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There will never be an end to the negativity regarding the ‘Star Wars’ prequel trilogy, and I stand by my own statements that as films, there is little to defend, and George Lucas truly should have spent a little more time on the crafting the actual films themselves and less on pushing the boundaries of special effects. However, even I can admit that for the ‘Star Wars’ universe as a whole, the prequels opened up worlds and ideas that the original trilogy just did not have the time or budget to expand upon, and following ‘Revenge of the Sith’ the entire franchise suddenly had massive potential for exploration based on what we saw during those prequel films, and for that we can at least be grateful to George Lucas, a sentiment that ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ showrunner Dave Filoni apparently agrees with wholeheartedly.

While speaking recently with ‘Comic Book‘ about the struggle for the characters in ‘Rebels’ to find balance while using the Force, Filoni went straight back to the Prequels, harkening to their importance in crafting a weighty mythology for the ‘Star Wars’ universe and adding depth to discussions of The Force:

“I think it works into what the struggle is. You want to achieve this balance or you want to become … I think it’s a natural part of it, and really the introduction of this idea of balance comes from the prequels. That’s where the prophecy of the chosen one and ‘the one who will bring balance,’ as quoted by Mace Windu, really comes from. So, I find that very interesting because the prequels add a tremendous amount of depth to all these things, especially ways of the Force. The people, I don’t think realize that that’s where it comes from, but it’s not something that’s natural to the original trilogy. It’s something that stems from the prequels, which added a tremendous amount to what we know about Star Wars.”

He further went on to talk about how the intention of the Force user carries far more weight than what technique they are actually using, something that has been discussed in the (now non-canon) Expanded Universe of ‘Star Wars’ before:

“One of the fundamental things to always understand about the light side and the dark side of the Force and the intentions that drive those things are willingness or will to be selfless or selfish. From those two key points of starting grow out either in enlightenment of selflessness or greed and fear and anger and hate, and you just go spiraling down and down and down, but those are the building blocks that George [Lucas] would always talk about and I always keep trying to come back to in everything I do because if you work from that point, then actually you can tell a story with the Force.”

Do you agree with Filoni’s assessment with the Force, or do you think he is leading his characters down a dark path? And do you agree that the prequels at the very least added some levels of mythology and depth to the franchise that we would not have gotten from the original trilogy alone? Share your thoughts on the matter in the comments below!