Summary
- Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm, is key to Star Wars' recent projects.
- Despite Filoni's long tenure and influence, he hasn't faced criticism like Kathleen Kennedy.
- Star Wars needs a creative overhaul focusing on storytelling, rather than relying on fan service. As Chief Creative Officer, that's Filoni's responsibility.
When it comes to the Star Wars franchise, the fans have always been vocal regarding their issues with new projects. This started with the prequels, and persists to this day. These days, fans seem to blame one individual: Lucasfilm President, Kathleen Kennedy. From constant rumors of being fired, to continually questioning her ability to do the job, Kennedy takes the blame for everything wrong with Star Wars.
However, Kennedy is only one person, and she isn't the only one behind the current state of Star Wars. In fact, Dave Filoni is the Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm, and yet, he somehow manages to escape the same criticism as Kennedy. With Filoni serving as an important figure within the franchise, helping to develop new projects, it's only fair for him to bear some of the Star Wars criticism.
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Dave Filoni's Involvement with Star Wars
Dave Filoni began his career as a director on the hit Nickelodeon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender in 2005. He left Nickelodeon after George Lucas offered him a job developing an animated Star Wars series, which would become Star Wars: The Clone Wars. While he only worked as a director on The Clone Wars, it would serve as Filoni's first foray into a galaxy far, far away. Filoni's first big Star Wars project would be Star Wars: Rebels, where he served not only as a director, but also as an executive producer and writer. Filoni continued working on Star Wars animated projects, including Star Wars: The Clone Wars, before making the leap to live-action projects with The Mandalorian in 2019.
Since then, the ever-busy producer and director has been a part of every new Star Wars series. Having been very involved with Star Wars' most recent offerings, at least on the smaller screen, Filoni was promoted to Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm last year, reporting directly to Kathleen Kennedy. This new position allows Filoni to be involved from the point of a project's inception, giving him more power at Lucasfilm over more than just the animated projects.
The news of Filoni's promotion was well-received by fans, who hoped that the Star Wars franchise would soon return to a positive standing. However, it's important to note that, while Filoni was only promoted within the last year, he has been a part of the Star Wars creative team for over a decade now. He's been involved in nearly every Disney+ series that has hailed from Lucasfilm, including the poorly received The Book of Boba Fett. Yet, he hasn't received half the criticism that Kennedy has received for Star War s' current state.
Why Kathleen Kennedy Doesn't Deserve All the Blame
With Kennedy serving as the president of Lucasfilm, most of the blame regarding Star Wars' current state falls on her. However, the problems with the Star Wars franchise seem to stem more from the creative side of things, which the Chief Creative Officer would be in charge of handling. Recently, the franchise has resorted to using cheap tricks and lackluster storytelling along with fan service to try and propel the franchise forward. These tactics have disappointed fans and hurt the franchise as a whole.
Interestingly, Marvel Studios (another Disney banner) has also faced these criticisms in recent years. However, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige hasn't been the one to carry the blame for the subpar projects. So, why is the situation so different when it comes to Star Wars? Filoni is more hands-on with Star Wars than Kennedy; yet, he seems to come out unscathed.
This is an issue that Filoni needs to tackle going forward. Star Wars needs to go back to what makes it such a classic franchise. It needs to try to recapture that magic through its storytelling rather than relying on fanservice moments that are meant to prop up poor storytelling. With Lucasfilm already in production on The Mandalorian & Grogu, it remains to be seen whether the creative team has learned from its past mistakes.
Over the past few years, Lucasfilm has had a slew of Star Wars projects announced that have yet to come to fruition. Given the state of the franchise, one has to hope that those involved with the development of new projects, Filoni included, take the time to consider what each project has to offer and whether the story is strong enough to be told. Racing to put out new content will not help Star Wars, or Filoni, successfully pivot the franchise to where it needs to be. There needs to be a creative overhaul, and it needs to start at the developmental phase with creatives who have what it takes to understand the strength of a good story. Given Filoni's long career with Lucasfilm and Star Wars, it's about time he was held accountable for the franchise's state, too.
