The decade between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones is one of the least explored eras in the Star Wars timeline. On screen, we jump from a young boy on Tatooine to a grown Jedi Padawan standing beside his master. But in that space of ten years, some of the galaxy’s most important changes unfolded. While the films only hint at them, both canon and Legends sources expand on these missing years. Here are the major untold stories that bridge Episodes I and II.
1. Count Dooku’s Fall to the Dark Side and the Secret of the Clone Army
Not long after Qui-Gon Jinn’s death, Jedi Master Dooku grew more disillusioned with the Jedi Council and the Republic. His frustration with corruption and political failure is central in Dooku: Jedi Lost (a canon audiobook) and the animated Tales of the Jedi. These stories show him walking away from the Order, only to be pulled into the orbit of Darth Sidious.
This is also when the mystery of the clone army begins. Dooku, acting under Sidious’s orders, used the name of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas to commission the Kaminoans to create an army for the Republic. The deception ensured that the Jedi would accept the clones without realizing who truly ordered them. While Attack of the Clones only reveals the army’s existence, these background moves reshaped galactic history.
2. Jango Fett’s Path from Mandalorian Warrior to Clone Template
Jango Fett’s story ties directly into the creation of the clone army. In the comic Jango Fett: Open Seasons (Legends), we see him as one of the last survivors of the Mandalorian civil wars. After losing his people to a Jedi-led force, Jango turned fully to bounty hunting. His reputation caught the attention of Count Dooku, who offered him the role of genetic template for the Grand Army of the Republic.
The video game Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (also Legends) expands this, showing Jango competing for the position by hunting a rogue Dark Jedi. Whether canon or not, these stories explain how the most feared bounty hunter of the era became the father of millions of clone soldiers. What the films confirm without question is his deal with Dooku and his role in raising Boba as an unaltered clone.
3. Anakin Skywalker’s Training Years with Obi-Wan
When we meet Anakin in Attack of the Clones, he is already a skilled Jedi Padawan, but the films show almost nothing of his training. This gap is filled in by the Jedi Quest series (Legends), which follows his struggles to prove himself among other Padawans while carrying the weight of his past as a slave. These stories highlight his skill in combat, his quick temper, and his complex relationship with Obi-Wan.
There are hints of this growth in canon as well. The novel The Approaching Storm shows Anakin and Obi-Wan working together on a mission just before Episode II. Their teamwork is stronger, but so are Anakin’s frustrations. Palpatine also begins to take a personal interest in him during these years, offering guidance and attention that would later play a role in Anakin’s downfall.
4. The Rise of the Separatist Movement and Palpatine’s Political Maneuvering
By the end of The Phantom Menace, Sheev Palpatine had already secured the office of Chancellor. Over the next decade, he quietly expanded his control over the Republic. At the same time, more and more systems became disillusioned with the Senate and began to leave. This slow breakaway is known as the Separatist Crisis.
While Attack of the Clones shows the Republic already divided, the seeds of this split were planted in the years after Naboo. Legends novels like The Approaching Storm and Outbound Flight show political tension at its height. In canon, only brief references exist, but they underline the same point: the Republic was unraveling, and Palpatine was steering events toward war.
5. The “Nest of Gundarks” Incident
One of the best hints about Obi-Wan and Anakin’s adventures comes from a single throwaway line in Attack of the Clones. In the elevator on Coruscant, Obi-Wan says, “I haven’t felt you this tense since we fell into that nest of gundarks.” Anakin quickly reminds him that he was the one who had to do the rescuing.
So what exactly are gundarks? They’re huge, four-armed, carnivorous creatures from the desert world of Vanqor — strong enough that “pulling the ears off a gundark” became a saying for being exceptionally tough. Falling into their nest would’ve been a nightmare for anyone, Jedi included.
Canon gives us a few extra details. At some point during Anakin’s training, Obi-Wan really did fall into a nest, and Anakin pulled him out. Later, during the Clone Wars, the two faced gundarks again while chasing Count Dooku on Vanqor. They managed to knock one unconscious and seal it away with help from Ahsoka and clone troopers. The creatures even attacked astromech droids during a mission to find survivors of a crashed Jedi cruiser.
We still don’t have the full story of that original “nest of gundarks” moment, but the little we know shows just how many wild and dangerous missions Obi-Wan and Anakin shared in those ten missing years — and how much their bond was tested before the Clone Wars ever began.
