Why The Jedi Stopped Wearing Armor In The Clone Wars

August 15, 2024

The Jedi were armor for the first three seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, so why did they start wearing the classic Jedi robes in season 4?

The first three seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars show the Jedi wearing armor, but from season 4 onward those were ditched in favor of the classic Jedi robes. A canon animated show set between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Clone Wars offered a better look at the “Clone Wars” referenced in the movies and expanded the Star Wars lore in a way that no other movie or show did. One of the new additions made by Clone Wars, at least in terms of canon, was that the Jedi wore armor during the Clone Wars – but only for the first half of the conflict.

While the Clone Wars canonically lasted three years, the Star Wars prequels skipped most of it. Attack of the Clones ends with the beginning of the Clone Wars following the First Battle of Geonosis while Revenge of the Sith opens with Count Dooku, leader of the Separatist Alliance, being killed by Anakin Skywalker. Thanks to Clone Wars, Star Wars was able to explore not only the conflict itself but also how it affected the Jedi Order and its leaders.

From the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie to Clone Wars’ season finale, most of the Jedi wore armor – even when they were not in battle. That includes Anakin, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, and Plo Koon. However, starting with season 4, all the Jedi started to wear their classic robes from the movies. That is because, during its first few seasons, Clone Wars did not have either the budget or the time to properly animate what a Jedi robe would look like in a 3D model. Therefore, it was easier for Clone Wars to have the Jedi wear stiff armor rather than fabric. Eventually, animation techniques evolved and the Clone Wars’ budget increased, thus allowing the show to create new models for every character and to finally give the Jedi their signature robes. Clone Wars season 4 had a noticeable change of quality in animation, with the Jedi’s robes being the best example of that evolution. For Clone Wars season 7, which was produced years later under Disney, the Clone Wars character models were also updated – and now Jedi such as Anakin and Obi-Wan looked even more like their movie counterparts.

Clone Wars’ Jedi Armor Illustrates The Problem With The Prequel-Era Jedi

While there is no in-universe canon explanation to justify that change in the Jedi’s clothing, the Star Wars Expanded Universe established that wearing bulky armor could slowly interrupt the Jedi’s connection with the Force. Although that is a Legends explanation as to why Jedi prefer to avoid armor, it would certainly help justify why the Clone Wars Jedi ditched the armor after the first half of the conflict. Not only that, but by using military terminology like “General Kenobi” and wearing armor, the Jedi were posing themselves as an army of soldiers rather than an order of peacekeepers. Ditching the armor in favor of the traditional robes might have been a strategic decision made by the Jedi Order to try to improve the galaxy’s perception of the Jedi.

Essentially, having the Jedi wear armor in the first three seasons of Clone Wars was a practical decision to save the show’s time and budget. Fortunately, Clone Wars was later able to improve its characters’ models. Curiously, to maintain canon consistency, the upcoming Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi will see Anakin wearing armor, as the show will revisit the early Star Wars: The Clone Wars timeline.

Clone Wars’ Jedi Armor Illustrates The Problem With The Prequel-Era Jedi

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