Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 7 episodes end with a “created by George Lucas” credit, so naturally fans are wondering what level of involvement he had with the new batch of episodes on Disney+. The filmmaker’s name is attached to every new Star Wars movie or show since he created the universe, but Clone Wars’ history on television itself makes this a little different, with roots going all the way back to 2003 while Lucas still owned the company.
Lucasfilm partnered with Cartoon Network to release Star Wars: Clone Wars in 2008, an animated series that ran for three seasons before reaching its conclusion (it’s now considered part of Star Wars Legends). But its success convinced Lucasfilm to revisit the idea with the 2008 movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which introduced characters like Ahsoka Tano and set up the CGI series Star Wars: The Clone Wars; that ran on Cartoon Network for five seasons until Disney purchased Lucasfilm and decided to end the show. The final season released on Netflix in 2014. But now, it’s returned for season 7 on Disney+.
At the end of Clone Wars season 7’s premiere episode, “The Bad Batch”, viewers see a “created by George Lucas” credit on-screen. Considering that Lucas has had nothing to do with Star Wars since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012 - aside from the occasional visit to a movie or TV show’s set - it’s strange to see this credit on Disney+. However, it’s there because the fact of the matter is, George Lucas did create Clone Wars. And since the show is a continuation of a series that began several years before Lucasfilm’s sale, Lucas should still receive credit for it.
In addition to his status as the show’s creator, however, these particular episodes are a very interesting case for Star Wars as they were originally developed while Lucas was still running Lucasfilm. He had much less involvement in the actual writing at that point compared to earlier seasons, leaving much of that to Dave Filoni, who’s now a fan-favorite Star Wars creator an involved in many more projects including The Mandalorian. So, while Lucas’ credit on other new Star Wars stories such as the movies, or even Star Wars Rebels, is mostly honorary, this is one case where he would have actually had some level of direct creative consultation at the very least.
The Bad Batch and several other episodes from season 7 were actually released as incomplete story reels several years ago, and a close comparison of 2015 The Bad Batch story reel and the first episode of season 7 will show a nearly identical story, and even most of the voice acting seems to have been work that was already recorded under Lucas, as side by side comparisons sound identical. While the first episodes of the season are holdovers from previously canceled arcs, the later episodes were only outlined on a high level including some concept art, so while Lucas’ involvement in this season is far more significant than something like the sequel trilogy, his direct hand in early development would have been fairly light, and that will become even less so as the season progresses.
Next: Clone Wars Recap: Everything You Need To Know Before Season 7
