The Clone Wars Episodes Would Have Answered a Major Revenge of the Sith Mystery

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In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the Grand Republic was stretched thin by the Clone Wars. Though the Separatists had faced some major setbacks, they still had footholds all over the galaxy. After Anakin Skywalker’s induction into the Jedi High Council, the Jedi discussed what their priorities should be. Their chief concern was locating General Grievous, who had gone into hiding in the Outer Rim, as they hoped that the Separatists would fall apart without his leadership. However, Ki-Adi Mundi pointed out that the Republic was unable to devote all of its resources to this search since it also needed to deal with “the droid attack on the Wookiees.” As well as feeling a moral obligation to help the Wookiees, the Jedi wanted to keep control of the Kashyyyk system out of the Separatist’s hands, as it would grant them access to strategically important hyperspace routes.

Yoda declared, “Go, I will. Good relations with the Wookiees, I have.” Yoda brought the 41st Elite Corps to Kashyyyk to aid the Wookiees — including Chewbacca and Tarfful — in defense of the city Kachirho. Yoda was there when Palpatine issued Order 66, causing the clones to turn against their Jedi generals, but the Wookiees helped Yoda escape the massacre. Revenge of the Sith did not explain why Yoda and the Wookiees had such a strong bond; before this scene, Yoda had never been associated with Kashyyyk or its inhabitants. However, a canceled story arc from the beloved animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars aimed to answer this question and introduce some fascinating lore about Kashyyyk along the way.

There Were Plans for Yoda to Team Up With the Bad Batch

Yoda standing with the Clone Troopers in Star Wars The Clone Wars — Image via Lucasfilm

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Omega looks on in front of an image of the Bad Batch from the animated Star Wars series.

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The original run of The Clone Wars lasted for five seasons on Cartoon Network, stretching from 2008 to 2013. The series’ creators had planned on making a total of eight seasons, but The Clone Wars was canceled after just five, leaving a ton of ideas on the cutting room floor. Several of these scrapped episodes had already gone into early production; the voice actors had recorded their lines, and some rough story reels had been animated. Many of these stories eventually saw the light of day, even if not in the manner that was originally intended.

Some became part of the sixth season that streamed on Netflix in 2014 or the seventh season that streamed on Disney+ in 2020. A few were instead adapted into different forms of media, like the comic series Star Wars: Darth Maul – Son of Dathomir or the novel Star Wars: Dark Disciple. A few never came to fruition in any form, but that does not mean that their events are a complete mystery. Thankfully, the series creators have been open about their plans and unfinished work for The Clone Wars‘ unmade seasons. Through a combination of information revealed at events like Star Wars Celebration and comments from Lucasfilm’s writers on social media, a surprising amount is known about the scrapped episodes of The Clone Wars, including those that would have explained Yoda’s comment in Revenge of the Sith.

The original plans for Season 6 of The Clone Wars included a four-episode arc written by Matt Michnovetz that would have taken place on Kashyyyk. The main villain of this storyline would have been a Trandoshan hunter named Babwa Venomor. In Star Wars lore, the Wookiees and the Trandoshans are bitter enemies because the latter have a tradition of hunting the former for sport. The canceled arc of The Clone Wars would have seen Babwa ally with the Separatists, making him an even greater threat to the inhabitants of Kashyyyk than most Trandoshans.

The Wookiees would have needed to deal both with their reptilian nemeses and with an army of battle droids. Yoda would have led a group of clone troopers to Kashyyyk to help the Wookiees in their fight. In addition to his division of clones, Yoda would have been joined by Clone Force 99, better known as the Bad Batch, who would have been given their four-episode story arc earlier in the season.

This Canceled The Clone Wars Arc Would Have Expanded Kashyyyk’s Lore

Wookiees on Kashyyyk, lead by Tarfful. — Image via Lucasfilm

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The scrapped Kashyyyk episodes would have dealt with the Wookiee culture and how it conflicted with the clone troopers’ pragmatism. For example, the clones would have wanted to burn down some trees to drive the enemies away, but the Wookiees would have been opposed to such a thing because they loved and respected nature. A panel at Star Wars Celebration even shared concept art of Tarfful communicating with the spirits of Kashyyyk’s trees. Michnovetz confirmed that the episodes would have included some references to the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, which was one of the earliest explorations of Wookiee culture. The arc also would have introduced some new Kashyyykian wildlife. The short section of the story reel that was completed showed both Wookiees and clones riding on large, monkey-like creatures called mylaya while battling web-spitting arachnids called kinraths.

Yoda would have been a key part of the scrapped Kashyyyk arc as well. In the current canon, Yoda did not have his clone trooper division like many Jedi Masters did. This makes sense, as Yoda did not spend nearly as much time in the field as Anakin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or Mace Windu, but the canceled episodes would have changed that. The aforementioned Star Wars Celebration panel also shared concept art of clone troopers who had painted their helmets with a silhouette of Yoda’s face. More importantly, Yoda’s actions would have formed his strong bond with the Wookiees, specifically Chewbacca and Tarfful, who would have played prominent roles in the arc. Perhaps Yoda would have found a way to repel the Wookiee’s enemies without burning their beloved trees, which would earn their gratitude.

Yoda Became a Hero to the Wookiees

Star Wars creator George Lucas came up with Babwa’s name.
The myala were originally designed by writer and supervising director Dave Filoni; he changed their faces after receiving feedback from Lucas.
Before their canon debut, kinraths appeared in the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel.

The work that went into The Clone Wars‘ Kashyyyk arc was not entirely wasted. Many of Michnovetz’s ideas were reused a decade later for Star Wars: The Bad Batch, specifically the Season 2 episode “Tribe,” which he also wrote. In “Tribe,” the Bad Batch went to Kashyyyk to aid Gungi, a Wookiee Padawan on the run from the newly-formed Galactic Empire. Babwa made his canon debut in this episode; he played a similar role, but he and his fellow Trandoshans teamed up with the Empire rather than the Separatists. The mylaya and kinraths also appeared in this episode, and the Wookiees prayed to the trees like the concept art of Tarfful. Wrecker even mentioned that the Bad Batch had been to Kashyyyk before, a reference to their scrapped adventure from The Clone Wars. However, since “Tribe” took place during Yoda’s exile on Dagobah, he was absent from the episode, so it did not explain his comment from Revenge of the Sith.

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Split: Yoda on Dagobah; red-tinged Yoda as a Sith

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There is still a canonical explanation for Yoda’s bond with the Wookiees, though it is much less detailed than that which the four episodes from The Clone Wars would have provided. It comes from the 2005 reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations, which was republished and made canon in 2016. Under the entry for “Wookiee Tree,” this book describes,

Yoda modestly claims to have good relations [with] the Wookiees. He has, in fact, been honored with the ancient title “Defender of the Home Tree” for his role as a Jedi negotiator in several previous incidents involving the Wookiees and their system neighbors, the reptilian Trandoshan[s].

It makes sense that Yoda and the Wookiees crossed paths at some point, as they were both extremely long-lived. Chewbacca was born in 200 BBY, so he had 181 years before Revenge of the Sith to meet Yoda. When Lucas wrote the script for Revenge of the Sith, he likely did not come up with an elaborate history between Yoda and the inhabitants of Kashyyyk, but one of the greatest aspects of long-running franchises like Star Wars is that writers can use simple lines of dialogue from earlier projects as springboards for telling new stories.