Taking the Stage [00:01] Host Krystina Arielle introduces Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, calling them the busiest people at Lucasfilm who are crafting stories for an entire new galaxy. [00:42] Favreau and Filoni walk out to roaring applause. After letting the crowd cheer for nearly a minute, Arielle jokes that they should take a bow, which they do. [01:24] Arielle asks Favreau if he ever expected The Mandalorian to become such a massive global phenomenon. [01:43] Favreau humbly replies that he was just happy to get to make Star Wars. He explains that when they first started working on the show, it was a relatively small project. At the time, Disney+ hadn’t even launched yet, and the main focus at Lucasfilm was still on the theatrical movies. They had no idea it would become such a huge cultural presence. He credits the iconic characters—especially the Mandalorian and “Baby Yoda”—for connecting with people, particularly during a time when many fans were locked inside their homes due to the pandemic and movie theaters were closed. The Art of Keeping Secrets [02:58] Arielle asks how they manage to keep massive reveals, like Grogu or the return of Luke Skywalker, completely secret in an era full of leaks and spoilers. [03:13] Favreau explains that it is incredibly difficult and requires intentional deception on set. They use code names and try to think like fans to anticipate how things might leak. He reveals a major behind-the-scenes secret: Rosario Dawson didn’t even know she was filming a scene with Luke Skywalker. During production, they kept referring to the character as Plo Koon as a cover story. [04:02] Favreau adds that they took the secrecy so far that they even had the production artists paint concept art featuring Plo Koon instead of Luke. They even went as far as paying for a CGI head of Plo Koon to place in the dailies and editing room so the crew working on the show would be fooled. The Magic of Making Star Wars [04:35] Arielle notices that Filoni is wearing his signature cowboy hat again, pointing out that he had recently started filming the Ahsoka series. [04:54] Favreau tells the crowd that Filoni is in the middle of shooting right now and drove all the way to the convention just for the panels, but has to immediately drive back to Manhattan Beach to continue filming. [05:22] Arielle asks both of them what their absolute favorite part about making Star Wars is. [05:35] Favreau recounts his history as an usher in a movie theater during the original run of Return of the Jedi. For him, the best part is the fact that the stars aligned, allowing him to write stories in this universe alongside Filoni. He reminisces about how they first met back at Skywalker Ranch when Favreau was mixing Iron Man and Filoni was making The Clone Wars. [06:34] Filoni describes his favorite part by walking through his creative process. He loves the journey of writing a scene, discussing the specific details with Favreau, painstakingly designing the costumes and sets for months, and finally walking onto the stage to see it all come to life. He emphasizes that the magic comes from the entire crew working together. He makes sure to honor George Lucas, stating that Lucas created the sandbox they get to play in, and expresses hope that Lucas is looking over all of it and still guiding the spirit of their work. Easter Eggs and Homages [07:57] Arielle asks if there are any other specific “Filoni things” that he has snuck into The Mandalorian, referencing his cameo as a New Republic X-wing pilot. [08:09] Filoni jokes that Favreau actually pushed him to get on camera, and he only agreed to do it if fellow directors Rick Famuyiwa and Deborah Chow did it with him. He then laughs about Favreau buying a whole case of Filoni’s action figure just to have him sign them for future value. [08:59] Filoni reveals a subtle Easter egg he places in the show. Because his influence comes from George Lucas, and Lucas’s mentor was legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, Filoni hides a tiny Akira Kurosawa action figure somewhere on the set of every single episode he directs. He admits it is very hard to spot on camera, but he always keeps it by the monitors to remind himself of the filmmaking principles Kurosawa passed down. An Evolving Partnership [10:14] Arielle asks how their working dynamic has changed since the early days of developing the first season. [10:22] Favreau explains that the dynamic itself hasn’t changed much, but the workload has flipped. In the beginning, Favreau was doing the writing and would send scripts to Filoni for instant feedback. Now, because Filoni is busy running the Ahsoka series, Filoni is the one writing scripts and sending them to Favreau for notes. Favreau expresses how exciting it is to see Filoni’s decade-long vision for these characters finally come to fruition in live-action. [11:38] Before leaving the stage, Favreau invites all the fans in attendance to check out “The Mandalorian Experience,” a free exhibit on the convention floor featuring actual props, set pieces, and droids used in the show. Arielle thanks them both for their time, and they wave to the crowd as the interview concludes.