Dave Filoni | |
|---|---|
 Filoni in 2010 | |
| Born | David Filoni (1974-06-07)June 7, 1974 (age 51) |
| Alma mater | Edinboro University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Employer | Lucasfilm |
| Title | Executive vice president and chief creative officer of Lucasfilm[1] |
| Spouse | Anne Convery |
David Filoni (born June 7, 1974) is an American director, producer, and screenwriter currently serving as the chief creative officer ofLucasfilm. He directed multiple episodes ofAvatar: The Last Airbender, before being hired byGeorge Lucas to oversee direction on the television seriesStar Wars: The Clone Wars as well as directing and writing numerous episodes, including itstheatrical film. He was the creator of follow-up seriesStar Wars Rebels, and served as a supervising director, executive producer and writer.
Filoni is the creator, executive producer and sole writer of live-action miniseriesAhsoka, and is an executive producer onThe Mandalorian,The Book of Boba Fett, andSkeleton Crew. Filoni is also the creator and executive producer of the animated seriesStar Wars Resistance,Star Wars: The Bad Batch andTales of the Jedi, and an executive producer of the web seriesStar Wars Forces of Destiny. Filoni is an executive vice president at Lucasfilm, and in 2023 accepted a promotion to chief creative officer.
Filoni was born inMt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb ofPittsburgh, on June 7, 1974.[2][3] He is of Italian descent. Filoni's father was an opera and a classical music fan, according to composerKevin Kiner, who did most of the music forThe Clone Wars andRebels. As such, he inherited appreciation for classical music and helped with the collaboration process, with Kiner crediting Filoni for suggesting the organ inGrand Admiral Thrawn's theme fromRebels.[4] Filoni has also said that his grandfather and uncle were pilots, with the latter specializing in restoring planes. He cited this as a significant influence with regard to the concept ofStar Wars Resistance.[5]
Filoni graduated fromMt. Lebanon High School in 1992 andEdinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1996.
Prior to his work withLucasfilm Animation, Filoni worked as a storyboard artist and/or assistant director for various animated series, includingMike Judge'sKing of the Hill andDisney Television Animation shows such asTeamo Supremo andKim Possible,[6] before moving on to direct many ofNickelodeon's first-season episodes of the animated seriesAvatar: The Last Airbender.[7]
An avidStar Wars fan, particularly of characterPlo Koon, Filoni dressed up as theJedi Master for the opening ofRevenge of the Sith.[8] Filoni left Nickelodeon afterGeorge Lucas offered him a job, helping him develop aStar Wars animated series.[9] While onThe Star Wars Show, Filoni revealed that he originally believed he was being pranked when given theStar Wars job.[10]
Filoni's office, as seen in the extra features on theStar Wars: The Clone Wars DVD, is filled with Plo Koon paraphernalia.[citation needed] He has a bust of Plo Koon's head, a model of Plo Koon's ship, an autographed portrait by the actor who played Plo Koon, a replica of Plo Koon'slightsaber on his desk, and his personal Plo Koon costume on display. Filoni also has a notebook-sized planner on his desk with Plo Koon's picture taped to the outside, and he has written the words "Plo Kool" on concept art designs for the Clone Wars, indicating that he liked those designs. Filoni also has a small model of the character Appa on his desk, fromAvatar: The Last Airbender. Filoni has attended all theClone Wars premieres and attended the fifth-season premiere in Orlando, Florida during the special event Celebration VI on August 24, 2012.[11] He is most associated with developing the characters ofAhsoka Tano andCaptain Rex.[12]
In 2008, he served as director of theStar Wars: The Clone Wars animated feature film, and the supervising director of theStar Wars: The Clone Wars animated series.[13]
Filoni made an appearance atCelebration IV in May 2007 with producerCatherine Winder to discuss the beginnings of the new television series and reveal howThe Clone Wars was being created.[14] At the time, he announced he would be writing for the Clone Wars monthly comic. Filoni voices the bounty hunter Embo during various episodes in different seasons.[15] In February 2009, Filoni was inducted as an Honorary Member of the501st Legion international costuming organization in recognition of his contributions to the continuingStar Wars saga.[16]
Filoni was as an executive producer ofStar Wars Rebels, which debuted in fall 2014, alongsideGreg Weisman andSimon Kinberg.[17] For the first two seasons, he also served as its supervising director. He appointed Justin Ridge as his successor for the remainder of the show, though he still remained as executive producer. Filoni departed as supervising director in September 2016 when he was given the job as overseer of all future and currentLucasfilm Animation projects.[18] He returned as supervising director for season four. Throughout the show's run, Filoni also voiced the astromech droid Chopper.
