The Clone Wars Strikes Back: "Rising Malevolence"

Dave Filoni's favourite character steps into the spotlight as the Separatists unveil a new Superweapon...

When Catherine Winder first called Dave Filoni, she did not get the response she expected. The veteran animation producer was contacting candidates to work side-by-side with Star Wars creator George Lucas on his first foray into 3D animation. Filoni, who was then working on Avatar: The Last Airbender, had previously cut his teeth on King of the Hill, and was among the list of contenders being considered.

“His first reaction was ‘Oh C’mon!’, and I had to repeat again who I was and why I was calling,” Winder recalled in a 2018 interview with TheForce.net. “He didn’t believe me, and he went silent, so I told him to hang up, do a little research on me, and then call back.”

Filoni’s skepticism was not unfounded. At the time, he was working at Nickelodeon, where he had gotten used to prank calls from the teams working on other shows. Later, in an episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, he retold the story from his perspective. He had assumed the crew making Spongebob Squarepants was stitching him up.

Thankfully, Winder eventually convinced Filoni of her credentials, at which point the young animator’s tone changed. Realizing this was genuinely a chance at his dream job, he went from blase to panicked.

“I’m making a Jedi costume in my garage right now!” he blurted out.

Though that revelation made Winder briefly reconsider bringing Filoni in, the meeting was already set and both sides were committed. Filoni met with Lucas and the rest, as they say, is history.

While Filoni’s revelation of his cosplay plans may not have been the most advisable career move in the moment, it wound up being a preview of one of his best qualities as a showrunner for The Clone Wars and beyond. Filoni’s understanding of art and storytelling was and is top-tier, of course, but he also understood Star Wars and Star Wars fans. He could relate to the audience that would be interested in The Clone Wars from the start because he was one.

That Jedi costume he was building in his garage wasn’t just any Jedi; it was Plo Koon.

To most, the name Plo Koon wouldn’t mean anything. Even after googling him, casual fans of the saga would at best have a vague memory of him sitting on the council in Episodes I and II, or of his death in Revenge of the Sith. But few would think of dressing like him, let alone call him their favourite character.

But Filoni did. He understood the appeal of the wider Star Wars galaxy beyond the immediate story of the films. Yes, the Skywalker saga is what drew us into Star Wars, but the galaxy that surrounded it made us want to return. Throughout the movies, there is this feeling that so much more is happening out there. Sometimes it’s directly alluded to like “that bounty we ran into on Ord Mantell” or “that business on Cato Nemoida doesn’t, doesn’t count.” Other times it’s implied in an interesting location or a cool character design.

The Clone Wars was a chance to actually dig into that potential on-screen. And, it succeeded in expanding the universe in thrilling and heartfelt ways. It made fan favourites out of background characters like Plo Koon and Kit Fisto. It elevated the stories of political intrigue and espionage in ways that the films couldn’t. And it introduced us to an array of new characters, locations, and moments that are now beloved by fans everywhere.

The series needed someone like Filoni, with an appreciation for the forgotten characters—the “Glup Shittos,” if you will—to steer the ship. The stories still needed to be good, including a background character from the movies alone didn’t dictate quality, but it could serve as a promise of sorts to fans: this show will invite you into the Star Wars galaxy in a way you’ve always dreamed of.

Together, Lucas and Filoni charted a path for The Clone Wars that would include a healthy mix of old and new. They would bring back classic elements when it felt right, but never shied away from creating something bold and new. It was fresh and familiar at the same time. It’s why it drew people in and why it’s stood the test of time.

All because some guy was building a Jedi costume in his garage.

Season One, Episode Two, “Rising Malevolence”

Written by: Steven Melching

Directed by: Dave Filoni

Original Airdate: October 3rd, 2008

Original US Viewership: 3.92 Million

While investigating a new Separatist superweapon, Plo Koon’s fleet is destroyed, leaving the Jedi Master and three clones as the only survivors. Believing a rescue mission is too risky, the Jedi council divert their resources elsewhere—but Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano go off in search of Plo’s escape pod on their own. Ahsoka is particularly interested in saving Plo since he was the Jedi who first brought her to the temple as a youngling.

As Separatist hunters search the wreckage of the Republic fleet for survivors, Plo and his men must take extreme measures to survive. They leave the pod and fight the droids off in the vacuum of space until Anakin and Ahsoka arrive. However, the Malevolence—General Grievous and Count Dooku’s new cruiser with a massive ion cannon—spots them. The heroes barely escape the weapon’s powerful blast and live to fight another day.

Space: The Final Frontier

At some point during the production of “Rising Malevolence,” George Lucas had an observation. During the six Star Wars movies he’d made over thirty years, he’d never had a character fight in space. Meanwhile, the series was sending its characters into battle in the vacuum in its second episode. He shared this fact with Dave Filoni.

Filoni recalled the conversation with Lucas in the episode’s DVD featurette, where he said he pointed out that General Grievous went into space to escape Anakin and Obi-Wan in Episode III. That doesn’t count, replied Lucas, he’s a robot. “It’s fun to argue with George about those things,” Filoni recalls. “He gets into it.”

While Filoni may have caught his boss on a technicality, Lucas’ point still stands. It’s a science fiction trope that he had largely avoided, keeping the action contained to the interior of spaceships on planet-bound locations. But the need to come up with an entire series worth of action scenes meant they would have to expand the definition of what Star Wars action could be.

Leading the charge into space was Jedi Master Plo Koon, Filoni’s favourite Jedi. Filoni’s appreciation for the character was already well-known among the crew when this episode was developed, so no one was surprised to see Plo as the first Jedi outside the principal cast of the prequel trilogy to get the spotlight. Filoni also took the opportunity to forge a connection between his favourite character and his creation, making Plo the Jedi who brought Ahsoka to the Jedi.