Star Wars Veteran Dave Filoni Named Chief Creative Officer At Lucasfilm—Here’s What To Know

2 weeks ago

Topline

Lucasfilm has promoted Dave Filoni to main imaginative serviceman astatine nan Disney-owned company, Filoni told Vanity Fair, a move that will bring nan director, shaper and writer person to nan inception constituent of early Star Wars shows and movies—as Lucasfilm prepares to nutrient nan first new Star Wars films successful years.

Filoni has been an executive shaper connected respective "Star Wars" shows. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty ... [+] Images for Disney)

Getty Images for Disney

Key Facts

Filoni, who has worked connected nan wildly celebrated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” animated TV show and “The Mandalorian,” told Vanity Fair he’s trying to thief “Star Wars” filmmakers “tell nan champion communicative they want to tell,” adding that successful his position, he’s “not telling group what to do.”

Filoni will activity person pinch Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Head of Development Carrie Beck going forward, according to Vanity Fair, which reported nan caller domiciled will put him into nan communicative improvement for Star Wars shows and movies earlier and successful a much expansive capacity.

The promotion comes astatine an absorbing clip for Lucasfilm, which is years retired from returning “Star Wars” to theaters and continues pushing retired a slew of live-action and animated “Star Wars” shows connected Disney+.

Filoni, who is exploring a imaginable 2nd play for nan Rosario Dawson-led “Ahsoka,” according to Vanity Fair, will return nan lead connected a “Star Wars” movie that will soma retired nan spread betwixt “Return of nan Jedi” and “The Force Awakens.”

Surprising Fact

“Star Wars” hasn’t had a movie successful theaters since 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” which is 1 of nan astir poorly rated movies from nan franchise by critics. Lucasfilm is gearing up for redemption successful nan theatre realm and will now person much input from Filoni for three caller movies that are slated for merchandise successful 2026 and 2027. The astir caller “Star Wars” films, which were released from 2015 to 2019, are successful nan apical 5 of nan franchise’s highest-grossing movies. Disney—which acquired Lucasfilm from legendary filmmaker George Lucas successful 2012—decided to return a break from cinematic releases aft that point, electing to put its clip and money into “Star Wars” bid connected Disney+, wherever shows person grown importantly successful number since nan streaming level launched successful 2019.

Key Background

Filoni has made a ample jump astatine Lucasfilm pinch nan promotion. The imaginative executive has now gone from starring animated shows and doing nan aforesaid connected live-action “Star Wars” shows for illustration “The Mandalorian,” to becoming Lucasfilm’s imaginative authority for nan staple sci-fi franchise. The caller executive position could bring much cohesion and focus to nan “Star Wars” stories being told done nan Disney+ shows, which span an progressively wide scope of characters from respective points successful nan “Star Wars” timeline. Filoni’s acquisition will undoubtedly play a domiciled successful really early movies from nan franchise shingle out.

Tangent

Filoni directed respective episodes of Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” an Emmy award-winning bid credited arsenic one of nan best animated TV shows of nan 2000s.

Big Number

Five. That’s really galore entries “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars: Rebels” person connected IMDBs database of top 100 champion rated TV episodes of each time.