In 2019,Jon Favreau invited Filoni to work with him to createThe Mandalorian, a live-action Star Wars television series that premiered on Disney+ in November 2019. Referred to as a "Lucas encyclopedia", he contributes to and consults on many aspects of the series' production and began influencing the direction of the story in season two.[19][20] He is an executive producer of the show and made his live-action debut as the director of episode one of the first season.[21] Filoni has also been involved as executive producer of otherStar Wars interconnected shows,The Book of Boba Fett,Ahsoka andSkeleton Crew. In April 2023, it was announced that Filoni would write and direct aStar Wars film, closing out these interconnected stories with a focus on theNew Republic.[22][23]
In mid-2020, Lucasfilm quietly promoted Filoni as executive producer and executive creative director for the studio. His promotion was not announced to the public until Lucasfilm updated its list of executives on its website with the addition of Filoni in May 2021.[24]
In November 2023, it was announced that Filoni had been promoted to Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm.[25]
Filoni provided the voice of the bounty hunter Embo and the droid CH-33P ("Cheep") inStar Wars: The Clone Wars. In theStar Wars Rebels season three episodes "The Holocrons of Fate" and "Legacy of Mandalore", Filoni voiced a Rebel Crewman, Stormtroopers, and Mandalorian Warrior, respectively. He also voicedChopper for the entirety of the show, a fact not revealed until the end credits of the series finale.[26]
Filoni made his live action acting debut inThe Mandalorian as an X-Wing pilot named Trapper Wolf in "Chapter 6: The Prisoner". He later reprised the character in "Chapter 10: The Passenger" and in "Chapter 21: The Pirate".[27][28][29]
| Title | Year | Credited as | Role | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | Art department | ||||
| The WIN Awards | 2005 | No | No | No | Yes | animation director | |
| Star Wars: The Force Awakens | 2015 | No | No | No | Yes | Screaming Jakku villager (voice)[30] | concept artist |
| Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | 2016 | No | No | No | No | Chopper (voice) | Special thanks |
| The Mandalorian | 2019–2023 | Yes | Yes | Executive | No | Trapper Wolf | live-action debut second unit director |
| Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian | 2020–2023 | No | No | Executive | No | Himself | documentary |
| The Book of Boba Fett | 2021–2022 | Yes | Yes | Executive | No | ||
| Disney Gallery: The Book of Boba Fett | 2022 | No | No | Executive | No | Himself | documentary |
| Obi-Wan Kenobi | 2022 | No | No | No | No | Special Thanks to, Executive Creative Counsel | |
| Ahsoka | 2023–present | Yes | Yes | Executive | No | Chopper (voice) | creator |
| Skeleton Crew | 2024–present | No | No | Executive | No | ||
| The Mandalorian and Grogu | 2026 | No | Yes | Yes | TBA | Trapper Wolf | |
| Title | Year | Credited as | Voice role | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Executive Producer | Animation department | ||||
| King of the Hill | 1997–1999 | No | No | No | Yes | character & storyboard artist / assistant director | |
| Mission Hill | 1999–2002 | No | No | No | Yes | storyboard artist / assistant director | |
| The Oblongs | 2001 | No | No | No | Yes | retakes / assistant director | |
| Teamo Supremo | 2002 | No | No | No | Yes | storyboard artist | |
| Kim Possible | 2003 | No | No | No | Yes | storyboard artist & revisions | |
| Fillmore! | 2003 | No | No | No | Yes | storyboard artist | |
| Lilo & Stitch: The Series | 2003–2004 | No | No | No | Yes | storyboard artist | |
| Dave the Barbarian | 2004–2005 | No | No | No | Yes | storyboard artist | |
| American Dragon: Jake Long | 2005 | No | No | No | Yes | storyboard artist | |
| Avatar: The Last Airbender | 2005 | Yes | No | No | Yes | storyboard artist / character designer | |
| Star Wars: The Clone Wars | 2008 | Yes | No | No | Yes | development artist | |
