In 2008, Star Wars: the Clone Wars was released on Cartoon Network. This show, detailing the events that took place between episodes II and III in the Star Wars Franchise, received an initially lukewarm reception, but now, after 7 season, it has become one the cornerstones of all Star Wars related media and fandom, with characters and stories so beloved that they have been incorporated into nearly every other Star Wars media. While there are many factors that contributed to this show's success, none I believe were more influential than the creative vision and direction of Dave Filoni.
Filoni's list of animated achievements is long and storied; he worked on Avatar: the Last Airbender, Star Wars: the Clone Wars, as mentioned above, Star Wars: Rebels, the Mandalorian, Kim Possible, the Bad Batch, among others. Each of these shows have become staples in popular culture, and have wide reaching cultural impact, particularly in the "nerdy" communities. He has received several Emmy nominations, and has won 2 for the Clone Wars. His success did not go unnoticed by either the public or his employers, and in 2020, Lucasfilm promoted Filoni to the executive producer and executive creator for the entire studio, especially following the largely negative reception of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
But what makes this man tick? What drives him to create these worlds that have so captured our imaginations? To answer that question, one must first understand just how big a Filoni is of Star Wars. As a child, he would regularly dress up as a Jedi knight, and went in full cosplay of his favorite jedi, Plo-Koon, to the opening night of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. When George Lucas offered him a job, he immediately left his animation job at Nickelodeon and joined his childhood hero.
It is with this love of Star Wars that he begin his creative process. He has loved the Star Wars universe ever since he was a child, and he turned that love into creative design. Oftentimes, Filoni draws from his animation background, designing first the sets and locations, purely on the basis of "they look cool, " and then creates a story around them. This was especially evident in his collaboration with Jon Favreau on the Mandalorian, which heavily featured the scenery of the different locations, almost acting as another character in the show. For his artistic creations, he draws heavily from his experiences with his grandfather and uncles, who were all pilots, and that those interactions play a significant role in shaping his designs. Additionally, many of his story lines are things that he has had in his head for years, and has spent countless hours daydreaming about and refining them, as the level of care and detail present in these shows clearly reflect.
In terms of his motivations for creation, I believe that they are deeply intrinsic, but also reflect a certain amount of extrinsic motivation. Filoni's love of Star Wars is what drove him to create these shows. He had wanted to become a part of this universe and to create new stories, characters, and lore that would reflect his deep love of this universe. He wants to have these characters and stories that have been a part of him for so long join those who are already established in the universe, and he does so with great love and care. However, he has also expressed some strong trends of extrinsic motivation. He wants to create a new, expanded universe for other Star Wars fans to enjoy and interact with. He wants to reach the audience and bring to them the same joy that he felt growing up. In that way, his motivations are very extrinsic.
All together, Filoni's creative direction has brought forth incredible new content, stories, and characters that we have all grown to love, all drawing from the pure love and dedication that he has to the world of Star Wars.
This is a really interesting post! I hadn't heard of Filoni before this, but as a kid I remember the huge popularity of Clone Wars, especially among my friends. It is so cool that he is now able to pursue one of his lifelong passions in such a significant and meaningful way. I thought the part where you noted that Filoni draws on the piloting experiences with his grandfather and uncles in creating some of his designs. That is so cool, and as a kid who used to love the Star Wars Lego ships, I guess I may have him to partially thank!
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