George Lucas once personally brought Dave Filoni to Lucasfilm, took him under his wing and entrusted him with control of all Star Wars animation projects. Filoni has since followed in his mentor’s footsteps and has taken a creative lead in advancing the Star Wars universe, most notably with the series on Disney+.
With “Ahsoka”, the next series will start on August 23, 2023 – and the promotional tour is already underway. Disney just released a new video, Journey To Ahsoka, in which Filoni makes a statement that caused quite a stir among fans. Because he’s talking about the greatest Jedi of all time.
No, of course he does not mean Ahsoka Tano, embodied by Rosario Dawson, nor the Jedi Master Plo Koon, whom he worships. When Filoni speaks of Ahsoka as “the student of the greatest Jedi of all time,” he is, of course, referring to Anakin Skywalker and hanging the medal of honor around his neck.
But that really bothers some fans. Can you really call Anakin, who fell to the dark side and murdered children en masse, the greatest Jedi of all time?
Wouldn’t Yoda or Obi-Wan Kenobi be a better choice for such an award?
After all, didn’t Obi-Wan successfully challenge him twice?
But of course this is primarily a matter of definition: how do you determine what the “greatest Jedi of all time” is? Filoni should refer to the movies, series and books and they are clear in that regard. Anakin is more powerful than all the others, he is a unique appearance. It is even scientifically stated that with more than 20,000 midichlorians it has the highest value ever measured. No one is therefore more receptive to the Force.
We can understand the excitement of some fans that of all people Anakin, who defected to the dark side as a young man, is said to be the greatest Jedi of all time. But it is understandable why Filoni chose this name.