The Mandalorian boss reveals how George Lucas has influenced the show

The Mandalorian executive producer Dave Filoni has spoken about how much Star Wars creator George Lucas has influenced the Disney+ series.

Lucas visited the Mandalorian set during production of its first season back in the autumn of 2018, as it is spearheaded by long-time protege Filoni (Star Wars: The Clone Wars).

Filoni confirmed during a recent chat with The Hollywood Reporter that while Lucas hasn't had "a tremendous amount" of creative input on The Mandalorian, the filmmaker has been consulted on certain plot points.

Dave Filoni and George Lucas in 2017

"When I talk with him, I like to get more knowledge," Filoni explained. "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.

"He's been very complimentary. 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. My job is to bring that knowledge forward and pass on what I've learned from him in every discipline to Jon [Favreau] and to the creative departments."

The Mandalorian is one of the few Disney-era Star Wars projects openly supported by Lucas since he sold his Lucasfilm company to the House of Mouse.

George Lucas and Jon Favreau

A few years back, Lucas had to publicly apologise after he compared Disney to "white slavers" over what they'd done to the Star Wars franchise.

He later released a statement walking back those comments, saying: "I have been working with Disney for 40 years and chose them as the custodians of Star Wars because of my great respect for the company and Bob Iger's leadership. Disney is doing an incredible job of taking care of and expanding the franchise.

"I rarely go out with statements to clarify my feelings but I feel it is important to make it clear that I am thrilled that Disney has the franchise and is moving it in such exciting directions in film, television and the parks. Most of all I'm blown away with the record breaking blockbuster success of the new movie and am very proud of JJ [Abrams] and Kathy [Kennedy]."

The Mandalorian, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the entire Skywalker Saga are available on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K now, as well as on Disney+, while Rise of Skywalker is also on Sky Cinema Premiere and NOW TV.

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Justin Harp

Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.