Dave Filoni is about as close as anybody can get to beingStar Warsroyalty at this point. Sure, he’s not quite as synonymous with the brand as George Lucas. But countless fans both young and old have grown to respect the creator for everything he’s brought to the franchise. Alongside Jon Favreau, Filoni is a huge reason the series' various small-screen offerings have been so well-received in recent years.
But even someone whose entire job is to be entrenched in the lore at all times can find ways to geek out on his own. It turns out that Filoni,who serves as Lucasfilm’s Executive Creative Director, gets just as excited as the fans when writing for the characters he loves. With the eventual release of theStar Wars: Ahsokaspinoff series set to happen sometime next year, the man with the cowboy hat recently sat down to talk about how it felt scripting all this new material for the character he originally introduced inThe Clone WarsTV show.
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“It’s thrilling, I gotta tell you,” Filoni said giddily when speaking with Empire. “I thought of this adventure for Ahsoka for a long time, and it’s interesting to see how it’s evolved. Years ago, I never would have imagined that it was sprung from a branch of a tree that had anything to do with a guy [like] Din Djarin, ora child that looks like Yoda. It’s a great lesson for me on how, when you have other creatives like Jon Favreau, they can help lend dimension and depth to what you’re doing.” Filoni’s references toThe Mandalorianmake sense, considering how it’s a big contributor to Ahsoka’s resurgence in popularity after her appearance on the show as portrayed by Rosario Dawson.
Based on recent casting news revealinga live-action Sabine Wrenand plenty of rumors regarding the possible appearances of both Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn, it seems likely thatAhsoka’s story will revolve around Dawson as the titular character searching for Thrawn after he and Ezra disappeared in theStar Wars Rebelsfinale. The final episode showed a time jump that focused on Sabine and Ahsoka still searching during what is assumed to be the period shortly afterReturn of the Jedi. Given how that lines up with the timeline ofThe Mandalorianas well, it seems a likely possibility.
Filoni’s excitement forAhsoka,andStar Warsin general, is understandable and even infectious. This is a man who started off creating what many still consider to technically be a children’s show withThe Clone Wars(to be real, that’s a lot of death for a kids' show) and now runs some of the most popular entries in the series, even receiving his ownofficial in-universeStar Warsaction figure. Countless kids have dreamed of such a life, and he’s living it.
So whilethe actual release date ofAhsokaremains uncertain, the anticipation for it remains as high as ever from both the outside and within. Hopefully, an official word will finally come down about the premiere soon. But in the meantime, it’s good to know the minds behind it enjoy themselves just as much as those on the other side of the screen.
Star Wars: Ahsokais currently aiming for a 2022 release on Disney Plus.
