“You Get Space Whales & Wolves”: George Lucas’ Protégé On Bringing What He Loves To Star Wars

Ahsoka creator Dave Filoni explains his approach to playing in George Lucas’ Star Wars sandbox and bringing what he loves to the franchise. Although Lucas is no longer the active force that he once was when it comes to Star Wars, his legacy has lived on in a handful of new projects. Filoni has been a major driver behind some of the best-received of these new projects, most recently creating Ahsoka, a Disney Plus show starring Rosario Dawson.

Now, following the exciting Ahsoka finale, Filoni discusses how he was able to bring his own sensibilities to the franchise in a recent video shared by the Star Wars Twitter account.

Filoni’s shepherding of the Star Wars universe is only set to expand over the coming years, and the creator talks in the interview about the balance between honoring Lucas’ vision while putting his own spin on things. Check out Filoni’s full comment below:

“We all bring a little bit to Star Wars of what we like, and we hope it fits into that galaxy. George, he created this galaxy, he created these dynamics. Jedi, Sith, all these things I play with, and I’ve been fortunate that he taught me a lot of things. I am always doing my best to follow what he taught me, and my nature comes into it. So you get space whales and wolves, you know, that’s all part of it.”

Dave Filoni Truly Is George Lucas’ Apprentice

Filoni first joined the Star Wars universe in 2005, working closely with Lucas to bring Star Wars: The Clone Wars to life. The award-winning animated show would ultimately run for 7 acclaimed seasons, and would announce Filoni as a unique new creative voice. In particular, the creator has a clear interest in collaborating with Lucas to explore deeper elements of Star Wars lore, blending existing characters and new storylines to enrich and deepen the franchise.

This trend would continue with Star Wars Rebels, another animated show that built upon and expanded Lucas’ creation, introducing characters that have since become staples of the franchise. Filoni would make the jump to live-action with The Mandalorian, for which he served as executive producer, writer, and episodic director, Disney’s first push into streaming originals, and a massive hit.

Now, following Ahsoka, which managed to incorporate many elements from his past animated ventures, Filoni is poised to play an even larger role guiding the Star Wars universe forward and continuing Lucas’ legacy. It was announced this year that Filoni will direct his own Star Wars movie set during the New Republic Era, which will serve as a crossover of sorts between The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and The Book of Boba Fett. Judging from Filoni’s most recent comment, it seems like audiences can expect a continued balance between honoring Lucas’ creation while pushing it forward in interesting ways.