Dave Filoni is well-respected among many Star Wars fans. His work on The Clone Wars animated series and many other projects has been met with critical and fan acclaim. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm, they reset the canon and hoped to build a movie and series universe centered around one timeline like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Filoni is set to direct an unnamed Star Wars movie, and this weekend, he talked about what he has learned from the MCU and how he is applying it to the Star Wars timeline.
Dave Filoni Talks Star Wars And The MCU
There is no denying that the MCU has been a huge success overall. However, it isn’t perfect, and the formula can’t necessarily be copied and pasted onto any franchise. In a very lengthy answer, Dave Filoni talked about how Kevin Feige and the MCU have been inspiring, but he also sees some critical differences in how the two franchises operate.
Oh gosh. Well, I have to finish season two first and then also I’m helping out with all these other projects now.
So I’m trying to balance all those things and my priorities are really what’s best for the franchise and where my energy is best spent and we’ll see. But everybody, everything is working well right now, so I’m really excited about what I’m seeing excited about. Andor season two is coming out, the Beautiful Talent.
It’s fantastic. So that’s inspirational. I still take so much inspiration from all these things. Just because I work there doesn’t mean I’m not like, wow, that’s incredible. I’m marvel at what everybody else is accomplishing and I feed off of that and I use the challenge myself. So we’ll see. Kathy [Kennedy] and I talk all the time and she and I are figuring out what should go and what goes next and what makes the most sense. And I love working with her.
She’s a great collaborator. And how spoiled am I to work with George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy? That that’s pretty great. And also I have Carrie Beck, she works in development. She produces on Ahsoka with me, but she’s right there as well. And so we are figuring all these things out and looking at every project and yeah, it’s like project development.
They don’t all develop at the same time. But in Star Wars it’s tricky because you need certain things to go before one another if they’re in the same space of the way the audience will perceive it, which is why, and I said this in an earlier interview, I really,I’m fascinated by what Kevin Feige was able to pull off.
I think it’s so special and so unique. The Marvel Cinematic Universe and what he was able to accomplish on a timeline and perfectly place all these elements. It’s an incredible skill and a real…It’s really remarkable. We are not operating like they do.We’re a bit different in Star Wars because our timeline moves a little bit differently. But I take a lot of inspiration even from that. And I’ve talked to Kevin and what a great guy. And so we’re at a great moment.
A Lot To Unpack
Dave Filoni gave a very long answer, but there is one main point he talked about. The MCU is mostly linear. Outside of a couple of movies, the timeline moves forward and continues to do so to this day. Star Wars tells stories in different parts of the timeline. Episodes VII, VIII, and IX were all set well after the events of the original trilogy. The Mandalorian is set right after the events of Episode VI. The upcoming series Andor is set between Episodes III and IV. Other projects like The Acolyte have taken us further back.
The challenge of Star Wars is to keep the continuity of the timeline and tell an engaging story when people already know the outcome. Filoni has already proven he can do this. The Clone Wars was a challenging series because it was set between Episodes II and III. No matter what danger characters like Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Padme got into, we knew they would come out alive, as they appeared in Revenge of the Sith. This didn’t stop him from creating a compelling series with great storylines.
Final Thoughts
The Star Wars movies and shows have been hit and miss as of late. However, momentum is growing. Andor season 2 is right around the corner, and fans loved hearing that Ryan Gosling would be starring in an upcoming movie. There are plenty of exciting projects on the horizon, and Dave Filoni has proven he can make something awesome. It will be interesting to see how Disney balances the timeline moving forward.
