Movies - TV
George Lucas Had To Promise A Star Wars Movie To Sell The Clone Wars To Cartoon Network
By SANDY SCHAEFER
In 2007, George Lucas began pitching “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” to TV networks, having spent the previous two years developing the animated series. The show took place between the events of “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith,” but no one wanted to pick up the now widely acclaimed animated series without an additional commitment from Lucas.
Despite having broadcast Genndy Tartakovsky's animated “Star Wars,” Cartoon Network was initially “lukewarm” on “The Clone Wars.” The network ultimately came around to acquiring the show after some convincing from its corporate overlords at Warner Bros.; however, Warner Bros. only got onboard after Lucas agreed to produce a theatrical “Clone Wars” feature first.
By setting up shop at Cartoon Network, “The Clone Wars” was afforded the room it needed to come into its own. It fleshed out characters and ideas from Lucas' prequel trilogy, which lended greater dimensions to the films, and proved “Star Wars” animation could be as good, or better, than the live-action projects. All it took was a somewhat phoned-in film to seal the deal.