Published Aug 20, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT
George is a film critic and journalist with over nine years of experience in the entertainment industry. Beginning as the Co-Creator and Co-Editor of Star Wars Holocron, the most followed Star Wars fan account on Twitter/X, George went on to develop The HoloFiles, a movie and television-focused website with his brother and writing partner Josh.
A member of the Hollywood Creative Alliance, Chicago Indie Critics, Online Film and Television Association, and the Internet Film Critic Society, George has covered major industry events as credentialed media, including D23, CinemaCon, SXSW, Fantastic Fest, Star Wars Celebration, Tribeca Festival, and more. He also regularly writes reviews and contributes articles to ScreenAnarchy, BRWC, Film Obsessive, TV Obsessive, and Under the Radar. George’s work has been featured in various esteemed publications, including the BBC, Associated Press, Forbes, and The New York Times.
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“Do or do not. There is no try.” These eight words uttered by Yoda to Luke Skywalker as he questioned his ability to learn the ways of the Force in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back are among the most recognizable in cinema history. Even those who have never seen a Star Wars movie are likely to have heard or at least come across Yoda’s wise and inspirational words, which have been immortalized through merchandise, memes, homages, and more.
Nearly 50 years after the release of The Empire Strikes Back, newly appointed Co-President of Lucasfilm Dave Filoni has unexpectedly offered the perfect explanation of what Yoda’s timeless words truly mean. Yoda’s stance that there is no such thing as trying has been repeatedly subject to interpretation and, at times, misinterpretation over the years. But, at this year’s D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, Filoni popped up in the most unexpected of places to offer much-needed clarity on Yoda’s most iconic line.
The clarity that Filoni provided interestingly serves as the ideal roadmap for the direction he and Lucasfilm Co-President Lynwen Brennan take the *Star Wars *franchise into the future. The duo find themselves leading an uncertain ship at the moment following the underwhelming box office performance of The Mandalorian and Grogu and broader uncertainty about what Star Wars stories will be told on the big screen and on Disney+.
Filoni’s thoughtful remarks at D23 also provide context for one of the most controversial character decisions throughout Filoni’s time telling stories in the *Star Wars *universe. Needless to say, his interpretation of Yoda’s most famous line will be of interest to any Star Wars fan.
During the Disney Worldbuilders panel at D23 2026, Dave Filoni was part of a candid conversation with Bob Iger, James Cameron, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Jennifer Lee, Pete Docter, Jared Bush, and Josh D’Amaro about the thought that goes into creating rich fictional worlds that feel as real as our own.
At one point during the panel, as the conversation veered toward the worldbuilding in a galaxy far, far away, Filoni spoke up with a profound take on Yoda’s “Do or do not. There is no try.”
“Yoda says, ‘Do or do not. There is no try,’” said Filoni. “And people say, ‘But Dave, I try all the time.’ I’m like, “Right, because you’re not doing.’ Trying doesn’t mean that you’re winning or that you’re accomplishing, but it means you’re doing your best. Do your best and just get going and, and don’t just half try. Don’t not commit. You know, Luke isn’t completely committing to his path and his journey and what he’s doing. Yoda’s trying to say, ‘No, just do it, Luke. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best at it, but just do it and you’ll learn and you’ll progress.’”
Filoni elaborated by explaining how George Lucas’ view on the Force goes hand-in-hand with the need to do, rather than try, your best. “That, for George, was always one of the most fundamental things about the Force,” Filoni explained. “It’s part of something everybody has, but you have to train, you have to work, you have to learn. And as you learn, you grow, and that knowledge grows. It’s like, someone will hit the baseball better than you, faster than you when you’re young. Why? They’re gifted. But if you train hard, if you work hard at it, you also can learn that skill. You might not ever be as good as Anakin, but you’ll learn, and that’s doing versus trying.”
In speaking more generally about future worldbuilders who attempt to make fictional universes of their own, Filoni urged aspiring artists to “not be afraid to fail.” Filoni continued, “Don’t be afraid if people don’t like it at first. You’ll learn from every attempt at what you’re doing, and then you become an artist. And your art is special to you because you made it, it’s your point of view, and that always, always has value.”
