Dave Filoni Has Been Promoted To Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer

The man who has spent over 15 years in Star Wars media will help guide development of future projects

Dave Filoni’s grasp on the future of Star Wars media is continuing to grow. The shepherd of modern Star Wars television has been named chief creative officer at Lucasfilm.

Filoni’s new role will have him involved in the early development on Star Wars projects, working alongside Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and head of development Carrie Beck. It was Vanity Fair that broke the news, and who Filoni told what this meant for where he will be in the processes, saying “In the past, in a lot of projects I would be brought into it, I would see it after it had already developed a good ways.”

His success for Star Wars on the small screen has done a lot for the franchise in the Disney+ era, from executive producing launch day title The Mandalorian and one spin-off The Book of Boba Fett, while creating another, Ahsoka, which starred Filoni’s earliest creation in the franchise, Ahsoka Tano the ex-Padawan of Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a series he would be able to finish on the streamer and create Tales of the Jedi for it as well. Inbetween, he co-created Star Wars: Rebels which aired on Disney XD.

However, this also comes as the franchise is in a lull of film releases following the critically underwhelming The Rise of Skywalker capping off the sequel trilogy in December 2019. If the two scheduled Star Wars spots stick, currently May 22 and December 18, 2026, it will have been nearly 6 and a half years before this new stretch will have begun. As announced in April at Star Wars Celebration Europe, Filoni is developing a live-action feature that he will also direct, said to not only be focused on the The Mandalorian web of characters, including The Book of Boba Fett, but put a capper on that realm. With all that he’s guided, he’s been considered the heir apparent to Star Wars creator George Lucas.

“I’m not telling people what to do,” Filoni continued to say in discussing his new role. “But I do feel I’m trying to help them tell the best story that they want to tell. I need to be a help across the galaxy here, like a part of a Jedi Council almost.” A second season of Ahsoka will continue to be explored.

Sources: Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter