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'Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian': Dave Filoni talks about fans who cherish 'Star Wars' a little too much

The director talks about the problem of people who 'put too much grandiose importance on things that should be fun'

Getting 'Star Wars' "right" has been a big challenge for creators ever since the prequel series first went into production. The 'Star Wars' legacy has been hugely important to its fans, and they are vitriolic about any aspect of the 'Star Wars' franchise that doesn't live up to that legacy. If anyone is known for living up to it and taking it in new directions, however, it's Dave Filoni — who is of the opinion that fans need to stop putting so much pressure on the legacy.

In the latest episode of 'Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian,' Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni and the composer for 'The Mandalorian,' Ludwig Göransson, talk about living up to the 'Star Wars' legacy. The discussion turns to how George Lucas built that legacy from the ground up - the people he worked didn't necessarily have any context of just how iconic 'Star Wars' could be. In contrast, creators now are building off of everything that made 'Star Wars' iconic under the eyes of millions of fans worldwide.

"At the same time, it can also hurt us," said Dave Filoni, "because people almost put too much grandiose importance on things that should be fun, or it should be light, or it should just be allowed to play. Yes, it's 'Star Wars,' but if we lose focus on it being this exciting adventure that is mainly directed at kids — as George Lucas always held to that — then we're changing it into something it's not meant to be, because we're trying to cherish it so much, we're holding it too tight." 

He then compared the need for the fandom to loosen its grip on the 'Star Wars' legacy to the innovative leaps that Ludwig Goransson took with the score of 'The Mandalorian'. "The same could have been true of the music, you know," he said, "When you did it if we still stuck to what was always done and didn't take a chance, to do something different and yet honor what was there. It's a very fine line." 

The next episode of 'Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian' airs on June 19 on Disney+.