Star Wars animation has delivered some of the strongest storytelling in the franchise ever. The Bad Batch was the latest to wrap up its story after three seasons, exploring the clones following Order 66 and the early days of the Galactic Empire. The series was another success in animation for Lucasfilm with its stunning animation and dark themes.

For now, Young Jedi Adventures and various LEGO specials are the only animated Star Wars projects running. In the past, announcements for the next major animated series came shortly after the previous one wrapped up. Since Dave Filoni has a larger role as the chief creative officer at Lucasfilm and his ties to animation, there will likely be plans for more projects in the future and there are endless possibilities for where Star Wars can go next in the medium.

More Animated Shorts Are Likely

In recent years, Lucasfilm has started producing animated shorts for Disney+ with shows like Visions and the Tales of titles. The Tales of series has allowed Filoni and Lucasfilm to tell vignettes of different characters over time. The first season explored Ahoska and Count Dooku under Tales of the Jedi, and the second featured Barriss Offee and Morgan Elsbethin Tales of the Empire. There's no shortage of characters Lucasfilm can explore in this new format, with more seasons likely to follow.

Visions have been another popular experiment for Star Wars with animation studios from different countries putting their unique spin on the franchise outside the canon. This series has given Star Wars fans their first taste of anime and stop-motion, with a third volume of Visions reportedly in development. Animated shorts have proven to be a success on Disney+, and Lucasfilm could expand further and launch more anthology stories set in the galaxy told with distinct animation styles.

Is a Continuation of The Bad Batch with Omega Possible?

• Star Wars: The Bad Batch took place right after the events of The Clone Wars and continued its stunning animation style.
• Omega could join the likes of Ahsoka Tano, Ezra Bridger, Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Cad Bane, and others by jumping to live-action in a future project based on The Bad Batch's ending.

The Bad Batch ended similarly to Star Wars Rebels since it teases more stories to come. The time jump during the epilogue shows Omega ready to join the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. The Rebels continuation eventually came by way of Ahsoka in live-action, and the same could be true for The Bad Batch.

Omega's story could also easily continue in live-action with a new series following her and the role she plays in the Galactic Civil War. Lucasfilm also set up The Bad Batch in the final season of The Clone Wars with an early arc serving as a backdoor pilot. Omega doesn't seem like a character Lucasfilm will leave out of its plans and The Bad Batch's ending might've already teased its next major animated venture.

Will Star Wars Explore A New Series Set in a Different Era?

• Young Jedi Adventures was the first animated Star Wars series during the High Republic era and features the likes of Yoda and Bell Zettifar from the publishing material.
• Few stories with Luke, Han, and Leia have occurred in the new Star Wars canon during the time of the New Republic, giving a new animated series plenty of creative freedom to tell a new story.

Lucasfilm may also create a new series with a cast of original characters set in an unexplored time with plenty of eras to explore. The High Republic is a new era ripe for more storytelling after the three waves of books wrap up. The Acolyte is set a hundred years later, and Young Jedi Adventures is already telling animated stories geared toward a younger audience. A new animated series could also occur between the original trilogy and the sequels, such as the MandoVerse or after the sequels. While unlikely, Lucasfilm could take a canon story into the Old Republic for the first time or adapt stories from Legends.

Another option on the table is to go TheClone Wars route and tell a new story with familiar characters from the Skywalker Saga. The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett have brought Luke Skywalker into their stories and he could play a major role in Dave Filoni's New Republic film. However, it might be better for characters like Luke, HanSolo, and Leia Organa to live on in animation. While Lucasfilm should prioritize new characters, there's still storytelling potential for the original three characters between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. As Lucasfilm continues to explore new adventures in other mediums, animation makes it possible for Star Wars to remain close to what started it all and add more layers to the sequels like The Clone Wars did for the prequels.

Another Full-Length Film Could Show How Far Star Wars Animation Has Come

• The Dave Filoni-directed Star Wars: The Clone Wars was the first animated film in the franchise released in theaters.
• Lucasfilm currently has several live-action films in development, including The Mandalorian and Grogu, a Dawn of the Jedi film, a Rise of Skywalker follow-up centered on Rey, a Lando spin-off, and one during the New Republic era with Filoni set to direct.

Lucasfilm has released many live-action films since Disney purchased it, but 2008's The Clone Wars was the last time an animation feature hit theaters, which it initially planned to launch on Cartoon Network. Early in the franchise's operation under Disney, rumors suggested Pixar would produce a Star Wars film, but nothing close to that has come to fruition despite the House of Mouse's rich animation history.

With how successful animated films like Inside Out 2, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie have been, now might be the perfect time to bring Star Wars animation back to the big screen. The in-house animation style used in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch is as cinematic as it's ever looked before. An animated feature might also be the perfect project to attract younger audiences to the franchise. The 2008 Clone Wars film might've been a failure of the franchise way back when, but Star Wars animation could still thrive on the big screen because the shows have been delivering film-quality work for over a decade.

Disney might be slowing down on developing projects across the company. Still, animation has become a staple of the Star Wars franchise and the most consistent area of quality since the original trilogy. With animation, there are plenty of exciting directions Lucasfilm could take Star Wars in that the live-action projects can't.

Star Wars animation has been going strong since the early 2000s and the franchise's expansion makes it all the more justified to continue. Given the production timeline of animation projects, Lucasfilm is probably already working on what it has planned next, and whatever comes will have a high bar to reach as plenty of excitement awaits.