Dave Filoni calls Anakin Skywalker "greatest Jedi of all time," dividing Star Wars fans

Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker
(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

Dave Filoni has claimed Anakin Skywalker is the greatest Jedi – and, naturally, it's got the Star Wars fandom locked in heated debate. 

In a video about the upcoming Disney Plus show Ahsoka, Filoni commented: "We're telling the story of this character who's been trained by the greatest Jedi of all time in Anakin Skywalker."

Star Wars fans have a lot of thoughts about this, as you might expect. "Facts. Anakin really was the best of the Jedi. From The Clone Wars to Revenge of the Sith, he was everything that Qui-Gon said he would be," agrees one fan, while another has a devastating counter to Filoni's claim: "Lost that 1v1 with Obi tho."

"Yoda, Obi-Wan, Luke, and a handful of others known and unknown arguably have rights to title of greatest Jedi of all time," is another person's verdict. "But Anakin, while arguably the most powerful Force user, was absolutely not the greatest Jedi."

"Crazy he's considered THE greatest Jedi of all time when he became the second most infamous Sith and helped destroy the Jedi," says another fan

"He was. He literally was the Chosen One, it's what makes The Tragedy of Anakin Skywalker... a tragedy," points out someone else

"Checked his Jedi resume and can he pls explain the gap between 19BBY to 4ABY?" asks another fan – that would be the time Darth Vader was terrorizing the galaxy. 

"Put this quote in context. Ahsoka is the apprentice of the greatest Jedi... the Chosen One... the man who is supposed to lead the Republic to victory," reasons another fan. "Anakin isn't the greatest Jedi, but he is supposed to be. And that is what is relevant to Ahsoka's story."

"I see you all saying Obi-Wan's the greatest Jedi in response to Filoni here but that's also wrong cuz neither Anakin or Obi-Wan come close to Luke and/or Qui-Gon," argues another person

Interestingly enough, Hayden Christensen is reportedly returning for the Ahsoka Disney Plus show – so we might get to see the greatest Jedi claim explored further. 

While you wait for the series, get up to speed with our guide on how to watch The Clone Wars in order and what to watch before Ahsoka. You can also see our roundup of all the upcoming Star Wars movies and TV shows for everything else the galaxy far, far away has in store, too. 

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Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

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