Some extremely exciting news landed at The Clone Wars anniversary panel at San Diego Comic-Con International today where fans were the first to learn that the beloved Clone Warsanimated series, which ran for six seasons between 2008 and 2013, will be returning with twelve all-new episodes on Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming service.

The news was met by ecstatic cheers and raised lightsabers that reverberated throughout the entire pop culture event.

Since its debut, The Clone Wars has become one of the most critically-acclaimed entries in the Star Wars saga, earning multiple Emmy awards and praise from fans of all ages around the globe. Since 2013, an effort to resurrect the series (#SaveTheCloneWars) was launched by fans, resulting in tens of thousands of emails/letters sent to Disney and Lucasfilm.

Dave Filoni, who helmed the show as Supervising Director during its original run, resumes his role on The Clone Wars continuation, which he can’t wait to share with fans. “I honestly didn’t think we would ever have the opportunity to return to The Clone Wars,” says Filoni. “Thanks to the relentless fan support and the team behind Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, we will now get to tell more of those stories. We feel a tremendous responsibility to make something that lives up to the legacy that George Lucas created with the original series and I think our team, many of whom worked on the show from the beginning, has risen to the challenge.”

The new Clone Wars episodes will continue the storylines introduced in the original series, which explored the events leading up to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. The series will see the return of classic characters Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi as well as fan-favorites Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex. The new episodes will debut on Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming service.

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