Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7: 10 Connections & References To The Movies
The way that The Clone Wars ended with its grand finale and the Siege of Mandalore was worthy of the twelve-year wait and the painful anticipation that accompanied it. Dave Filoni performed a masterclass in storytelling throughout that last arc, and the season as a whole was fantastic, even with a bumpy middle.
The entire season was littered with callbacks, references, easter eggs, and connections, and considering the final arc takes place at the exact same time as Revenge Of The Sith, there are a plethora of connections to the movies, ten of which we look at here.
10 The Opening Of The Siege Of Mandalore
The Siege of Mandalore opens in a heartbreaking way as Admiral Yularen's voice tells us that Aayla Secura and Plo Koon, as well as other Jedi, have been sent pretty much to where they die in Revenge Of The Sith.
As well as this obvious tie-in to the movie, we get a look at a beautifully animated General Grievous as he makes his way to Coruscant.
9 "I Sense A Plot To Destroy The Jedi"
Fans knew from the trailers that scenes and lines from Revenge Of The Sith would get put into the show, and that comes in the Siege of Mandalore when we see a familiar conversation involving Mace Windu, Yoda, Ki-Adi Mundi, and Aayla Secura.
The entire "I sense a plot to destroy the Jedi conversation" ends and as soon as it does Ahsoka Tano walks in, planning to tell Anakin what Maul told her. It was genius by the creators to put that scene here, picking up directly where Revenge Of The Sith left off.
8 "I Am One With The Force And The Force Is With Me"
When Ahsoka captures Rex and attempts to find the inhibitor chip in his head and remove it, it is a suspenseful scene with a lot at stake. Ahsoka cannot find the chip by scanners, and so uses the Force to do so, uttering a very familiar line.
"I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me." is the line repeated by Ahsoka, but was made famous a couple of years ago by Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as he used it throughout the movie.
7 A Familiar Sense
In the Martez sisters arc, Anakin Skywalker makes a surprising brief appearance. When Ahsoka accompanies Rafa and Trace on Trace's ship, and they get caught in Republic's military routes, they almost get arrested. However, Anakin senses Ahsoka on the ship and tells Yularen to let them past.
This is pretty much pulled from a scene in Return Of The Jedi, where Vader senses Luke on the shuttle with the rebels on board as they attempt to get past the Empire and land on Endor. Vader chooses to let them by, with Luke thinking he has endangered everything.
6 The Outer Rim Sieges
The Outer Rim Sieges was a campaign in the last year of the Clone Wars with the Grand Army of the Republic putting pressure on the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It first appeared in Revenge Of The Sith with the Battle of Coruscant, Battle of Kashyyyk, Battle of Utapau, and finally the Great Jedi Purge.
These sieges pop up again in the final season of The Clone Wars, not just in the Siege of Mandalore, but in the Mission to Skako Minor in which Anakin, Rex, Cody, and the Bad Batch set off to rescue Echo.
5 Dryden Vos
The Siege of Mandalore arc sees a surprise cameo from Dryden Vos when Maul tells his crime bosses to hide underground and wait for the ensuing chaos.
Of course, Dryden Vos is the main antagonist of Solo: A Star Wars Story, and the public leader of Crimson Dawn which is actually led by Maul himself. This meeting may be the beginning of the Crimson Dawn.
4 "Maybe It's Another Drill."
During the Bad Batch arc, while the clones are attacking the Separatist outpost, the camera cuts to two droids right before they get killed as they say "Do you know what's going on?" to which the other replies "Maybe it's another drill."
Fans of A New Hope will remember that these are the exact lines spoken by two stormtroopers - KE-829 and his partner - who were there when Obi-Wan deactivated the tractor beam.
3 "What Have I Done?"
Saying Order 66 happening is a connection to the movies goes without saying, but one moment in particular right before the Order is given is pulled straight from Revenge Of The Sith and is heartbreaking.
Both Ahsoka and Maul sense the battle that went down between Windu and Sidious, with dialogue from Samuel L. Jackson and Ian McDiarmid as well as Hayden Christensen, with the vision-esque shot ending with a dub between Christensen and Matt Lanter's voice saying "What have I done?"
2 Gold Squadron
The various squadrons in Star Wars present in the dogfight battles are always great to hear standing by whether it be Red Squadron, Blue Squadron, Green Squadron, or Gold Squadron.
Gold Squadron appear in the Battle of Yavin and Battle of Endor as a squadron of Y-wing bombers. Gold Squadron also appears in "Unfinished Business" at the Battle of Anaxes as a squadron of earlier model Y-wings.
1 A Lucasfilm Limited Production
Some fans may have been confused - while others sat with a big smile on their face, or existential dread for the episode to come - when the Siege of Mandalore arc showed "A Lucasfilm Limited Production" title card rather than a moral for the episode.
This neon green logo was the original used back in 1977 when George Lucas released Star Wars and, as a student of George's, it is a great callback, as well as a great signal of the movie to come.