By George Bate & Josh Bate
At Star Wars Celebration Europe 2023, a new Star Wars film set in between Episodes VI and VII was announced with Dave Filoni at the helm. Previously, Kathleen Kennedy described this project as a “culminating event” and now Dave Filoni has revealed more about the project in an interview with Empire.
Dave Filoni discussed the difference between “[small] stories” and bigger stories akin to the original trilogy that warrant a “theatrical experience.” Filoni described, “The way I look at it, there are [small] stories, and then there’s the big story of the day, too. A New Hope, Empire and Return Of The Jedi tell the important parts of the tale that really define the history of the period. There are all kinds of sub-stories underneath that. We’ve been building all these small stories.”
Filoni elaborated, “To me, a theatrical experience has to have a big idea – a monumental moment in the time period that changes what’s happening. What Tony [Gilroy] has done [in Andor] and what we did in Rebels, everything then changes when Luke blows up the Death Star. You’re looking for those moments that define an era, and that’s what the films really should be about – whether it’s characters coming together, or a defining moment.”
Filoni’s reference to “building all these small stories” is interesting when considering the overlapping plot threads in The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, Rebels, and The Bad Batch. “There are little things along the way that I’ve built across different mediums,” Filoni said. “All in preparation for things that come later.” The “later” Filoni refers to likely features Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Next up for Filoni is Ahsoka, which premieres this August on Disney+.