After Claiming Luke Skywalker Wasn’t A Jedi, ‘The Mandalorian’ EP Dave Filoni Admits To Ignoring Luke Being The Last Jedi Following ‘Return Of The Jedi’
John F. Trent
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The Mandalorian Executive Producer Dave Filoni recently admitted in a new interview that he changed his views on the original trilogy and specifically on Luke Skywalker being the only Jedi following the end of the film.
Director of photography Baz Idoine and Dave Filoni on the set of THE MANDALORIAN
RELATED: ‘The Mandalorian’ Executive Producer Dave Filoni Claims Luke Skywalker Wasn’t A Jedi
After recently claiming in an interview with ScreenRant that Luke Skywalker wasn’t a Jedi, Filoni pointed to the same scene referenced in his interview with ScreenRant to reveal how he no longer looks at the original trilogy the same way he previously did.
Speaking with ScreenRant, Filoni said during a discussion about the Darksaber, Grogu, and Jedi, “[Grogu] trained when he was young, and [so did] Luke. Yoda didn’t confirm that [Luke] was a Jedi remember? He says, ‘Oh, you think you’re a Jedi? Not so fast.’ He had to pass the trials.”
Jon Favreau, head writer on The Mandalorian, would go on to correct Filoni saying, “But he also said, ‘You’ll be the last Jedi when I’m gone.’”
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MAY 26: (L-R) Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni attend the studio showcase panel at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California on May 26, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
In Return of the Jedi, Luke returns to Dagobah and tells Yoda, “I’ve come back to complete the training.” Yoda responds, “No more training do you require. Already know you that which you need.”
Luke answers, “Then I am a Jedi.” Yoda replies, “Oh! Not yet. One thing remains: Vader. You must confront Vader. Then, only then, a Jedi will you be. And confront him you will.”
At the end of their conversation, Yoda tells Luke, “Luke, when gone am I the last of the Jedi will you be. Luke, the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what have you learned. Luke, there is another Skywalker.”
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), Lucasfilm
Filoni referenced this scene in a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter when asked if he had “figured out where Grogu is during the sequel trilogy?”
During his answer, Filoni revealed he’s completely changed his opinion on whether or not Luke Skywalker was actually the last Jedi.
He said, “As a kid, when Yoda said, ‘When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be,’ to Luke, I took that very literally. Well, now we know that’s anything but true. There are many different people that could wield the force, and maybe Luke is the last Jedi as far as what Yoda would consider a Jedi.”
“So we’ll just have to wait and see how the story evolves and what makes sense. But in my experience, there’s definitely a way to weave everything together and make it exciting. It’s possible it would never even have to cross over with what we saw [in the sequel trilogy] if the story has us somewhere else,” he concluded.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 28: (L-R) Showrunner/Executive Producer Jon Favreau, and Executive Producers Rick Famuyiwa and Dave Filoni speak onstage during the Mandalorian special launch event at El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 28, 2023. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
It’s hard to imagine Grogu’s story not intersecting with the sequel trilogy when that trilogy of films encompasses much of the known galaxy. The opening crawl of The Last Jedi makes this abundantly clear.
It reads, “The First Order reigns. Having decimated the peaceful Republic, Supreme Leader Snoke now deploys his legions to seize military control of the galaxy. Only General Leia Organa’s band of Resitance fighters stand against the rising tyranny, certain that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker will return and restore a spark of hope to the fight. But the Resistance has been exposed. As the First Order speeds toward the rebel base, the brave heroes mount a desperate escape….”
On top of this opening crawl making it clear the events of Disney’s Sequel Trilogy are galaxy-spanning, Filoni’s own shows, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, connected Grogu’s story to Luke Skywalker. The shows have also heavily implied that Grogu was part of Darth Sidious’ cloning program, which eventually led to the birth of Rey, the main protagonist in the Disney Sequel Trilogy.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), Lucasfilm
However, given Filoni’s revelation that he has completely discarded the original trilogy’s continuity that Luke Skywalker was indeed the last Jedi after Return of the Jedi, it’s not hard to imagine he would be open to discarding the storylines in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and the Disney Sequel Trilogy.
To that point, Filoni admitted to as much back in November 2020 while speaking with Vanity Fair. When asked by the outlet, “What else had to happen as part of the transformation into Ahsoka” Filoni responded, “I said, ‘Well, Ahsoka’s eyes are blue and yours are not, but I don’t want you to worry about it. If you don’t want to go for that, we can just say that in this version they’re not.’”
The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season two, exclusively on Disney+, © 2020 Lucasfilm Ltd. &TM. All Rights Reserved.
He also told Vanity Fair that the continuity between the ending of Star Wars Rebels and The Mandalorian might not be as clear cut as it has been depicted so far.
The outlet asked, “The last time fans saw Ahsoka was this spring’s finale of The Clone Wars, but in the actual Star Wars chronology, the last time we saw her was at the end of Rebels, venturing off with Sabine Wren to find Ezra Bridger, who vanished along with Thrawn. Where does that scene fit in with where we find her in The Mandalorian?”
Filoni responded, “Right. But no, it’s an interesting one… That’s not necessarily chronological. I think the thing that people will most not understand is they want to go in a linear fashion, but as I learned as a kid, nothing in Star Wars really works in a linear fashion.”
“You do [Episodes] Four, Five and Six and then One, Two, and Three. So in the vein of that history, when you look at the epilogue of Rebels you don’t really know how much time has passed,” he continued.
Filoni then added, “So, it’s possible that the story I’m telling in The Mandalorian actually takes place prior to that. Possible. I’m saying it’s possible.”
(L-R): Nevarro copper droid (Chris Bartlett), Greef Karga (Carl Weathers) and Grogu in Lucasfilm’s THE MANDALORIAN, season three, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.
What do you make of Filoni’s recent comments regarding Luke Skywalker?
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