George Lucas made the decision to release the project as a full-length movie after watching a rough cut of early television episodes on a big screen. He declared the footage beautiful enough to warrant a theatrical release instead of continuing with a weekly show format.
Lucasfilm Animation used Autodesk Maya software to create highly detailed worlds and characters for the project. The production team drew inspiration from British supermarionation shows like Thunderbirds from the 1960s rather than photorealistic CGI styles.
Matt Lanter replaced Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker while James Arnold Taylor took over the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Tom Kane voiced Yoda and Dee Bradley Baker voiced the clone troopers replacing previous voice actors associated with the franchise.
Star Wars merchandise first appeared on the 26th of July 2008 just weeks before the film release. Hasbro produced several three-inch action figures along with an electronic clone trooper helmet during this launch period.
The Clone Wars earned sixty-eight million dollars worldwide against an eight million dollar budget. Critics gave it an eighteen percent approval rating based on one hundred seventy-one reviews on Rotten Tomatoes despite ranking third highest earning during its opening weekend.