| Star Wars: The Clone Wars | 2008–2014, 2020 | Supervising | Yes | Yes[a] | Yes | Embo / Various | development artist |
| Star Wars Rebels | 2014–2018 | Supervising[b] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Chopper / Various | co-creator / storyboard artist |
| Star Wars Forces of Destiny | 2017–2018 | Additional | Additional | Yes | Yes | Chopper / Stormtrooper | storyboard artist |
| Lego Star Wars: All-Stars | 2018 | No | No | No | No | Chopper | |
| Star Wars Resistance | 2018–2020 | No | Story | Yes | No | Bo Keevil / Various | creator / developer |
| Star Wars: The Bad Batch | 2021–2024 | No | Yes | Yes | No | Chopper | creator / developer |
| Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies | 2022 | No | No | No | No | Special Thanks | |
| Star Wars Tales | 2022–present | Supervising | Yes | Yes | No | creator | |
| Star Wars: Visions | 2023 | No | No | No | No | Special Thanks | |
| Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures | 2023–present | No | No | No | No | Executive creative advisor | |
| Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord | 2026 | TBA | TBA | Yes | TBA | Also developer | |
| Title | Se. | Ep. | Name | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar: The Last Airbender | 1 | 1 | "The Boy in the Iceberg" | Yes | No | |
| 2 | "The Avatar Returns" | Yes | No | |||
| 6 | "Imprisoned" | Yes | No | |||
| 10 | "Jet" | Yes | No | |||
| 13 | "The Blue Spirit" | Yes | No | |||
| 14 | "The Fortuneteller" | Yes | No | |||
| 17 | "The Northern Air Temple" | Yes | No | |||
| 20 | "The Siege of the North, Part 2" | Yes | No | |||
| Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Theatrical film | Yes | No | |||
| 1 | 2 | "RisingMalevolence" | Yes | Add. | Teleplays written by Steven Melching | |
| 3 | "Shadow ofMalevolence" | No | Add. | |||
| 4 | "DestroyMalevolence" | No | Add. | |||
| 9 | "Cloak of Darkness" | Yes | No | |||
| 2 | 22 | "Lethal Trackdown" | Yes | Yes | Co-written with Drew Z. Greenberg | |
| 3 | 1 | "Clone Cadets" | Yes | No | ||
| 21 | "Padawan Lost" | Yes | No | |||
| 22 | "Wookiee Hunt" | Yes | No | |||
| 4 | 14 | "A Friend in Need" | Yes | No | ||
| 5 | 2 | "A War on Two Fronts" | Yes | No | ||
| 20 | "The Wrong Jedi" | Yes | No | |||
| 7 | 2 | "A Distant Echo" | No | Yes | Co-written with Matt Michnovetz & Brent Friedman | |
| 5 | "Gone with a Trace" | No | Yes | Co-written with Charles Murray | ||
| 6 | "Deal No Deal" | No | Yes | |||
| 7 | "Dangerous Debt" | No | Yes | |||
| 8 | "Together Again" | No | Yes | |||
| 9 | "Old Friends Not Forgotten" | No | Yes | |||
| 10 | "The Phantom Apprentice" | No | Yes | |||
| 11 | "Shattered" | No | Yes | |||
| 12 | "Victory and Death" | No | Yes | |||
| Star Wars Rebels | Shorts | 1 | "The Machine in theGhost" | Yes | No | |
| 4 | "Property of Ezra Bridger" | Yes | No | |||
| 1 | 10 | "Path of the Jedi" | Yes | No | ||
| 15 | "Fire Across the Galaxy" | Yes | No | |||
| Special | "The Ultimate Guide" | Yes | No | Co-directed with Steward Lee & Steven G. Lee | ||
| 2 | 3 | "The Lost Commanders" | Yes | No | Co-directed with Sergio Paez | |
| 7 | "Wings of the Master" | Yes | No | |||
| 21-22 | "Twilight of the Apprentice" | Yes | Yes | Co-written with Melching &Simon Kinberg | ||
| 3 | 12–13 | "Ghosts of Geonosis" | No | Yes | Co-written with Melching & Michnovetz | |
| 15 | "Trials of the Darksaber" | No | Yes | |||
| 20 | "Twin Suns" | Yes | Yes | Co-written withHenry Gilroy | ||
| 4 | 6 | "Flight of the Defender" | No | Yes | Co-written with Melching | |
| 7 | "Kindred" | No | Yes | Co-written with Gilroy | ||
| 9 | "Rebel Assault" | No | Yes | Co-written with Melching | ||
| 10 | "Jedi Night" | No | Yes | Co-written with Gilroy | ||
| 11 | "DUME" | No | Yes | Co-written withChristopher Yost | ||
| 12 | "Wolves and a Door" | Yes | Yes | Co-directed with Bosco Ng | ||
| 13 | "A World Between Worlds" | Yes | Yes | Co-directed with Steward Lee | ||
