The Star Wars TV shows serve as a rich expansion of the galaxy, but there is no denying they have had many missed opportunities. The TV format allowed Star Wars to explore every corner of the universe and introduce exceptional ideas that carry across multiple eras. However, whenever an idea fails to reach its full potential, it can be disappointing after investing so much time in a Star Wars show.

However, looking back at what could have been in each series can be a lesson for upcoming Star Wars TV shows. It would also be rewarding if fans learned more about these unused concepts or saw them integrated into other Star Wars projects. Old ideas can always inspire new creative decisions, and the Star Wars TV shows have 10 missed opportunities that would have been incredible.

10 Ezra Bridger Turning To The Dark Side In Star Wars Rebels Season 3

Ezra Bridger learned that his parents were killed by the Empire in Star Wars Rebels season 2, and Maul used this to manipulate him in the finale. After losing Ahsoka to Darth Vader and Kanan Jarrus losing his sight to Maul, Ezra was left with the Sith Holocron, which he studied for six months. The season 3 premiere explored his dark side tendencies, but the arc was abandoned as the season went on, even though much more could have been done with it. The episodes where Maul forces Ezra to help with his quest could have pushed him further down the dark path, but the writers avoided pursuing this storyline.

9 Asajj Ventress Appearing In Star Wars Resistance Season 2

Star Wars Resistance head writer and executive producer Brandon Auman revealed that Mika Grey was originally going to be an older Asajj Ventress. He confirmed this was Dave Filoni's idea, and the team considered having a lightsaber duel between Ventress and Kylo Ren. It's unclear how this idea would have worked, as Ventress died in the 2015 novel Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden. However, Ventress faked her death in the Star Wars Legends continuity by going into a Sith trance, so maybe a similar explanation would have been used. Either way, the abandoned Asajj Ventress plot would have improved Star Wars Resistance.

8 Seeing How Plo Koon Found Ahsoka In Tales Of The Jedi

Plo Koon finding Ahsoka Tano and bringing her to the Jedi Temple would have been a much better premiere for Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. This was a canceled arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, so it would have been great if Tales of the Jedi had finally made it happen. Viewers were instead treated to a baby Ahsoka episode with a ridiculous premise, and it made the timeline confusing by showing that Ahsoka did not go to the temple for another two years. Bringing in Plo Koon would have been more satisfying and made more sense in a show called Tales of the Jedi.

7 Din Djarin Becoming The Ruler Of Mandalore In The Mandalorian Season 3

Din Djarin was the main character of The Mandalorian's first two seasons, but much of the focus was shifted to Bo-Katan Kryze in season 3. Rather than having Din Djarin continue his arc to mastering the Darksaber, Bo-Katan takes the blade instead. The creative team made the same mistake as in Star Wars Rebels season 4: Sabine Wren was only present to pass the Darksaber to Bo-Katan, and Din Djarin did the same. It would be much more engaging if Din Djarin had a complete arc throughout the series, growing from a lone bounty hunter to the ruler of Mandalore.

6 Cad Bane’s Role In The Book Of Boba Fett

As fantastic as Cad Bane's live-action portrayal was in The Book of Boba Fett, the team waited too long to bring him into the story. Bane showed up in the second to last episode, leaving no time to do anything significant with the character. His encounter with Boba Fett alluded to their history from a canceled arc of The Clone Wars, and it would have been cool if the show had time to explore this in depth. Unfortunately, Bane only had one full-length episode before he was unceremoniously killed off.

5 The Canceled Ahsoka/Darth Sidious Arc In The Clone Wars

One of the most intriguing canceled arcs from The Clone Wars would have featured Ahsoka returning to face Darth Sidious on Coruscant. The arc would have revealed that the Jedi Temple was built on the ruins of other Force temples, including a Sith shrine that Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker had to rescue Master Yoda from. Sidious would also have tried to break into the Holocron vault, with Ahsoka stopping him and nearly coming face to face with the Sith Lord. Sadly, this story can never be told in canon thanks to The Clone Wars season 7, even as a book or comic series.

Related: Every Unaired Clone Wars Arc, Ranked

4 The Inquisitors In Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi may have brought the Inquisitors into live-action, but it did so with disappointing execution. The returning Inquisitors from Star Wars Rebels barely look or sound like their animated counterparts, and quite frankly, they are bad at their job. The Grand Inquisitor stops Reva from killing the Jedi they were sent to find, and then they don't even attempt to chase after him. This is one of many examples of their incompetence in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it wouldn't be the last time they were mishandled in live-action.

3 Marrok The Inquisitor’s Identity In Ahsoka

There was ample speculation over Marrok the Inquisitor's identity going into Ahsoka, but the character was killed off before anything was revealed about the character. This repeats the problem with Supreme Leader Snoke in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, who had an aura of mystery but was killed before the sequels could delve into his backstory. That doesn't mean any of the Marrok identity theories had to come true, even though some had potential. It's also understandable that Marrok wasn't the focus of season 1, but it wasted the character's potential by revealing nothing significant about his character.

2 Dooku Betraying Sifo-Dyas In Tales Of The Jedi

Another missed opportunity in Tales of the Jedi was showing more of Dooku's history with Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. The Clone Wars season 6 delved into this backstory, but it was a little confusing since the Jedi investigation was condensed into one episode. Tales of the Jedi could have shown Dooku speaking to his old friend one last time before ordering his death to keep the clone army secret, making his regret more palpable later in the episode. This is where Tales of the Jedi's short format limited its potential, even if Dooku's episodes were incredible overall.

1 A “What If…?” Style Star Wars Series For Existing Characters

Marvel's What If...? animated series explores what would happen if moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe happened differently, and Star Wars deserves the same treatment. Star Wars: Visions demonstrated the potential of non-canon, alternate takes on the Star Wars universe, and it would be just as exciting if this happened for existing characters and storylines. The Star Wars Infinities comics did this for the original trilogy in the early 2000s, and "What If...?" videos are some of the most popular Star Wars content online. With so much potential for revisiting the saga, not having a "What If...?" series would be the biggest missed opportunity for the Star Wars TV shows.