"A Sunny Day in the Void," which debuted on December 8, 2012, is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of the animated television program, Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
As the D-Squad makes its way back to Coruscant, the astromech droids seize the opportunity to try and repair their damaged colleague, M5-BZ. Just as they are successful, a comet storm crosses their path. WAC-47 manages to pull their shuttle out of hyperspace to avoid a more devastating collision, but the ship is still caught in the swarm and struck by several icy comets, causing a power outage. Under the constant threat of being hit and swept into space by ice fragments, the astromechs manage to restore power at the last possible moment. However, another impact critically damages the ship, and QT-KT nearly gets lost in space; only the combined efforts of her droid companions save her from certain death.
Unable to continue their journey, the team is compelled to crash-land on a desolate planet called Abafar. Meebur Gascon insists on remaining near the ship, but R2-D2, now in possession of the encryption module, takes matters into his own hands and sets off into the wasteland to finish the mission. He is quickly joined by his droid comrades and, eventually, Gascon himself, who doesn't want to miss out on the glory of a successful mission.
As the group travels across the monotonous terrain, Gascon's temper flares once again, and he proclaims himself superior due to his training and supposed mental agility, while the droids "merely" follow their programming. However, WAC skillfully points out the flaws in Gascon's reasoning, and a chance encounter with another shipwreck and the dead remnants of its crew shatters Gascon's remaining resolve. In his desperation, he begins to lose his sanity, and when WAC impudently declares himself the new leader, he is overruled and abandoned by the others.
Ironically, it is WAC's unwavering determination to move forward that rekindles Gascon's will to live while remaining with the Colonel. But they are surprised to discover that Afabar is not entirely devoid of life when a herd of strange, rat-like creatures stampedes across the plain. Trusting the creatures' survival instincts, Gascon and WAC hitch a ride on their backs, and the creatures lead them to a waterhole and a nearby city sunken into the planet's surface, where they are surprised to find the rest of the D-Squad already present. With WAC having proven himself so similar to him, Gascon promotes the delighted droid to Corporal, while the astromechs are left somewhat puzzled by this new development.
Series Director Dave Filoni initially mentioned the episode as "The Void" at Celebration VI. Some aspects of the episode drew inspiration from the work of comic artist Mœbius. George Lucas pitched the episode to The Clone Wars story team, envisioning a story set in an environment similar to the white room in his 1971 film THX 1138, where droids question their own existence. During the meeting, Dave Filoni sketched bleak landscapes and found the idea to be quite unusual.
Star Wars Insider 137 initially reported "A Sunny Day in the Void" as the tenth episode of Season Five, but the reported order was later revised after the magazine's publication.
This was the second episode (following "Secret Weapons") to showcase a light blue opening logo as a tribute to R2-D2. The subsequent two episodes ("Missing in Action" and "Point of No Return"), which are also part of the same story arc, also feature this logo. However, this is not the first instance of the logo changing color. In the final two episodes of Season 4 ("Brothers" and "Revenge"), the logo was colored red to signify the return of Darth Maul.
In an interview on The Star Wars Show, George Lucas stated that this episode's story arc was his favorite within The Clone Wars.