Star Wars Is Bringing The Prequels, Clone Wars & Sequel Trilogy Together In One Story

Published Nov 12, 2026, 6:31 PM EST

Sean is a senior writer for ScreenRant and has been writing about new TV releases since December 2023. He has received multiple advance screenings of popular shows and ideated his own coverage read by hundreds of thousands of readers.

Sean is a self-published author of a Western novel. Sean has also written award-winning opinion pieces related to local politics while getting his Bachelor's degree in journalism.

An upcoming Star Wars show is set to bring The Clone Wars, the prequels, and the sequels together into a single unified story for the first time. Both the Star Wars timeline and the franchise itself are separated into fairly distinct eras. The galaxy far, far away was very different during the prequel trilogy of Star Wars movies when compared to the original trilogy, for example, and Star Wars itself was very different during The Clone Wars when compared to the sequels.

For the most part, these distinct areas of Star Wars have remained separate. Characters from the original trilogy showed up in the sequels, of course, but they were much older versions of themselves. Each era of Star Wars has its own tone, characters, and style that defines the shows and movies that it consists of. Since they're all separated by decades in-universe, it's fairly easy to keep them all on their own.

Now, however, Star Wars is attempting to bring the eras of the sequels, prequels, and The Clone Wars together into one story, and it's using Ahsoka to do that. Ahsoka was already a bit unusual in terms of Star Wars' separation of eras. The show focuses on one of the main characters from The Clone Wars and features Hayden Christensen reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker, after all. Ahsoka season 2, which is set to premiere on January 20, is set to bring the sequels into the fold as well.

Ahsoka Is The Synthesis Of The Prequels, Sequels, & Clone Wars

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Ahsoka is truly the only story in Star Wars that even can combine the prequels, sequels, and Clone Wars together. As previously mentioned, Ahsoka was a main character of The Clone Wars and Hayden Christensen makes his triumphant return to playing Anakin in the series. On top of that, Ahsoka takes place closer to The Force Awakens than any other live-action Star Wars project. Other shows, like The Mandalorian, also take place after Return of the Jedi, but Ahsoka is the furthest into the future, set in about 12 ABY.

Ahsoka season 2 also has a unique opportunity to directly tie into the story of the sequel trilogy. Grand Admiral Thrawn's return to the main Star Wars galaxy will almost certainly have a massive effect on what remains of the Imperial Remnants. If Thrawn gets defeated, Ahsoka season 2 can take a close look at the formation of the First Order for the first time. The Mandoverse has been building up to the creation of the First Order, but only Ahsoka season 2 has a chance to actually show its inception.

Because of all those elements from those very different parts of the Star Wars timeline, Ahsoka season 2 should end up feeling like a synthesis of all of them. Prequel and Clone Wars characters representing the franchise's past will be fighting one of the most decisive battles for the future of the sequel trilogy. Tonally, as well, Ahsoka should be able to mimic the prequels' sweeping political saga, The Clone Wars' stark look at war and the Jedi, and the sequels' interest in legacy and the next generation. No other Star Wars story blends all of these disparate elements quite like Ahsoka does.

Ahsoka Season 2 Could Be The End Of The Mandoverse For Star Wars

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Though Ahsoka season 2 should mark the first time the prequels, sequels, and Clone Wars are coming together in the same story, it may also mark the end of a different Star Wars story. Ahsoka season 2 may well be the end of the Mandoverse, which was itself an attempt to bridge the gap between the original and sequel trilogies. After all, Ahsoka season 2 is the only upcoming Mandoverse story left, and upcoming Star Wars movies are leaving the entire era behind.

Upcoming Star Wars Movies & Shows
Title	Release Date
Ahsoka Season 2	January 20, 2027
Star Wars: Starfighter	May 28, 2027
Maul - Shadow Lord Season 2	2027
New Jedi Order	TBA
Simon Kinberg's Trilogy	TBA
Dawn of the Jedi	TBA
Star Wars: Visions Season 4	TBA

It also largely seems like the story of Ahsoka season 2 is being built up as a grand finale and sendoff to the Mandoverse. Thrawn's attack on the New Republic seems like a last-ditch effort from the Imperial Remnants before they morph into the First Order. The New Republic seems primed to completely demilitarize in the aftermath of that fight, believing the Empire to be dead and gone. The stage is basically set for Ahsoka season 2 to get the galaxy far, far away into the same state it was in during The Force Awakens; there's not much room left for more Mandoverse stories.

By every metric that matters, Ahsoka season 2 seems like it has the task of transitioning Star Wars as a whole from a focus on the prequel and original trilogies to a focus on the sequels. Star Wars: Starfighter takes place in that era, and Simon Kinberg and Jon Watts are currently working on Episode X. Ahsoka season 2 may not just be a combination of The Clone Wars and the prequels, it may be a farewell to those eras.

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