Dave Filoni sees Canon in somewhat different terms than the fanbase.
Filoni's talk has several digressions; one of the most fascinating is a quick review of Canonicity in the old Expanded Universe. There, he says, "the only canonical thing back then was if George Lucas did it." Canonicity was "very cut and dry," in his perspective. Filoni's perspective may have been accurate, but it was not the one Lucasfilm promoted in the audience; executives commonly presented a tiered approach whereby Lucas's films were absolute canon ("G-Level") and other works were at a second tier, changed if necessary to fit in with Lucas.
Filoni presents a somewhat different perspective of the Lucasfilm Story Group's contribution to the one held among the fans as he goes on. Lucasfilm shouldn't be about "policing" the Canon, in his view; it should be about supporting artists. He channels a spectrum of different points of view and ideas into one coherent flow of thought, likening the part to that of the Jedi Council. He doesn't really mind if a paradox is required to tell a tale since all that counts is "Do you appreciate the story? Well then, it's canon for you."
Star Wars Canon Is "Like Jazz, Not Classical Music," Says Dave Filoni of Lucasfilm
Dave Filoni of Lucasfilm has clarified his own dubious perspective of Star Wars canon, which comes out as more like "jazz than classical music". Within the Star Wars community, the subjects of canon and canonicity have often been divisive ones. After acquiring Lucasfilm, Disney basically rebuilt Star Wars canon; since then, everything has been recognized as equal canon - theoretically. But canon is difficult to regulate, and conflicts are developing that cause many to argue Star Wars canon is broken.
Dave Filoni, George Lucas's student and now chief creative officer at Lucasfilm, spoke in an interview on the WGAW podcast about his personal definition of canon. According to him, canon is somewhat difficult since everyone arrives to Star Wars from their own perspective. He says, "I don't sit there honestly and think that my point of view is greater or better than anybody else's."
The interviewer's neat summary of Filoni's comments is Star Wars Canon As Jazz, Not Classical Music
The interviewer's tidy summation of Filoni's remarks is "Star Wars canon as jazz, not classical music." Though often paradoxical, it's free-flowing and always a creation produced from passion and dedication to the craft and characters; it's not fixed. That's undoubtedly a different viewpoint from what the Star Wars fans hold, and it could help to explain why Lucasfilm seems unconcerned about continuity issues and plot holes in the movie.
Author: WGAW
Jonathan Frakes Describes Variances Of Various Eras Of Star Trek As A Director
Jonathan Frakes then went on to explain how the present episodes let directors latitude with dialogue that the Star Trek series created by Rick Berman did not let, thus directing for Star Trek on Paramount+ series is much different. Star Trek requires the actors be word-perfect and recite all speech as written, but the current programs are looser and let for experimentation. See Frakes' comment on his experience supervising the crossover between Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Lower Decks below.
That's a great observation. That happened on "Those Old Scientists" with Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome visiting. Second City improv specialist Tawny fooled about a bit with the lines. On the scene with Kat Lyn and Bill Wolkoff as my writers, we all sort of locked eyes and I just murmured to them, asking, "What do you think? Should we let them go straight forward? Then they said, "Sure." And that released Anson, and Rebecca, and all of a sudden we performed the scenes as written, but then we played with the scenes, and that was such a delight to have. Given Next Gen's severe policies, as I'm sure you have heard. On our show, it was absolutely rigorous. It was rigorous on every show covering the conversation. It was thus a quite liberating experience.
Dave Filoni, George Lucas's protégé, is now Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm; but, what does it mean for Star Wars going forward?
Filoni later addresses the Grand Admiral Thrawn example, but the remarks seem more pertinent to Kanan Jarrus, a character whose backstory was completely changed in Star Wars: The Bad Batch season 1. The broad brushstrokes stayed the same, while Clone Force 99's heroes were rebuilt into the minutiae.
Filoni's talk has several digressions; one of the most fascinating is a quick review of canonicity in the old Expanded Universe. There, he says, "the only canonical thing back then was if George Lucas did it." Canonicity was "very cut and dry," in his perspective. Filoni's perspective may have been accurate, but it was not the one Lucasfilm promoted in the audience; executives commonly portrayed a tiered approach, whereby Lucas's films were absolute canon ("G-Level") and other works were at a second tier, modified if necessary to fit in with Lucas.