| 14 | "A Fool's Hope" | Yes | No | Co-directed with Saul Ruiz | ||
| 15–16 | "Family Reunion and Farewell" | Yes | Yes | Co-directed with Ng & Paez Co-written with Gilroy, Kinberg, Melching & Kiri Hart | ||
| Star Wars: Forсes of Destiny | Specials | 2 | "Volume 2" | No | Add. | Teleplays written by Jennifer Muro |
| 3 | "Volume 3" | Add. | Add. | Directed by Brad Rau Teleplays written by Muro | ||
| Star Wars Resistance | 1 | 1–2 | "The Recruit" | No | Story | Teleplay written by Brandon Auman |
| The Mandalorian | 1 | 1 | "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian" | Yes | No | |
| 5 | "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger" | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2 | 5 | "Chapter 13: The Jedi" | Yes | Yes | ||
| 3 | 4 | "Chapter 20: The Foundling" | No | Yes | Co-written withJon Favreau | |
| 7 | "Chapter 23: The Spies" | No | Yes | |||
| Star Wars: The Bad Batch | 1 | 1 | "Aftermath" | No | Yes | Co-written with Jennifer Corbett |
| The Book of Boba Fett | 1 | 6 | "Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger" | Yes | Yes | Co-written with Favreau |
| Star Wars: Tales | Tales of Jedi | 1 | "Life and Death" | No | Yes | |
| 2 | "Justice" | No | Yes | |||
| 4 | "The Sith Lord" | No | Yes | |||
| 5 | "Practice Makes Perfect" | No | Yes | |||
| 6 | "Resolve" | No | Yes | |||
| Tales of the Empire | 1 | "The Path of Fear" | No | Story | Teleplays written by Amanda Rose Muñoz | |
| 2 | "The Path of Anger" | No | Story | |||
| 3 | "The Path of Hate" | No | Story | |||
| 4 | "Devoted" | No | Story | Teleplay written by Nicolas Anasatassiou | ||
| 5 | "Realization" | No | Story | Teleplays written by Matt Michnovetz | ||
| 6 | "The Way Out" | No | Story | |||
| Tales of the Underworld | 1 | "A Way Forward" | No | Story | ||
| 2 | "Friends" | No | Story | |||
| 3 | "One Warrior to Another" | No | Story | |||
| 4 | "The Good Life" | No | Story | |||
| 5 | "A Good Turn" | No | Story | |||
| 6 | "One Good Deed" | No | Story | |||
| Ahsoka | 1 | 1 | "Part One: Master and Apprentice" | Yes | Yes | |
| 2 | "Part Two: Toil and Trouble" | No | Yes | |||
| 3 | "Part Three: Time to Fly" | No | Yes | |||
| 4 | "Part Four: Fallen Jedi" | No | Yes | |||
| 5 | "Part Five: Shadow Warrior" | Yes | Yes | |||
| 6 | "Part Six: Far, Far Away" | No | Yes | |||
| 7 | "Part Seven: Dreams and Madness" | No | Yes | |||
| 8 | "Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord" | No | Yes | |||
| 2 | 1 | TBA | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2 | TBA | No | Yes | |||
| 3 | TBA | No | Yes | |||
| 4 | TBA | No | Yes | |||
| 5 | TBA | No | Yes | |||
| 6 | TBA | No | Yes | |||
| 7 | TBA | No | Yes | |||
| 8 | TBA | Yes | Yes | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Clone Wars 1 | Cover arts | Comics |
| 2009 | The Clone Wars 7: In Service of the Republic, Part 1 | ||
| 2012 | The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters | ||
| 2015 | Dark Disciple | Based on screenplays of eight unproduced episodes forThe Clone Wars co-written with Filoni | Novels |
| 2016 | The Confidence Chronicles | Illustrations |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 40th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Nominated |
| Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Won | |||
| 2014 | 41st Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Won | ||
| 2015 | 42nd Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Children's Program | Star Wars Rebels | Nominated |
| 2018 | 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Star Wars Resistance | Nominated | |
| 2020 | 72nd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Nominated | ||
| 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | The Mandalorian | Nominated | |
| 2021 | 78th Golden Globe Awards | Best Television Series – Drama | Nominated | |
| 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series("Chapter 13: The Jedi") | Nominated |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
