One of the more surprising announcements to come out of San Diego Comic-Con last month was the revelation that a new season of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars‘ is coming. And yet in some ways, it also made perfect sense. After all, the show has already had one season produced in the wake of its 2013 cancellation. More to the point though, the series occupies a beloved place in the ‘Star Wars’ canon. And while – like any TV series – ‘The Clone Wars’ is a team effort, one nonetheless has to acknowledge the importance of writer/producer Dave Filoni’s creative guidance to that success.
With all of that in mind, Filoni is by his own admission keenly aware of the expectations that exist around any new ‘Clone Wars’ content (let alone what is being billed as the series’ final season). Speaking with ComicBook.com, Filoni acknowledged the attachment that fans have to the series and the pressure that comes with that:
“With ‘Clone Wars’, I will say there is a bit of pressure because obviously from [the reaction to the new season], the people loved it. I mean, they grew up with it. It was massive. So I do feel the pressure of wanting to make something amazing for them, and I challenge myself to not take the easy outs in the story and not do simple things.”
The new season also places Filoni in an interesting place as a storyteller, as it draws on material developed during the series’ initial run. But while this provides a framework of sorts, it’s more of a jumping off point than a roadmap. And of course, with five more years of experience (both in life and ‘Star Wars’ storytelling) behind him, Filoni approaches the material differently than he would have had he told these stories the first time around:
“We’re also working at certain points with some material that we had written in the past, and so I’ve gone back and looked at it because I’m a different storyteller, and I think a better storyteller now. And how do we improve things, you ask yourself. I mean, we do that every season, in all honesty, so, in the last season, ‘Rebels’ should be significantly better than the first. And the same is true for ‘Clone Wars’. So now how do I take a show that we stopped making five years ago and make it better than it was? That’s the challenge. We’re not just recreating it. We are continuing it, and we have to make it better.”
But while it may sound as though Filoni runs the risk of overthinking things, he offered a description of his approach that in some respects is worthy of a Jedi:
“I would say everything I do is always more gut. I mean, I like to think that, at heart, I’m still a fan despite having done this for a long time. And you just hope when you tell a story that people like the story you’re telling, as well. That’s all you can really gamble on because I can’t make a story necessarily for somebody else, in a way. You know what I mean? I can’t take a bunch of data and, “Well, people are into this, let’s do it.” I think some people are very gifted at that, but it doesn’t seem to be something that I do. I have to believe in what I’m doing, and what I’m saying, and try to make the characters come to life that way.”
The seventh and final (?) season of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ will air on Disney’s yet-unnamed streaming service. No premiere date has been set, but it is expected to be available at the platform’s launch or soon after.
Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on ‘The Clone Wars’ and other upcoming ‘Star Wars’ film and television projects as it becomes available!
