Star Wars finally released a direct sequel to The Clone Wars in the form of a Disney+ series, but it notably distanced itself from that show by not including one of the most beloved elements of the animated title. The Clone Wars is undoubtedly one of the most popular Star Wars projects of all time, especially among younger fans, thanks to its deep themes, characters, and its role in retroactively improving the prequel trilogy. However, despite its successes and the elements it excelled at, Lucasfilm didn't bring back everything that had worked well in the past.
Maul - Shadow Lord was recently released on Disney+, and it surprisingly took the Star Wars fandom by storm in multiple ways. The show is already widely considered one of the best Star Wars titles of all time, and many even claim it has already surpassed its predecessor, The Clone Wars. While Shadow Lord got a lot of things right and borrowed elements from The Clone Wars, it abandoned one major and beloved part of the show: the inclusion of clone troopers.
Shadow Lord is a direct sequel to multiple projects, such as Revenge of the Sith, but it is primarily a continuation of The Clone Wars, focusing on a central plotline and character arc left on a bit of a cliffhanger at the end of Clone Wars' final season. However, Shadow Lord did not feature a single clone trooper in any of its 10 episodes and didn't even reference them at all.
The clones are arguably the most important part of The Clone Wars. Since the term "clone" is directly in the title, the show mainly centers on different clone troopers like Captain Rex, Jesse, Fives, etc., and the different legions of troopers. Maul decided to completely abandon that element.
Now, Maul - Shadow Lord didn't just leave the clones out because it wanted to. The series takes place about a year after Season 7 of The Clone Wars, so it wouldn't make much sense for any clones to appear in the timeline.
The Bad Batch (another animated series that is a direct sequel to The Clone Wars) established that the clones were decommissioned by the Empire shortly after the end of the Clone Wars. Essentially, the clones weren't wanted anymore after the Empire was born, as the Emperor wanted stormtroopers to take their place. Stormtroopers were real, regular people, not clones.
Since the clones were being phased out and, more or less, tossed aside after the events of The Clone Wars, they didn't have a part to play in the overarching story during the point on the timeline in which Shadow Lord takes place.
It is also worth noting that, while there is an in-universe reason for the clones not to appear in Shadow Lord, Lucasfilm also likely wanted to move away from them since they had already been the center of attention and the main focus of many recent stories. For example, The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch were all about the clones and their character arcs, so there wasn't a need at all for a third show to showcase a bunch of clones.
Maul - Shadow Lord has already been renewed for a second season by Disney and Lucasfilm. It is more than possible that at least one or two clone troopers could appear in the series. As Obi-Wan Kenobi proved, there are still some clones who are alive in the rise of the Empire era, but many of them are outcasts or have trouble finding somewhere they can fit in. So, it is possible that a clone or two could pop up in Season 2, but it's unlikely. It is hard to come up with a scenario where clones would be beneficial to the story being told in Shadow Lord.
While the absence of the clones is undoubtedly the biggest missing element from Maul - Shadow Lord, it is not the only popular Clone Wars component that didn't make it into the most recent animated title.
Other Popular Clone Wars Elements Not Used in Shadow Lord
Ahsoka's Story
The clones may have been a major part of The Clone Wars, but so was Ahsoka Tano. The series was just as much about her and her character arc as it was anyone, and The Clone Wars is mostly responsible for Ahsoka being as popular as she is today. Specifically, in The Clone Wars Season 7, Ahsoka's story was directly tied in with Maul's, but the Togruta Force user was not featured in Shadow Lord.
By the time Shadow Lord takes place, Ahsoka is busy hiding from the Empire and mourning the loss of all of her friends in The Clone Wars, so it wouldn't make any sense at all for her to show up.
Storylines Around the Galaxy
Another element of The Clone Wars that fans loved was how it featured storylines and characters from across the galaxy far, far away. For example, one season of the show could showcase characters from 10 different planets and intertwine storylines that seemed to have nothing to do with each other.
Shadow Lord, on the other hand, took place on only one planet (Janix) and consistently explored the character arcs of just a few characters. Now, this is not a bad thing, as it allowed fans to connect with the characters in Shadow Lord on a deeper level. It also helped set Shadow Lord apart from The Clone Wars, as the recent series would have felt entirely too similar to its predecessor if it were set up the same way.
Tying Itself in With the Films
Many fans praise The Clone Wars for how it directly ties into the movies in the Skywalker Saga and for how it specifically improves the prequel trilogy. One of the best examples of how that show ties into the movies is the final arc of Season 7, which took place during the events of Revenge of the Sith. Some scenes from that movie were even featured in The Clone Wars.
However, Shadow Lord did not continue this. The only two movies it connects to are Revenge of the Sith and Solo, but even then, those connections aren't necessarily strong, and the show doesn't depend on what happens in either film.
