Familiar faces from the live-action Saga and previous seasons of The Clone Wars join forces in the third season of The Clone Wars. In addition to exploring new battlefronts and frontiers, the series reveals insights and revelations about some of the stories we've seen so far. This week, "Supply Lines" takes the narrative back before the series' season one debut. It's an all-new facet to a fan-favorite storyline airing at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT Friday, September 24 on Cartoon Network.
Ryloth is under siege. Trapped on the surface, Jedi Master Di rallies the local forces with the help of rebel leader Cham Syndulla. Desperate to save them, Senator Bail Organa and Representative Jar Jar Binks are dispatched to the planet of Toydaria, where they must convince the King Katuunko to send aid to Ryloth -- before it's too late.

"This is one of the fun aspects of being this deep into the series," says Dave Filoni, supervising director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. "Now that we have two seasons already under our belt, we can go back and look at some different aspects of key moments from the Clone Wars; we can jump around in the timeline. We can explore different aspects and different stories. We have a neat opportunity to blow out stories that we've seen already, and look at them from a different perspective, a different point of view -- and that's been an important aspect of Star Wars since the original trilogy."

Taking place before Yoda's fateful meeting with King Katuunko on the moon of Rugosa -- chronicled in the series premiere episode, "Ambush" -- "Supply Lines" also explores the origins of the Ryloth occupation and the subjugation of the Twi'lek people occupation, explored in a three-episode arc in the first season.

"This conflict is vast, to say the least," says Filoni. "It's a big galaxy, and there's a lot going on at all times. Even two seasons in, we're only seeing a fraction of the war -- key moments that are really focused on the primary heroes from the films. But those moments are framed by heroism and villainy, too, just as there are important events happening concurrently with the key scenes we've explored. We've got 22 minutes per episode and 22 episodes per season, and we're still only scratching the surface of the Clone Wars."

Serving to support existing stories and to build on the overall mythology of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, "Supply Lines" promises its own action and surprises. Featuring the return of some fan-favorite characters (and perhaps a certain starship) from the live-action films, the episode also introduces some brand new characters.

"We're going to meet Jedi Master Di," says Filoni. "I like him a lot; he's cool and I'd like to be able to do more with him. But you should remember that this is a prequel, and that it takes place before the episodes we've seen already. There may be a reason we haven't seen him after the events of this episode. Here's a hint: Star Wars characters have a history of suggestive names. Greedo was a greedy bounty hunter. Lobot's a guy with a computer implanted in his brain, like a lobotomy. General Grievous and Darth Maul are both intent on causing pain and suffering. Han Solo's a loner. So I'm just saying that maybe Jedi Master Di should watch his back."