Dave Filoni on the future of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka Tano and Star Wars Rebels

On Monday, the series finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars aired on Disney+, with ex-Jedi Ahsoka Tano and clone trooper Rex narrowly escaping Order 66 — a plan hatched by Emperor Palpatine that triggered a mind control chip embedded in the brains of his clone army that caused them to turn on their Jedi commanders, killing them and destroying the Jedi Order.

The episode was an emotionally-charged thrill ride, and perfectly finished the story George Lucas and showrunner Dave Filoni started way back in 2008.

Over the years, Ahsoka — who began the series as Anakin Skywalker’s Jedi padawan — has become one of the most beloved Star Wars characters ever. In the series finale, she and Rex buried the bodies of the clones who died when their Republic cruiser crashed in a moon. Before going into hiding from the Empire, Ahsoka dropped one of the lightsabers Anakin crafted for her before the Siege of Mandalore. Years later, the Empire discovers the crash, and Darth Vader finds the lightsaber he made for his former apprentice. It was a poignant moment that really drove home how tragic the loss of the friendship between Ahsoka and Anakin was.

“I always had in mind an ending that would somehow involved Vader,” Filoni told Deadline. “I thought it was really compelling and the imagery of the lightsaber and him holding it; that spoke so much. It also spoke to something that I discussed with George (Lucas) over the years as far as the aftermath of the Clone Wars. The reason why we never saw too many Jedis fighting against the Empire is the fact that a lot of them felt that they failed in their goal to protect the Republic, and they were all deceived.”

"And so a lot of them realized that fighting a war maybe isn’t the best way and created violence. They set their sabers down, they tried to find different paths to helping people than perhaps, you know, being violent, and so there is an old idea there."

That’s very interesting. I’ve never really thought of the surviving Jedi staying hidden from Palpatine and Vader because of the shame they felt for being blind to the plans of the Sith and the rise of the Dark Side.

Now that The Clone Wars is done, might we expect another season of Star Wars Rebels that focuses on Ahsoka and the remaining members of Ghost Squadron going on one last adventure? (Rebels was another Star Wars animated show, this one set some time after The Clone Wars.)

“No. Not really. I was really happy with how that series turned out, and I feel like we got to tell a complete story there,” Filoni said. “It was one of the things that really drove me to thinking, well, it would be great to have a complete feeling like that for Clone Wars, so now to have both is really great.”

In the Rebels series finale, Ahsoka returned to the planet of Lothal to pick up the Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren — who once wielded the legendary weapon, the Darksaber — and the two began to search for Ezra Bridger, a Jedi Knight who saved Lothal from Grand Admiral Thrawn. But the victory came at a price, as Ezra disappeared.

“I think that there’s always potential for stories that involve the characters from Rebels, which is maybe a better way to put it,” Filoni continued. “They’ve all earned their place in the galaxy, so to speak, so I’m sure there’s some more of them to do.”

So, no new episodes of Rebels, but maybe some kind of story that involves the characters from that show?

Speaking of other shows, what about Ahsoka showing up in the first-ever Star Wars live-action series, The Mandalorian, perhaps played by Rosario Dawson? Filoni is the showrunner on that series, too.

“I couldn’t speak to anything at this point,” Filoni said, expertly sidestepping the question. “I have a lot of ideas and I’m really fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity now to work in both animation and live-action, so just getting that exposure is interesting.”

I guess it makes sense that Filoni wouldn’t reveal too much about what’s in store for The Mandalorian, but we’ll take whatever info he can give us, about that and any other show. “First for me there’s a story and then I have to decide what’s the best medium, and I think there are certain avenues open to me at this point,” he said. “Right now I’m really enjoying the collaboration I have with Jon Favreau on Mandalorian. We’re having a great time making that show, and you know, we’ll see.”

"But first, before I decide where it’s going to go, I need to decide on a story I want to tell, and invest my time in, because it’s a lot. I mean, there’s a lot riding on everything Star Wars, especially for me personally, being here so long, I want to make sure I get it right. I’m learning, you know."

Filoni confirmed that he only directed one episode in The Mandalorian season 2, and while he’s focusing his attention on wrapping post-production, he does have some ideas about more Star Wars animation projects. “I’ve got a bunch of things that I’m preparing and mulling over.”

Hopefully, everything will go smoothly on The Mandalorian and it hits its target premiere date of October!

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