Dave Filoni has had a massive impact on Star Wars for nearly two decades, and as he takes on an even larger role at Lucasfilm, it’s worth revisiting all of his projects and comparing them. Kathleen Kennedy is reportedly stepping down as President of Lucasfilm. She’s set to be replaced by Dave Filoni, who will handle the creative side of the company, and Lynwen Brennan, who will handle the company’s financials.
Filoni has long been an important name in Lucasfilm, but now that he’s set to be the creative lead of Star Wars, he’s even more important than ever before. Filoni now has his hand on the rudder of every upcoming Star Wars movie and show, and he’ll have a large say in whether they’re good or bad. Luckily, Filoni also has an extensive track record we can look at to get an idea of how well he can handle Star Wars.
In fact, Filoni is responsible for some of the best Star Wars shows ever made, and a majority of all the Star Wars shows out there. While not all of Filoni’s projects are winners or even good, all of them have something admirable about them. The body of Filoni’s work proves his talent as both a storyteller and a visual artist. Even his worst projects have nuggets of excellence buried within them, and his best are shining examples of what modern Star Wars should strive to be.
Dave Filoni’s Star Wars Projects
Title
Year
Role
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
2008
Creator/Director
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
2008-2020
Creator/Director/Writer
Star Wars Rebels
2014-2018
Creator/Director/Writer
Star Wars: Forces of Destiny
2017-2018
Executive Producer
Star Wars: Resistance
2018-2020
Creator/Writer/Producer
The Mandalorian
2019-2023
Director/Writer/Producer
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
2021-2024
Creator/Writer/Producer
The Book of Boba Fett
2022
Director/Writer/Producer
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi
2022
Creator/Director/Writer
Ahsoka
2023
Creator/Director/Writer
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire
2024
Creator/Director/Writer
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
2024
Executive Producer
Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld
2025
Creator/Writer/Producer
13
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Rotta the Hutt in Star Wars The Clone Wars
Dave Filoni’s worst Star Wars project was also his first, and his only feature film to date. Before the animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was an animated film released in 2008. While it did lay the groundwork for a much larger and better series that came to be beloved by fans, the film itself is utterly lacking. The animation has aged poorly, the story is held together by action and little else, and The Clone Wars movie is incredibly forgettable.
Dave Filoni worked closely with George Lucas up until Star Wars was sold to Disney in 2012.
12
Star Wars: Forces of Destiny
Filoni’s worst Star Wars show, unlike The Clone Wars movie, is very far from bad. Star Wars: Forces of Destiny wasn’t a very original series. It mostly retold existing stories for a younger audience or added small bits of context to them. While it certainly wasn’t groundbreaking, Forces of Destiny is still enjoyable. The animation is sharp and pleasing, the bite-sized episodes are entertaining, and the few bits they do add to Star Wars canon are interesting enough.
11
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire
General Grievous slams Morgan Elsbeth’s mother to the ground in Star Wars: Tales of the Empire season 1Image via Disney+
The second of Filoni’s “Tales of” anthology series, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, was the worst of the bunch. Like its predecessor and successor, Tales of the Empire told two stories about pawns of the Galactic Empire, one leaning towards the light and one towards the dark. Barriss Offee’s episodes did reintroduce a beloved character, but it did little else with her. Morgan Elsbeth’s arc had some cool moments, such as appearances by Thrawn and Grievous, but its story was forgettable without them.
10
The Book of Boba Fett
Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen in The Book of Boba Fett
Dave Filoni’s worst live-action series to date is easily The Book of Boba Fett. What should have been a payoff for devoted Boba Fett fans who had spent decades waiting turned out to be a show with a mediocre redemption arc, some wildly underwhelming action sequences, and a general lack of focus or understanding of what it should be. The Book of Boba Fett suffered from being a product of The Mandalorian, and we’ll never know what it could have been on its own.
9
Star Wars: Resistance
Leia Organa Poe Dameron and Kaz Xiono in Star Wars Resistance
The worst multi-season show Filoni helmed, Star Wars: Resistance, mostly earns that distinction for reasons beyond Filoni’s control. Resistance was a product of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and it inherited many of the movies’ problems. The entire series feels like a tie-in to The Rise of Skywalker, and it was canceled after just two seasons before it could really gain momentum, become its own story, and establish its characters as more than generic resistance fighters.
8
Ahsoka
Ahsoka looking serious and wielding white lightsabers in Ahsoka season 1, episode 2
Following an apparent trend, one of Filoni’s worst live-action shows was Ahsoka. Like The Book of Boba Fett before it, Ahsoka is a show held back by its legacy. Effectively serving as Rebels season 5, Ahsoka seemed afraid to fully buy-in to its own story, instead focusing on the aftermath of a better series and the conflicts of legacy characters. That, coupled with a frankly underwhelming mystery about finding Peridea, made Ahsoka lackluster.
7
Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld
Cad Bane and his son, Isaac, in Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld episode 6
Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld serves as the border of Dave Filoni’s Star Wars filmography where his projects go from “mostly underwhelming with some redeeming qualities” to “genuinely great.” While Asajj Ventress’ episodes suffer from a combination of nostalgia and feeling like a backdoor pilot for a new series, Cad Bane’s arc truly shines as a stunning origin story and as a fantastic space Western. Tales of the Underworld is proof that even the most obscure Star Wars characters can make for unbelievable stories in Filoni’s hands.
6
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi
Count Dooku looks on in horror after killing Yaddle in Tales of the Jedi
The best of the “Tales of” series is easily the anthology’s first outing. Tales of the Jedi tells forgotten moments from the lives of Count Dooku and Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka’s story is the weaker of the two, but it still delivers unforgettable action scenes, emotional moments, and fills fans in on a beloved character. Dooku’s arc, on the other hand, transformed an already iconic character into a layered and tragic victim of circumstance while adding simply beautiful and incredibly valuable context to the story we love so much.
5
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Skeleton Crew epiosde 6, the kids stranded on Lapuna
Perhaps the most independent and wholly original show Dave Filoni has produced thus far is Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. While it’s not Filoni’s brainchild, Skeleton Crew tells an adventurous, fun, and intriguing story geared towards children that fans of any age can enjoy. It may not be important to Star Wars’ overarching narrative, but it fits into the franchise’s themes, visual language, and sense of fun and adventure perfectly.
4
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
Echo, Wrecker, Hunter, Tech, and Crosshair confer in the midst of Order 66 on the snowy world of Kaller.
The only sequel show Dave Filoni has made to date that managed to transcend its legacy and nostalgia instead of being held back by it is Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Though it’s effectively a follow-up to The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch manages to carve its own path narratively and create compelling and emotional characters of its own while also diving deeper into the existing lore of Order 66 and tying into Palpatine’s return in The Rise of Skywalker. The Bad Batch walks a very fine line between being a lore dump and being fan service, but it walks it exceptionally well.