Despite George Lucas not having officially worked on a Star Wars project for the better part of 15 years now, it’s still nice to get the seal of approval from the granddaddy of all things a galaxy far, far away.
Dave Filoni, who was instrumental in the Clone Wars animated series’ success, has revealed he got exactly that for The Mandalorian.
“He's been very complimentary,” Filoni told THR. “I think he's enjoyed the show, and he said once [that] now he gets to watch it as a fan and watch it as a viewer.”
That’s not to say Lucas has been completely hands-off, as Filoni reveals. However, it’s not so much story beats that Lucas is keen to point out but instead more technical aspects of production.
“When I talk with him, I like to get more knowledge," he said. "He'll give me some reminders, especially before I shoot something, about how many setups I should try to get in a day, and I might rack his brain for certain things about how to cover a scene.”
Filoni continued, “My job is to bring that knowledge forward and pass on what I've learned from him in every discipline to Jon and to the creative departments.”
The past is still very much present in The Mandalorian – and we shouldn’t worry too much about the future either. Filoni explained that COVID-19 likely won’t affect much in preparation for season 3.
“The fact that the set is much more contained is a benefit, because you can limit the number of people,” Filoni said, while also mentioning that various technological leaps pioneered by Lucasfilm and ILM means filming on Mando is safer than your average production.
In Filoni and creator Jon Favreau’s hands, then, Mando’s future is looking bright –especially with some pointers from George Lucas along the way.
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