Disney still has several episodes of The Clone Wars that need to be released. The recent 7th season on Disney+ was a welcome surprise for fans, and took care of some of the initial arcs such as the Bad Batch and Siege of Mandalore. However, many more have yet to be completed and remain in the limbo of pre-production with their fates uncertain.
The history of The Clones Wars from showrunner Dave Filoni is an interesting one. The animated Star Wars series was originally created back in 2008 by Lucasfilm, and episodes were released in association with Cartoon Network, running for 5 seasons until its premature cancellation in 2013, the result of Disney purchasing the Star Wars franchise. Disney, Filoni, and Lucasfilm would then go on to produce the Star Wars Rebels animated series. However, a shorter 6th season of Clone Wars saw episodes that had already been completed released on Netflix, branded as The Lost Missions in 2014. Additionally, a seemingly final Season 7 was released on Disney+ in 2020. However, there are still more episodes that are "lost" beyond those.
Back in 2014 - when it was believed that Clone Wars was gone for good after The Lost Missions - Lucasfilm created the Clone Wars Legacy initiative, which sought to release some of these abandoned arcs in some form. For example, the Dark Disciple arc featuring a romance between Asajj Ventress and Jedi Master Quinlan Vos was turned into a novel, while Son of Dathomir became a four-part comics mini-series, detailing Maul's escape from his former master Darth Sidious. Even so, while some made their way to Season 7, several arcs were only revealed in a pre-production state, but promised some incredible stories. Here are some of the notable arcs that Disney absolutely needs to release at some point.
Crystal Crisis On Utapau
A four-part episode arc known as the Crystal Crisis would have seen Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi venturing to Utapau before Obi-Wan's attack during the events of Revenge of the Sith. While on the planet, the Jedi Knights would have been searching for General Grievous, who was intent on securing a large deposit of kyber crystals that were discovered in the depths, the very same crystals used by the Jedi to power their lightsabers.
Unbeknownst to the Jedi, Grievous' intentions would have been to secure the crystals for his superiors Count Dooku and Darth Sidious, as the Kyber crystals were also used to power the laser of the eventual Death Star wielded by the Empire. Specifically, with the elements teased in these unreleased episodes, fans can easily see similar concepts in other Star Wars projects, such as 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which saw the Empire stripping Jedha City of all its kyber crystals for their superweapon.
More Of The Bad Batch
While Season 7 did a wonderful job introducing Clone Force 99, the elite team of genetically altered Clones would have been featured in a much larger capacity going into future seasons, had the series not been canceled after Season 5. Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair would have been sent on a variety of additional missions after their initial debut alongside their new recruit Echo, and one arc in particular would have seen them headed to Kashyyk to help the Wookies fend off the Separatist occupation on their planet.
Related: Star Wars Theory: The Bad Batch Killed Echo (Because Of Order 66)
Thankfully, it looks as though many of these long-abandoned arcs featuring the squad will be picked up, as Disney+ is developing a Bad Batch spin-off series that will see their exploits near the end of the Clone Wars, as well as into the earliest days of the Empire.
Yoda's Good Relations With The Wookies of Kashyyk
Speaking of Wookies, Yoda would have accompanied Clone Force 99 to the Wookie homeworld of Kashyyk, and the origins of his relationship with the mighty warriors would have been explored. There were episodes that laid the foundation for this in Season 3, such as Ahsoka Tano and Chewbacca being captured by Trandoshans, who then allied themselves with the Separatists to take over the planet. However, the payoff of seeing more of this conflict never happened.
This arc would have also detailed the spirituality of the Wookies and their connection to the massive trees on the planet (not unlike a Jedi's connection to the Force), a concept that reportedly came from George Lucas himself. The arc would have also made some references to the Star Wars Holiday Special as well, which took place on Kashyyk.
Cad Bane, Boba Fett, and More Bounty Hunters
While The Clone Wars introduced Cade Bane as one of the galaxy's greatest bounty hunters, another 4-episode arc would have seen Bane teaming up with the young Boba Fett. Not only would the pair head to Tatooine on a job to rescue a child from a band of Tusken Raiders, but the arc would have seen Bane training and giving guidance to Boba, passing on the torch as Bane knew Boba's father Jango. Other bounty hunters would have been featured as well, such as Aurra Sing and the Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk.
However, the pre-production story reel for the arc reveals that it would have ended with Fett and Bane opposing to one another and locked in a blaster duel. The resulting firefight would have also shown the reason for the large dent in Fett's helmet as well, as it would have come from Cad Bane himself.
Top Gun With Captain Rex and R2-D2
Another nixed arc would have seen a rare interaction and relationship between Clone Captain Rex and Anakin Skywalker's astromech R2-D2. Apparently, the ground forces of the Republic would have gotten in a disagreement with the pilots, leading to Captain Rex flying a ship with R2 as his copilot. However, the pair would have crashed and become stranded on one of the moon's of Ryloth, the homeworld of the Twi'leks. They also would have reprogrammed a B2 Battle Droid as well.
Based upon some of the storyboard art, it looks as though this arc would have also served to show off the new ARC-170 starfighters seen in later seasons and in Revenge of the Sith. The impressive ships were a precursor of sorts to the more iconic X-wings, and the episodes were reported to have a sort of Top Gun feel with a large focus on the Republic's aerial exploits.
Ahsoka's Return and Yoda Discovering A Sith Shrine On Coruscant
Another notable element that was left out and reworked for Ahsoka Tano's personal arc in Season 7 was her discovery of a dark threat in the depths of Coruscant, leading to her return to the Jedi Temple. While Season 7 did see Ahsoka's adventures in the lower levels of the metropolitan planet, she never went back to the Temple, instead heading straight into the Siege of Mandalore to assist Anakin and Obi-Wan before the events of Episode III.
Having left the Jedi Order in Season 5 to walk her own path, this unreleased arc would have seen Ahsoka uncover a danger which would have left her with no choice but to go back. Together with her former master Anakin and Obi-Wan, the trio would head down below the Jedi Temple itself to rescue Jedi Master Yoda who had discovered a Sith Shrine underneath. The story would have also seen Darth Sidious attempting to break into the Jedi Holocron Vault, but Ahsoka would have somehow prevented him from doing so. However, based upon Ahsoka's reworked trajectory in Season 7, it doesn't seem like this tale in particular will ever come to fruition elsewhere.
All in all, it seems as though some of these arcs will indeed become fully formed such as those pertaining to the Bad Batch, while others won't ever see the light of day due to Season 7. However, stories such as Cad Bane and Boba Fett's duel, or Rex's adventure with R2 seem perfect for spin-off miniseries, books or comic adaptations, or even a whole new Season 8 if Disney and Lucasfilm wanted to. Regardless, many of these Clone Wars arcs should be completed and released by Disney in whatever form that might take.