The Punisher: One Last Kill Is The Perfect Template For A Live-Action Clone Wars Project
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Published Aug 29, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
George is a film critic and journalist with over nine years of experience in the entertainment industry. Beginning as the Co-Creator and Co-Editor of Star Wars Holocron, the most followed Star Wars fan account on Twitter/X, George went on to develop The HoloFiles, a movie and television-focused website with his brother and writing partner Josh.
A member of the Hollywood Creative Alliance, Chicago Indie Critics, Online Film and Television Association, and the Internet Film Critic Society, George has covered major industry events as credentialed media, including D23, CinemaCon, SXSW, Fantastic Fest, Star Wars Celebration, Tribeca Festival, and more. He also regularly writes reviews and contributes articles to ScreenAnarchy, BRWC, Film Obsessive, TV Obsessive, and Under the Radar. George's work has been featured in various esteemed publications, including the BBC, Associated Press, Forbes, and The New York Times.
In the years since Disney purchased Lucasfilm and took control of the Star Wars franchise, arguably no project has been the subject of such universal, widespread acclaim from fans as Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
In 2008, George Lucas and Dave Filoni kickstarted a Clone Wars series with a poorly received theatrical released movie. With each and every season of the show that went by, however, reception from critics and fans markedly improved, to the point where stories such as Ahsoka’s Wrong Jedi tale, the Maul and Mandalore arc, the trio of Mortis Gods episodes, and the Siege of Mandalore are widely regarded as some of the best Star Wars stories of all time.
While The Clone Wars unfolded exclusively in animation for years, fans did not cease from speculating about and demanding the series come to life in live-action. Such a change in medium would allow fan-favorite actors like Hayden Christensen, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman to reprise their roles from Lucas’ prequel trilogy and finally don their iconic Clone Wars armor.
In 2023, Dave Filoni made this dream a reality when the fifth episode of season 1 of Ahsoka featured flashbacks to the Clone Wars with Ariana Greenblatt playing a young Ahsoka Tano and Hayden Christensen wearing Anakin Skywalker’s beloved Clone Wars armor for the first time on-screen.
Filoni will evidently continue treating fans to live-action Clone Wars material as the recently released trailer for Ahsoka Season 2 revealed that Christensen and Greenblatt are back for more Clone Wars flashbacks.
Recent comments made by Christensen during D23 2026 suggest that the actor would be open to a full-fledged live-action Clone Wars project, which, if ever developed by Filoni and Lucasfilm, would be smart in drawing influence from the most unexpected of places - The Punisher.
A Live-Action Clone Wars Movie Would Be A Bad Idea
In a recent installment of the Hey Jonas! Podcast with the Jonas Brothers, Hayden Christensen was asked about his interest in making a live-action Clone Wars project. “I know that Ewan McGregor would love to do more with it,” Christensen remarked. “I've heard Natalie [Portman] would love to come back. Sam Jackson. So you could get the band back together.”
While a full-fledged live-action Clone Wars project is clearly of interest to the fans, Christensen, and, based on a number of interviews he’s given, McGregor as well, doing so in the form of a theatrically released film would be a miscalculation from Lucasfilm.
In light of the lukewarm box office performance of The Mandalorian and Grogu and mixed reception to both Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the franchise hasn’t had a bonafide box office and critical hit in nearly a decade, since 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a film that has been met with both adoration and abhorrence from fans. This track record puts added pressure on Lucasfilm to deliver a resounding success of a Star Wars movie, one that earns money at the box office, positive reviews from critics, and passion from fans.
On the surface, The Clone Wars would seemingly check at least one or two of these boxes, but it would also indicate that Star Wars is stuck in the past, rather than moving forward into the future. Theatrically released Star Wars movies should be reserved for stories that are deserving of being told on the big screen, which means they are of in-universe importance to and have stakes for the broader timeline. In part, that’s why Solo and The Mandalorian and Grogu - two movies that contributed relatively little to fandom’s understanding of a galaxy far, far away- struggled at the box office.
Consistent with recent words from Dave Filoni at D23, Lucasfilm needs to take risks and be ambitious with its projects, especially its theatrical endeavors. While likely entertaining, a live-action Clone Wars movie would be neither risky nor ambitious.
Disney+ Has Had Success With Hour-Long Special Presentations
Marvel Studios
Amidst a range of Star Wars and Marvel television shows, Disney+ has found more selective success with hour-long special presentations. In the Marvel universe, these have come in the form of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, Werewolf By Night, and, most recently, The Punisher: One Last Kill.
All three special presentations from Marvel Studios are standalone, roughly one-hour specials that tell a complete story without the need for a feature-length film nor a multi-episode series. For instance, a holiday special focused on the Guardians of the Galaxy may not have enough story to warrant 8+ individual episodes, but there was evidently more than enough material to create a compelling 42 minute special out of it.
Such special presentations allow Disney+ to give fans what they want (i.e., live-action Clone Wars), but not fork out the cash required to develop a full movie or television series. They mitigate the risk, while delivering the right kind of fan service.
This was perhaps best exemplified earlier this year with The Punisher: One Last Kill, which offered a profound dive into the disturbed psyche of Frank Castle. The special blended meditative character study with masterfully choreographed action, all within the timespan of less than an hour.
A Clone Wars Disney+ Special Could Be Proof Of Concept For A Full Show
A special presentation akin to The Punisher: One Last Kill would be the perfect way to expand upon the live-action Clone Wars flashbacks from Ahsoka Seasons 1 and 2. Such a move would allow Lucasfilm to test the waters of how such a concept would play to the fans and, if successful with their endeavor, they could commission a full-fledged, multi-episode series to follow it up.
In doing so, Lucasfilm and Dave Filoni could essentially engineer an extended episode of The Clone Wars, albeit one in live-action rather than animation. As most of the episodes of The Clone Wars were either animated or one installment in a limited-episode arc, a special presentation would not feel out of place amidst the overarching structure of the series.
There is also plenty of material for Filoni and company to mine from given various stories from George Lucas’ time developing The Clone Wars never saw the light of day. Roughly 52 planned episodes across multiple story arcs were left unfinished, including the Crystal Crisis on Utapau and a Yuuzhan Vong-inspired arc.
Whether it be taking these unfinished stories and adapting them into live-action or creating an original Clone Wars story from scratch, Lucasfilm and Star Wars have a roadmap to bring more live-action Clone Wars to fans by referring to acclaimed special presentations on Disney+ like The Punisher: One Last Kill.
Directors
Brian Kalin O'Connell, Steward Lee, Giancarlo Volpe, Bosco Ng, Danny Keller, Rob Coleman, Justin Ridge, Nathaniel Villanueva, Saul Ruiz, Jesse Yeh, Duwayne Dunham, Atsushi Takeuchi, Robert Dalva, Walter Murch
Writers
Katie Lucas, Christian Taylor, Brent V. Friedman, Matt Michnovetz, Drew Z. Greenberg, Steven Melching, Chris Collins, Charles Murray, Eoghan Mahony, Bonnie Mark, Craig W. Van Sickle, Daniel Arkin, Jose Molina, Steven Long Mitchell, Cameron Litvack, George Krstic, Carl Ellsworth, Craig Titley, Julie Siege, Jonathan W. Rinzler, Ben Edlund, Douglas Petrie, Kevin D. Campbell, Kevin Rubio
Marvel Studios
English (US) ·