Dave Filoni explains why Darth Sidious only appears in a handful of The Clone Wars episodes, and we might have his cloak to blame

Star Wars: The Clone Wars remains one of a galaxy far, far away's leading lights – an animated epic that delves into the intimate stories surrounding the rise of the Empire and the fall of the Republic.

But that attempt to zero in on iconic heroes and villains mostly doesn't extend to Darth Sidious, the moonlighting Chancellor Palpatine who would soon become Emperor.

In advance of one-time ally Darth Maul's return in Maul – Shadow Lord, new Lucasfilm president Dave Filoni breaks down why Sidious only shows up in a handful of integral moments during both The Clone Wars and the Rebels follow-up.

"There's always a technical reason like making the [cloth simulation] on his cloak, making that look good and believable wasn't something we could do in early seasons," Filoni revealed on the Star Wars YouTube channel. "Sidious was going to largely remain a hologram."

Additionally, Filoni was mindful of not treading on George Lucas' narrative toes as he operated in the space between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith – all while believing Sidious didn't require too much fleshing out at that point in his ascendancy.

"I didn't feel that it was necessarily important to tell too much story about Sidious in the Clone Wars, given that's George's main villain in his films," Filoni commented. "So, you always have to be careful when you're using these characters that are important to the storyline of the films that you're not changing things, that you're not changing who they are."

Maul – Shadow Lord, a new animated series that takes place post-Revenge of the Sith as the former Sith Lord navigates a new path, hits Disney Plus on April 6.

For more, check out the upcoming Star Wars movies in the works.