How The Mandalorian Helped Dave Filoni With The New Season Of Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Baby Yoda The Mandalorian Disney+

After a long period of waiting, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has finally started its final season on Disney+. With 11 years since the start of the series, a lot has changed about the show on many levels. Some of that came from Dave Filoni's experience elsewhere in the Star Wars universe, as the executive producer said his work on The Mandalorian influenced the final season of Clone Wars.

No, that doesn't mean The Child and Din Djarin are somehow involved in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (though a Clone Wars character could appear in Season 2 of The Mandalorian). Dave Filoni told EW he felt the live-action series helped influence his animated series a lot in its final stretch, and credited Jon Favreau for his mentorship. When asked what he learned from The Mandalorian that he brought to The Clone Wars, Filoni said this:

I think a lot. Working with Jon Favreau has been another extension of my education. There are a lot of things that George had taught me over the years about live-action, and finally here I was in a place where I could apply it. And I'm so fortunate to be working alongside Jon as another mentor and someone who is very experienced to help me through the questions and the challenges that you have in a different medium.

George Lucas and Jon Favreau are great mentors to have when it comes to storytelling, and it looks like Dave Filoni used their tips and advice to get Star Wars: The Clone Wars off to a strong start. Favreau and The Mandalorian gave Filoni an avenue to explore the various lessons he picked up from Lucas over the years, and that experience in turn bled into Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

But what exactly did Jon Favreau pass on to Dave Filoni? The Mandalorian executive producer explained that watching Favreau helped him see Star Wars: The Clone Wars with a fresh set of eyes and, in general, search for ways to keep the story moving.

But yeah, it definitely affected me as far as looking back on the Clone Wars with different eyes and saying we could tighten this up, this could be better. You know, some of the things I learned from Jon about just keeping it moving and heightening and transforming things as we go. He brings a great perspective, and one that I've really never had as an actor to every scene and the emotions and the character. And so I've learned a lot from him in the past year about hopefully improving our performances and relating to performances.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars is only part of the way into its 12-episode final run, but has already featured some heavy moments Star Wars fans can appreciate. This includes presenting the finished version of the "Bad Batch" story arc, which to some felt like something the show would never be able to fully animate and debut. This may have been a product of Jon Favreau's mentorship via The Mandalorian on Dave Filoni, though the "Bad Batch" arc has been in the works since way back before The Clone Wars was initially cancelled.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars uploads new episodes on Disney+ Fridays. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for more updates on the world of Star Wars, and for the latest news happening in television and movies.

Mick Joest
Content Producer

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.