Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels have arguably done as much to build the Star Wars mythology and fandom as any projects made since George Lucas‘s original trilogy. Created by Dave Filoni—who has since become Lucasfilm’s Chief Creative Officer–the series introduced original characters and have become springboards for stories set in the New Republic Era. Lucasfilm’s latest ongoing series, The Bad Batch, came to an end after its third season, leaving fans without an ongoing series to look forward to and with a mandate issued by Disney President Bob Iger that slowed the company’s major production studios down significantly, there were plenty of concerns that the end of the animated era was near. Fortunately, Filoni sees it differently.
While speaking at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, Filoni told fans that animation has hand and will continue to have the support of Lucas, stating that the studio was to produce animated projects for “20 more” years.
I thought my job at Lucasfilm Animation would last about two years – it has now been 20. This is truly possible because of the incredible dedication and hard work of the many talented people who have worked at Lucasfilm Animation. Fans have embraced our work in a way that no one could have predicted – well, maybe one person did. George Lucas always believed in animation and believed in our team. He said, ‘Dare to be great,’ and that’s what we’ve done for the last 20 years. I hope we do it for 20 more.
-Lucasfilm CCO Dave Filoni
The next 20 years of animated action will kickoff in 2026 with Star Wars: Maul- Shadow Lord, which was announced at Star Wars Celebration Japan earlier this year. Set after the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the new series will follow Maul as he “rises again to lead the underworld factions,” and “rebuild his criminal syndicate on a planet untouched by the Empire.”
Beyond that, always in motion, the future is but with Filoni serving as its curator, fans have reason for new hope.
Source: Games Radar
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