TV Discussion Official Dave Filoni Appreciation Thread

I adore Filoni. But it isn't because he "Knows the EU." That's nice and all but it isn't at all what makes him a good storyteller, or right for Star Wars. Plenty of people know the EU.

I adore Filoni because he understands Lucas' Star Wars on a fundamental level and, even more importantly, he understands cinema in general. He has so many touchstones and reference points that aren't Star Wars that he uses so effectively in his Star Wars works. In a recent interview with Filoni and Lucas, they talked about how some of their favorite episodes of The Clone Wars were the ones that strayed the farthest away from what one generally expects Star Wars to be, and I'm inclined to agree with that - sometimes, in straying away from the expected structure the way Lucas and Filoni weren't afraid to do on that show, you create concepts that feel utterly Star Wars, like Mortis. Take the Loth Wolves in Rebels as another prime example of Filoni doing this on his own series - the Loth Wolves come from a place of utter love and fascination from Filoni, just as the X-Wings and TIEs in the original films came from Lucas' love of fast cars and racing. The Wolves aren't something that Lucas would have ever done, but they feel distinctly Star Wars because they feel so genuine to the person that is putting them on screen.

And The Mandalorian, while more "classic" Star Wars in a sense, works because it doesn't simply seek to recreate Star Wars the way The Force Awakens did, but rather, because it understands what the original Star Wars is at its core from a structural level, distills that down to two of its main components (western and samurai films), and then uses those components to build up something new and exploratory, with its own beating heart and its own characters at the center.

I said last Friday when the episode The Jedi aired, but it bears repeating here; when I saw that crosscutting between the Ahsoka vs Magistrate duel and the Din vs Michael Biehn standoff, that just felt like the essence of Star Wars in this modern era to me.

 

I brought back the topic on page 1 because of the episode that HE directed and HE wrote, which in my opinion is one of the best Star Wars things I have seen.

Also, after the negativity towards him for the first 5 years of his tenure in LFL (if not more), I think that exaggerating a little bit about him right now is perfectly fine. On the grand scheme of things , he probably deserves more credit retroactively.

That reminds me of what people are saying about George Lucas as well.... "needs someone to control him" . Nah. Let them loose. Let both of them create and give us stuff. They deserve it. And we deserve them. It's never the work of one man, but some people are very special and bring a lot to the table. Also, there is literally a topic in these forums for every single person who has contributed to Star Wars. You can always go and appreciate them separately in every other topic.

Btw, we never saw Ahsoka dying in her confrontation with Vader. It is absurd to think that Filoni hadn't planned her entire storyline and her return via the World Between Worlds before making the Twilight Of The Apprentice episodes.

On topic, and I said that in the Disney Gallery topic as well, every Star Wars fan should watch the last 5 minutes of the episode called "Legacy", where Dave Filoni has a monologue about what Star Wars means. Truly phenomenal.

This is actually it, even though it has visuals from the movies instead of the actual table they were talking at (ignore the title, he actually talks about all the 6 GL movies):

 

Funny, GL sold SW to Disney. But, by working with Filoni on TCW, he passed SW on in a more important way, at least from my view.

Dave Filoni. The God Emperor! Just kidding. But still, he has brought more of the fandom together just by doing awesome work.

 

I like this version better than the one which only has Filoni.
And I would add John Williams there. But that's it. For now.

 

I’d also add Goransson. And given that she hired them to do this job, I’d place Kennedy at the top. She’s ultimately responsible for all of Lucasfilm’s successes and failures under her leadership.

 

I am not putting any corporate in that photo EVER. Plus, I am only putting people who have successes, not failures.
Goransson can go if he establishes himself in the Star Wars universe with more contributions. I think he will.
Do NOT challenge me with Kennedy, especially since you know my opinion of her. She will never ever get credit from me.
But you do you.

 

As far as I am concerned, Filoni is the new George Lucas in LFL.

 

Don’t be mad cuz I’m doing me better than you’re doing you. (sorry, that’s a reference that’s tangentially related to Star Wars via Donald Glover...)

I can forgive a couple failures when they’re followed by some of the best Star Wars I’ve ever seen.

And as a creatively-oriented person myself, believe me, it’s the creators who get the most credit from me. I just have a respect for industry folks who seek, understand and reward creative talent. I think Kennedy made a couple mistakes (though that’s subjective), but she more then made up for it by putting her faith in Favreau and Filoni.

 

[Bashing removed] -TtJ

 

Can I just say thank you Dave and John for Shutting up all the Boba Fett haters

 

And that's fine, if that works for you. I would like to see her out of LFL, as slim as that chance might be.
In this topic especially, I'll just praise Dave Filoni and his immediate collaborators in the creative department.

 

Dave Filoni is the kevin Feige of star wars. I think Star Wars is in great hands with him. I think for those who don't like the ST. He'll retcon certain things like Luke having jedi who survived the second purge.

 

No trolling.

 

I wasn't trolling i was giving my honest opinion.

 

Kathleen Kennedy is the Kevin Fiege of Star Wars since she actually does the same job that Dave Filoni does.

Dave Filoni isn't running a studio.

 

Dave Filoni’s official job last I checked was head of Lucasfilm animation. Plus working on Mandalorian, and spin offs

 

Dave Filoni is the guy you come to connect things and loves to connect with the universe.

 

I still don't see Filoni as the "universe" guy. I absolutely love the man, but he isn't just some Star Wars lore encyclopedia that sits down at the keyboard and churns out neat old EU references. I respect him and his work so much because on a fundamental level he understands Lucas' Star Wars thematically (which is significantly more important than understanding it in a literal, "in-universe sense" - he has that knowledge, but so do so many other people), he understands where Star Wars comes from, and he is honest to himself and his own storytelling interests.

 

Is this a genuine DF quote?
I have to say, that's mind-blowingly insightful.