Earlier this year, fans had to say goodbye to the Ghost crew from Star Wars Rebels, but producer Dave Filoni confirmed at San Diego Comic-Con that Star Wars: The Clone Wars would get a final season next year after being unexpectedly canceled in 2014. With fans clamoring for new episodes since the series’ cancellation, Filoni admits there’s a new pressure he has to handle with crafting new stories, but he ultimately has to stick with his gut as a storyteller.
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“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,” Filoni shared with ComicBook.com. “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 series explored the events that unfolded between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, focusing on the exploits of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and the all-new character Ahsoka Tano. For a generation of young fans, the animated series was their entry point into the galaxy far, far away. With the younger viewers now maturing, Filoni aims to evolve his storytelling as well.
“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,” Filoni detailed. “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.”
The balance between whether to give fans what they want versus giving them what is right for the story ultimately comes down to following his instincts.
“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,” the producer explained. “And that you just hope when you tell a story that people like the story you’re telling, as well.”
He added, “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.”
Fans will see what Filoni has in store for them when Star Wars: The Clone Wars comes to Disney’s streaming service next year. The final season of Star Wars Rebels is available on Blu-ray now.
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