One forgotten George Lucas decision could have changed the Star Wars franchise forever. Before Disney took over the beloved sci-fi franchise in 2012, it was all Lucas, all the time. The groundbreaking filmmaker, who conceived of Star Wars in the first place, also served as the creative shepherd of the planet-hopping series right up until Bob Iger and Disney came knocking in the early 2010s.
Every decision went through the OG Star Wars director. While many of the more meaningful of these choices have come to light over the years, one has been forgotten to time. Apparently, Dave Filoni may not have been Lucas' first choice to take on the role he would eventually fill within the Star Wars galaxy.
This information came back up via a report from The Wrap on the latest leadership shake-up at the Star Wars studio, in which Dave Filoni is set to take over for departing CEO Kathleen Kennedy. According to the new report, Star Wars: Clone Wars and Dexter's Laboratory creator Genndy Tartakovsky turned down a leadership role at Lucasfilm in 2005, a decision that prompted Lucas to recruit Filoni for the position instead.
Tartakovsky, best known for his unique 2D animation style, was initially brought under the Star Wars umbrella in the early '00s to produce a series of animated shorts meant to fill the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. This took the form of Star Wars: Clone Wars (no, not Star Wars: The Clone Wars).
In Kwasu D. Tembo's 2022 book Genndy Tartakovsky: Sincerity in Animation, the original Clone Wars creator offered even more insight into this period of his life. "After Clone Wars, Jim Morris, who was running ILM at the time, said, 'George wants to make this a bigger studio and wants to bring you on as a John Lasseter-type," the renowned animator said.
However, he revealed he ended up saying no, knowing that if he signed on, it was going to define the next, at least, two decades of his professional career:
"After 'Clone Wars,' Jim Morris, who was running ILM at the time, said, 'George wants to make this a bigger studio and wants to bring you on as a John Lasseter-type.' So I was like, 'Yeah!...I said, 'I want to do movies. I'll supervise the TV shows.' But I knew 'Star Wars' could be my life for the next 20 years and I didn't want to do that."
This prompted Lucasfilm to reach out to Filoni, who at the time was best known for his work on the beloved Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Filoni would be brought in to helm the Lucasfilm Animation team, creating Star Wars: The Clone Wars, before going on to spawn titles like Rebels, The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka.
Of course, had Tartakovsky taken the role, the Star Wars franchise could be a completely different place. Filoni would not be the head of Lucasfilm, and the entire galaxy far, far away would presumably look and feel unrecognizable from its current state.
Since his time working with the Lucasian canon, Tartakovsky has gone on to produce hit series like Primal and feature-length films like Hotel Transylvania and Fixed (read more about Fixed here).
Would Genndy Tartakovsky Ever Return to Star Wars
21 years later, hardcore Star Wars fans still remember what Genndy Tartakovsky brought to the galaxy far, far away. Even though he turned down the studio's offer to run its animation operations, that has not stopped some from speculating about whether he would ever return to the franchise.
Tartakovsky's version of Clone Wars, while a little weird to some, has developed something of a cult following. Some have even argued that the franchise could use more of that off-the-wall spirit in its modern iteration. The most recognizable piece from Tartakovsky's time in the franchise is Asajj Ventress, who debuted in his original Clone Wars shorts.
In an August 2025 interview with Inverse, Tartakovsky addressed his hopes for Ventress, even teasing that he'd potentially return to the series if the twin-sabered Sith were involved. "If she becomes live action, super cool," he posed, adding, "If they ask me to do it, that would be an interesting conversation."
With Filoni and his new executive partner, Lynwen Brennan, at the top of the Lucasfilm ladder, it could be a fun way to honor the franchise's history by bringing someone like Tartakovsky back for a new project set within the iconic sci-fi canon.
