On Friday afternoon, Jon Favreau shared a picture of him and Dave Filoni hanging out at Skywalker Ranch.
It’s a cool picture to see Favreau, the man tasked with creating Star Wars’ first live-action TV show, with Filoni, who has brought Star Wars animation to life through several different TV shows.
But I also can’t help but wonder – and this is just speculation, mind you – whether this is actually more significant than just a heartwarming and cool photo for fans. Let me explain.
Now it’s possible that what I’m going to share is just crazy speculation that’s overreaction to a simple photo, but the picture especially piqued my interest in light of a report last week from Making Star Wars.
In case you missed it, Making Star Wars reported last week that Favreau’s TV show will focus on Mandalore after the fall of the Empire. So around three years after the Battle of Endor, the show will reportedly explore the conflicts and turmoil of Mandalore as its people try to restore it to its former glory. That sounds like a pretty great plot for the show to explore and one that I’d be incredibly interested in.
So what’s that got to do with this photo? That’s where things get interesting. If MSW’s report is true and this show will focus on Mandalore post-ROTJ, it would make a ton of sense for Favreau to discuss story elements with Dave Filoni. Filoni, after all, is the one who has the most experience exploring Mandalore and its people in the current universe, telling stories about Mandalore and the Mandalorians in both The Clone Wars and Rebels (and also Forces of Destiny, too, though not to the same extent). Favreau actually worked with Filoni on these matters in The Clone Wars, voicing Pre Vizsla. In light of all of that, it would be really surprising if Favreau were to tell a story about Mandalore without having Filoni involved in some way, if only just for input and storytelling advice.
But it could be even more interesting than that. After all, if Favreau were to explore Mandalore post-Empire, he would likely want to include Bo-Katan Kryze. A skilled warrior and the sister of the late Dutchess Satine, Bo-Katan was the one to whom Sabine Wren gave the darksaber, hoping that Bo-Katan could help unite Mandalore. It would seem logical that Bo-Katan would have a role to play in this story, and Filoni would certainly be the one to ask about the character. That’s even more true about a couple of other notable characters: Sabine Wren and Ahsoka Tano. We know that Sabine is a Mandalorian and hopes that her people can be united, and so it’s even possible that she could show up at some point during the show – and if she does, then Ahsoka Tano would probably be with her. The two set out at the end of Rebels together, and even beyond that Ahsoka has a history with Mandalore, as she knows Bo-Katan and led the Republic’s effort during the Siege of Mandalore. And if either one (or both) of those characters were to show up, then it would essentially have to be with Filoni’s blessing and input – given the fact that he has publicly stated that it’d be hard for him to let other storytellers handle those characters.
So anyway, to sum it up: Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni were hanging out today at Skywalker Ranch. That’s pretty cool no matter what, but considering the reports about Favreau’s live-action TV show being about Mandalore, a meeting with Filoni becomes far more noteworthy and intriguing.
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