[8][9][10] The Clone Wars received at first mostly positive reception and later acclaim from critics and became a significant ratings success, becoming Cartoon Network's highest-rated show during its initial run.

The series is centered on the eponymous conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a separatist movement organized by the Sith Lord Count Dooku.

The Jedi Knights of the Republic lead their legions of clone troopers against the Separatist droid armies headed by the cyborg commander General Grievous.

Unbeknownst to the galaxy, the mysterious Sith Lord Darth Sidious orchestrated the war and manipulates both sides as part of his master plan to corrupt Anakin, eliminate the Jedi, and create a new governing state under his rule.

Other antagonists include Dooku's apprentice and assassin Asajj Ventress, infamous bounty hunter Cad Bane, and rogue Sith Lord Darth Maul.

Darth Sidious hires Cad Bane to steal a holocron from the Jedi Temple that jeopardizes the future of the galaxy's Force-sensitive children; a Separatist droid manufacturing facility on Geonosis creates new weapons that threaten to turn the tide of the war; Grievous increases his attacks on the Republic fleet and overwhelms the Jedi; the Mandalorian terrorist faction, Death Watch, takes advantage of their planet's neutrality to target the pacifistic Duchess Satine Kryze; Ahsoka's lightsaber gets stolen; and assassin Aurra Sing mentors the young Boba Fett, who seeks revenge against Mace Windu for the death of Boba's father.

Anakin learns about the nature of the Force, and his role as the Chosen One in an ancient Force realm; Ahsoka begins to grow into her own and is faced with several challenges that test her independence as a Padawan; and Asajj Ventress is betrayed by Dooku and left for dead, causing her to return to her Nightsister coven and attempt to exact revenge on Dooku through the use of her own pawn, the Nightbrother Savage Opress.

Captain Rex and the 501st Legion are forced to go against their orders and act independently to oppose the rogue Jedi general Pong Krell.

In the first one, the Republic helps a group of rebels from Onderon, led by siblings Steela and Saw Gerrera, liberate their planet from Separatist occupation.

The third arc revolves around a team of droids who, while undertaking a mission to intercept an encrypted Separatist message, encounter an amnesiac former clone commando and must help him recover his memories to escape the planet they have been stranded on.

The fourth arc deals with the return of Darth Maul, who joins forces with Death Watch and other criminal syndicates to take over Mandalore and exact revenge on Obi-Wan.

Season six consists of four story arcs: clone trooper Fives investigating the premature activation of Order 66 in a fellow trooper's mind, and discovering the existence of the inhibitor chips implanted in each clone's brain; Padmé trying to help her old friend Rush Clovis expose the corruption in the Intergalactic Banking Clan, which causes tensions in her and Anakin's relationship when he learns about her secret mission and intervenes; Jar Jar Binks and Mace Windu rescuing the captured Queen of Bardotta from a cult headed by the Nightsisters' former leader, Mother Talzin; and Yoda embarking on a journey to learn more about the nature of the Force after he is visited by the spirit of the late Qui-Gon Jinn.

The first one is focused on Captain Rex's character, as he, Anakin, and a team of clones with genetic mutations rescue ARC Trooper Echo, previously believed to have been killed in action, and defeat the Separatists on Anaxes with his help.

The final arc, which is set concurrently with Revenge of the Sith,[13] depicts the Siege of Mandalore, a battle that had been referenced in previous Star Wars media.

Ahsoka reluctantly returns to the Republic to lead an assault alongside Rex and Mandalorian warrior Bo-Katan Kryze against Maul's forces on Mandalore.

The final scene of the series shows Anakin, now Darth Vader, finding Ahsoka's lightsaber among the ship's wreckage sometime later, and leaving with it in silence.

On December 5, 2011, a full-length feature cut of one of the Season 3 trilogies of episodes (the one composed by "Nightsisters," "Monster," and "Witches of the Mist") was released for download on iTunes as an uninterrupted film[17] that was previously shown at selected screenings in 2010.

[18] The series was cancelled in March 2013, after the conclusion of its fifth season, as a result of The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of Lucasfilm and the decision to "pursue a new direction in animated programming".

At the time of the announcement, Lucasfilm teased that, while they were no longer producing The Clone Wars episodes for Cartoon Network, they were working on additional story arcs that would appear elsewhere.

[20] Four years later, Lucasfilm announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2018 that The Clone Wars would return with 12 new episodes in a seventh season to be released on Disney+.

[8][10] At April 2005's Star Wars Celebration III, George Lucas announced that "we are working on a 3-D continuation of the pilot series that was on the Cartoon Network; we probably won't start that project for another year.

[30] Lucas revealed further information in a fan interview,[31] including a new character named Ahsoka Tano, over 100 episodes and a possible appearance by Boba Fett.

Snyder flew out to San Francisco, California to screen several episodes, and told Lucas the only place he wanted to see the show was on Cartoon Network.

Snyder expressed confidence that the shows would help boost ratings: "You catch me at a time where I have a smile on my face because of our internal results.

"[35] Lucas considered excluding the "Young Padawans" arc from Season 5 and airing it separately from The Clone Wars as a feature-length pilot for a spin-off series that never materialized.

Apart from the season-by-season videodisc sets, there were also three special DVD releases consisting of four episodes from a particular season that reflected a certain story arc or theme: The theatrical film that served as the premiere for the series was panned by critics.

"[74] Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune praised the season's "fine" complexity, but criticized its "byzantine" plot and lack of character depth, calling the result an "irritation or boredom".

[81] On July 23, 2010, at San Diego Comic-Con, Craig Glenday, editor of the Guinness World Records, presented Star Wars: The Clone Wars supervising director Dave Filoni, CG supervisor Joel Aron, and lead designer Kilian Plunkett a certificate proclaiming the cartoon series "the highest rated sci-fi animation currently on television".

[7] An eight-episode arc with Nightsister Asajj Ventress and Jedi Quinlan Vos was adapted into Dark Disciple, a novel by Christie Golden released on July 7, 2015.

The unfinished animatics for The Bad Batch, a four-episode arc, were screened at the Star Wars Celebration convention in Anaheim, California, on April 17, 2015.