Is Dave Filoni the true soul of "New Star Wars"?

I attended the "press only" Rebels conference in Anaheim during C7, and that question/scenario came up. Filoni and the rest of the panel (Kinberg, and the cast) all agreed that everything that they do is "For George", so from a certain point of view , Filoni IS the new GL and the bearer of his torch in the animated series...bless him. That statement he made nearly brought a tear to my eye, personally.

 

I think Filoni has a great feel for the plot, world building, and feel of "new" Star Wars. He took what George was trying to create with the PT and made it more palatable for fans who were less than pleased with the PT while keeping it true to the things fans liked about the PT.

The question of whether that is what's best for Star Wars or whether he could handle running the franchise proper is another thing entirely. We haven't seen him work outside the properties aimed at the younger demo yet. Yes, what he did with TCW in later seasons was nothing short of amazing, taking a child directed cartoon and in many ways making it more mature than the films that spawned it. But on many levels the show was still somewhat shallow and simple compared to something that needs to please the masses. I don't say this to fault Filoni. In a cartoon things have to remain simple for it to be palatable to those who it is aimed at. So, he very well could have the talent to pull off something deeper, but we have yet to see it.

I know I'm in the minority, but I've been disappointed in Rebels overall. Some high points, but it seems to be a regression towards early TCW rather than building on all the great things they did in the earlier show. The meshing of TCW style storytelling hasn't synced perfectly with the more adventurous and philosophical spirit of the OT as well as I had hoped, but it did progress throughout the first season and I still enjoy the show. But the question remains, is Rebels a good model of what the public wants out of tStar Wars going forward. Or do they hope to move even further back towards the OT in styles and themes.

In the end, JJ was chosen for his ability to restart the franchise, but he won't be around for ever. Filoni has proven to be excellent at playing in other people's sandboxes (and I don't mean that as an insult in any way) If Rebels continues on its pace, I have no dout that Filoni will get his chances to build within the new Star Wars era and perhaps eventually even get his own standalone. But until he proves himself at that Level, I doubt they would let him run the whole show (like what Marvel had Whedon doing the last few years)