Clone Wars animator hints Season 8 could happen for one big reason

The Clone Wars is over — or is it? The Star Wars cartoon's series finale aired bright and early on Monday morning, giving fans closure on Ahsoka's journey throughout the Clone Wars conflict and Order 66. With the series officially over, though, we can't help but wonder: Will there be a Clone Wars Season 8? And if so, when might the release date arrive?

Why Clone Wars Season 8 might actually happen

Gianni Aliotti served as lighting and special effects supervisor on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and has worked with Lucasfilm Animation for a while. That means he's deeply involved in how Clone Wars Season 7 looks. He also worked on Rebels, another computer-animated Star Wars show set after Clone Wars but before Episode IV: A New Hope.

Why does this matter? Well, on April 17, Aliotti tweeted a thank you to Clone Wars fans for their support around Season 7, and he included an intriguing hint about his future with Lucasfilm Animation:

Glad to see so much love for our work in #TheCloneWars again. Keep loving them and we'll keep making more. :) And fear not, we at Lucasfilm Animation are still going strong, even during #COVID19

Clone Wars fans immediately replied asking if he was teasing Season 8. Aliotti didn't reply, but he didn't shoot down those guesses either.

What would Clone Wars Season 8's plot be about?

Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Clone Wars Season 7 finale.

If more Clone Wars is possible at all, it's unclear what the plot would be. Season 7 ended the Clone War itself pretty definitively, even taking us into the near-future when Palpatine's rule was established.

That said, the finale did leave some pretty big cliffhangers, including what happens to Darth Maul right after his escape or the specific details of Vader's early attempts to find Ahsoka. Clone Wars Season 8 could pick up either of those loose threads — or even both of them. It could also reveal how and why the Empire eventually started to replace its clone soldiers with regular people, offering closure on the story of the clones at the heart of the series.

Then again, it's possible new episodes could be more like Season 6, subtitled "The Lost Missions, which told various stories to fill in Star Wars canon (including how Yoda learned about Force ghosts). Season 8 could take a similar approach while answering unsolved questions from The Rise of Skywalker like how Palpatine survived or what it means to be a Dyad. These stories take place before or during the events of Season 7.

Or maybe Aliotti might not be referring to Clone Wars Season 8 at all. Rumors have been swirling that Lucasfilm Animation's next move could be to bring back Rebels, which ended on a cliffhanger after Season 4. If fans react positively to Clone Wars, maybe Disney will bring back Rebels and finally reveal what happens to Ezra Bridger with a Season 5.

Or maybe we'll get something totally different. The Mandalorian proved there's still an appetite or new Star Wars stories, and if anyone is capable of doing just that it's the team behind the thrilling last few episodes of Clone Wars Season 7.

When is the Clone Wars Season 8 release date?

If there is a Clone Wars Season 8 (and that's a really big if), it hopefully won't take as long as Season 7. To be fair, that had more to do with launching Disney+ than the logistics of creating the show.

That said, animation takes time, and as far as we know, Clone Wars Season 8 hasn't been ordered. Unlike Season 7, which had some unused episodes to work with, a new season would be starting from scratch. That means script development, storyboarding, and all the other fun stuff that happens before the animation and voice acting can even begin.

So even if there is a Clone Wars Season 8, we don't expect to see it for a very long time.

Is there a Clone Wars Season 8 trailer?

Not unless you count the last few minutes of Season 7.

The Clone Wars is streaming on Disney+.