Filoni’s perspective nails what George Lucas was aiming to convey through Yoda’s words in* The Empire Strikes Back*. Yoda is not telling Luke that he must succeed or become immensely powerful in the Force all of a sudden, nor does he expect this of him. Instead, he finds issue in Luke’s willingness to give up, to not fully commit what he has set out to do.
For Filoni, “doing” is not synonymous with achievement; rather, “doing” reflects a person trying their best to achieve whatever goal they strive toward. According to Yoda, a person either does the best they can or does not do the best they can. The success is not in the outcome of one’s efforts, but in the magnitude of their efforts.
Few creative decisions in recent years have riled up a select group of Star Wars fans the way Sabine Wren in Ahsoka being adept at using the Force. These fans find issue with how quickly Sabine gained the ability to perform a powerful Force push, seemingly bypassing the years of training characters like Luke Skywalker engaged in. Criticism was also aimed at the fact that Sabine exhibited no Force sensitivity across all four seasons of Star Wars Rebels, even while training with the Darksaber under Kanan Jarrus.
Inadvertently, Filoni explained just how Sabine was able to do the things that she did in Ahsoka while speaking at D23. Filoni affirms George Lucas’ point about the Force - that everyone, including Sabine, inherently has it. According to Filoni, under the correct conditions and with the right training, anyone can tap into the abilities of the Force. As he says, this does not mean that every person has the capacity to become as strong as Anakin Skywalker with Force , similar to how someone who practices soccer everyday will not necessarily obtain the technical abilities of Lionel Messi.
What Filoni does mean is that characters can go beyond their initial baseline of Force sensitivity through the right training and in the right context. For Sabine, this training came from Ahsoka Tano, who was trained in the ways of the Force and the Jedi arts by Anakin and exists in a lineage of Jedi that includes Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Count Dooku, and Yoda. Also for Sabine, the right context was that she needed to be particularly motivated and emotionally invested in gaining abilities that aid in her pursuit of a goal - in this case, being reunited with her best friend and long-lost sibling figure Ezra Bridger.
At a particularly uncertain juncture in the history of Star Wars, it appears more important than ever that Lucasfilm heed Yoda’s lesson and do, rather than do not. Or, in other terms, commit to a path forward, celebrate successes, and learn from missteps.
Such an approach would entail that Lucasfilm be more daring with the filmmakers it recruits and the stories it tells. Hiring a young director in their 20s, such as Curry Barker, to helm a Star Wars project comes with obvious risk, but it should be noted that the likes of Sam Raimi, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Robert Rodriguez all crafted acclaimed debut features before they turned 25.
Rather than operate within the confines of a traditional Star Wars project, Lucasfilm can branch out with different filmmaking styles, stories taking place at unexplored parts of the timeline, and experiment with more genre fare, in particular horror.
Close to 50 years after Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try,” in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, the Jedi Master’s iconic words are succinctly and profoundly interpreted by the man overseeing the future of Star Wars. And, as he is so well versed in the lore and themes of Star Wars, there’s confidence that he will do, rather than do not, and do his best, even if it means needing to learn from his mistakes once in a while.
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Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, David Prowse, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Ian McDiarmid, Ewan McGregor, Rosario Dawson, Lars Mikkelsen, Rupert Friend, Moses Ingram, Frank Oz, Pedro Pascal
The Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, Lando, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: Resistance, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars: Visions
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX- The Rise of Skywalker, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, Star Wars: New Jedi Order
Character(s)
Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Rey Skywalker, Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Grand Inquisitor, Reva (The Third Sister), The Fifth Brother, The Seventh Sister, The Eighth Brother, Yoda, Din Djarin, Grogu, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Ben Solo/Kylo Ren
Star Wars is a multimedia franchise that started in 1977 by creator George Lucas. After the release of Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (originally just titled Star Wars), the franchise quickly exploded, spawning multiple sequels, prequels, TV shows, video games, comics, and much more. After Disney acquired the rights to the franchise, they quickly expanded the universe on Disney+, starting with The Mandalorian.