, separate LEGO game.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
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