Shadow Lord Highlights The Biggest Problem With Dave Filoni’s Star Wars

The upcoming series Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord already looks amazing, but it also highlights a problem with Dave Filoni’s approach to Star Wars. Dave Filoni, creator of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, is taking leadership of Star Wars following Kathleen Kennedy’s departure from Lucasfilm. While Filoni has made several great Star Wars projects, there are some issues with his style.

For the most part, Filoni is one of the best parts of modern Star Wars. His track record speaks for itself, from The Clone Wars to The Mandalorian. As with any storyteller, however, Filoni also has his share of issues. Several fans have noticed that Filoni loves to include his older characters in newer shows, and that he has a particular fondness for Ahsoka above all else. His biggest problem, however, is now clear thanks to Maul – Shadow Lord.

Maul – Shadow Lord Takes Place Between The Prequels & Original Trilogy

Thanks to the trailer for Maul – Shadow Lord, we know that the upcoming animated series takes place shortly after the end of the Clone Wars, at the start of the Galactic Empire’s reign. Maul is reportedly finding his footing in the new galactic power dynamic, and he’s struggling to come to terms with the fact that his former master, Palpatine, has achieved his wildest ambitions.

At the end of The Clone Wars, immediately following the Siege of Mandalore, Maul was captured by Ahsoka, but she eventually set him free and spared his life, allowing him to appear in Star Wars Rebels later on in the Star Wars timeline. We also know that Maul had started running the Crimson Dawn from the shadows by the time of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which takes place in 10 BBY. Clearly, this show takes place shortly after Ahsoka helped him escape in The Clone Wars.

Dave Filoni & Star Wars Can’t Stop Focusing On The Dark Times

Maul – Shadow Lord‘s position in the Star Wars timeline is a prime example of Dave Filoni’s greatest weakness with Star Wars: both he and the franchise are obsessed with the period between the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War. Filoni alone has made several different shows that take place in the “Dark Times” between the prequels and original trilogy. The Bad Batch, every Tales anthology series, even Star Wars Rebels all take place in the same 19-year span.

To get technical, the last season of The Clone Wars also takes place just months before the Dark Times began. The issue only gets worse when expanding the scope to Star Wars stories that Filoni was involved in but did not personally create. Andor, both of Cal Kestis’ Jedi games, Star Wars Outlaws, and more all take place in the Dark Times. The entire franchise cannot stop telling stories set during this time.

To be fair to Filoni, those 19 years of the Empire’s reign were quite eventful, and people want to see stories told during that time. I’m not arguing that these shows and games are bad in the slightest, I’m just saying that Star Wars is far too constrained by the reign of the Empire. It’s the same reason Star Wars‘ overuse of Tattooine rubs some fans the wrong way: yes, it’s a cool planet, but surely this franchise is capable of coming up with a new planet that’s just as cool.

The only exception to Filoni and Star Wars‘ fixation on the Dark Times is the New Republic era, when the “Mandoverse” takes place. Even that is still tied to the Empire and the original trilogy, though, as Din Djarin spends so much of his time battling the remnants of the Empire. At this point, the years immediately preceding and immediately following the Galactic Civil War may be the most written-about in fiction.

Star Wars Has So Much More To Offer Than Just The Empire

The problem with Dave Filoni and Star Wars obsessing over the Dark Times is that there’s so much more to Star Wars than that. The Galactic Empire is obviously a tremendous storytelling device, and Star Wars has produced so many great stories centered around that villain. But the galaxy far, far away is much bigger and longer lasting than the 19 years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

There are so many fascinating eras of Star Wars that I would like to see instead of yet another story told under the shadow of the Empire. The Acolyte was admittedly divisive, but the High Republic era has so much more to offer, the books and comics are proof of that. The sequel trilogy also has a galaxy ripe to reshape after the fall of the First Order, yet we have no information about it. This is an area the Star Wars Expanded Universe used to excel at: moving around in the timeline to find fascinating and new stories to tell.

Star Wars is planning on exploring new areas of the timeline besides the Dark Times and the New Republic era. Dawn of the Jedi is set to take place 25,000 years before the Skywalker saga, while New Jedi Order and Simon Kinberg’s planned trilogy are both taking place after the Battle of Exegol. These are steps in the right direction, but they’re not enough. There’s also no guarantee those movies will even be made, considering Lucasfilm’s track record of announcing and promptly canceling films.

Just imagine the kind of story Dave Filoni, a very good writer, could produce if he didn’t force himself to fit it into the 19-year window when the Empire was active. Star Wars could be telling stories about the height of the Sith, about the formation of the Jedi Order, about Rey’s attempts to rebuild, about literally anything imaginable.

Star Wars doesn’t even need to branch out that far, either. I would be more than happy to get a show set during or immediately before the events of The Phantom Menace, or one set during Luke’s time with the Rebel Alliance in the original trilogy. There are fascinating parts of the Star Wars timeline that are ripe for Filoni to explore in a new show, but he’s instead putting his focus into Maul – Shadow Lord and the like.