![Lucasfilm announced it is planning a new animated series. It also announced that "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" will end as a series, but that "bonus content" is in production.](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/a2/ce/a2cebf17e54e8908e4faa7d4d90b54a8.jpg?itok=7-Q_XCTB "Lucasfilm announced it is planning a new animated series. It also announced that "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" will end as a series, but that "bonus content" is in production.")
On March 11, Lucasfilm made several announcements regarding its animated television series. The good news for many fans is that a new “Star Wars” animated TV show is in development. The bad news is that “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” is ending, and the previously announced “Star Wars: Detours” has been postponed.
In making the announcements, Lucasfilm focused on offering new stories and time period for the as-of-yet unnamed “Star Wars” show.
“As we enter into an exciting new era focused on the next ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, Lucasfilm has decided to pursue a new direction in animated programming. We are exploring a whole new Star Wars series set in a time period previously untouched in ‘Star Wars’ films or television programming. You can expect more details in the months to come.”
The popular “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” has just wrapped up its fifth season, and the Lucasfilm announcement confirmed it will be last season aired on Cartoon Network. The announcement did reassure fans, however, that the company is continuing to work on new “Clone Wars” story arcs for what is being described as “bonus content.”
Lucasfilm also posted a video, with bonus content, concerning the future of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." In it, Supervising Director Dave Filoni promises viewers, “The best is yet to come.” The bonus content is a two-minute clip of previously-unseen material that features a clone trooper shooting a Jedi Knight.
There’s no official word yet as to how the “Clone Wars” bonus content will be distributed.
While it is certain to disappointment some fans of “Star Wars” animated series, the Lucasfilm announcement about “Clone Wars” is not entirely unexpected. When the Cartoon Network’s line-up was announced in January, “Clone Wars” was noticeably absent– a move that suggested big changes for the series, with rumors ranging from its cancellation to a move to Disney XD.
“Star Wars: Detours” has been indefinitely postponed. The comedy from Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, both known for “Robot Chicken,” and collaborator Todd Grimes had been announced at “Star Wars” Celebration VI.
Lucasfilm cited its new “Star Wars” film trilogy as a factor in this decision, saying it “has “reconsidered whether launching an animated comedy prior to the launch of ‘Episode VII’ makes sense.” “Detours” was slated to take place in the “Star Wars” time period between “Episode III” and “Episode IV.”
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