At a Glance
- Kathleen Kennedy steps down after 13 years steering Lucasfilm and the Star Wars galaxy.
- Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan named co-presidents, reporting to Disney’s Alan Bergman.
- Under Kennedy, Lucasfilm earned $5.6 billion at the box office and launched Disney+ hits like The Mandalorian.
- Why it matters: The leadership shake-up signals Disney’s bid to re-energize the franchise amid fan unrest and a theatrical dry spell since 2019.
Disney has pulled the lightsaber from stone, ending Kathleen Kennedy’s 13-year tenure as Lucasfilm’s sole leader and handing the future of Star Wars to Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan.
The Walt Disney Co. announced the transition Thursday, promoting Filoni-previously Lucasfilm’s chief commercial officer-to president and chief creative officer. Brennan, who has served as president and general manager of Lucasfilm’s business operations, becomes co-president. Both will report to Alan Bergman, Disney Entertainment co-chairman.
Kennedy, 71, had held the reins since George Lucas retired in 2012, shepherding the $4.05 billion acquisition that brought the galaxy far, far away under the Disney umbrella.
“When George Lucas asked me to take over Lucasfilm upon his retirement, I couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead,” Kennedy said in a statement released by News Of Fort Worth. “It has been a true privilege to spend more than a decade working alongside the extraordinary talent at Lucasfilm.”
Bob Iger, Disney’s chief executive officer, hailed Kennedy as “a visionary filmmaker” in the same announcement. The praise caps a tenure that proved both blockbuster-lucrative and fan-fractious.
Box-Office Triumphs and Fan Turbulence
Under Kennedy, Lucasfilm amassed $5.6 billion in global ticket sales, validating Disney’s multibillion-dollar gamble. The 2015 launch of the sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens, remains the high-water mark, grossing more than $2 billion worldwide and rekindling theatrical interest after a decade-long hiatus.
Subsequent releases stumbled. Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi (2017) cleaved the fandom, while J.J. Abrams’ The Rise of Skywalker (2019) drew critical jeers. Solo anthology Solo: A Star Wars Story saw directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller fired mid-production; Ron Howard’s finished film landed with a shrug.
Since Skywalker, no Star Wars feature has entered theaters. Dozens of projects were announced-then shelved or reshuffled-leaving a four-year cinematic silence that ends in May 2025 with Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu.
Streaming, however, flourished. Kennedy oversaw The Mandalorian, Andor, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew, helping anchor Disney+’s early subscriber growth. Critics and casual viewers embraced the small-screen expansion even as hard-core fans argued the films strayed from Lucas’ original spirit.
Inside the New Power Structure
Filoni, 50, arrives with deep Star Wars DNA. He entered the universe in 2008, creating the animated The Clone Wars alongside George Lucas and later shepherding Rebels, Resistance, and the live-action Ahsoka series. His creative stamp-mythic but playful-has earned vocal fan loyalty.
Brennan, promoted alongside Filoni, has steered Lucasfilm’s business operations since 2019. Her portfolio includes theme-park integrations, consumer products, and global brand management, ensuring Filoni’s storytelling lands across every revenue stream.
“From Rey to Grogu, Kathy has overseen the greatest expansion in Star Wars storytelling on-screen that we have ever seen,” Filoni said. “I am incredibly grateful to Kathy, George, Bob Iger, and Alan Bergman for their trust and the opportunity to lead Lucasfilm in this new role, doing a job I truly love. May the Force be with you.”
Kennedy’s Enduring Footprint
Even in departure, Kennedy’s influence lingers. Several films in active development bear her green-light, including Shawn Levy’s Star Wars: Starfighter starring Ryan Gosling, dated for May 2027. Other spinoffs remain in script or pre-production phases.
Before Lucasfilm, Kennedy co-founded Amblin Entertainment in 1981 with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall, producing E.T., Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and the Indiana Jones saga-an résumé that made her Lucas’ chosen successor.
Fan Reactions and Unrealized Projects
Frustrations over tone and narrative direction dogged Kennedy’s tenure. One high-profile casualty: a Ben Solo-centered film developed for two years by actor Adam Driver and director Steven Soderbergh. According to a 2023 interview Driver gave to Derrick M. Collins, Disney CEO Bob Iger ultimately vetoed the project. Supporters chartered a plane to fly a “Save ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo'” banner over Disney’s Burbank lot.
Only Rogue One (2016) emerged as both critical and fan consensus favorite under Kennedy’s watch. The spinoff, chronicling the theft of Death Star plans, underwent extensive reshoots under Tony Gilroy-who later created acclaimed series Andor-yet still cleared a path for standalone stories outside the Skywalker saga.
What Comes Next
Filoni and Brennan inherit a slate split between streaming stability and theatrical uncertainty. Upcoming releases:
- The Mandalorian & Grogu – May 2025 (Favreau directs)
- Untitled New Jedi Order film – in development
- Star Wars: Starfighter – May 2027 (Levy directs, Gosling stars)
- Multiple Disney+ series in various scripting stages
Disney hopes the creative continuity Filoni forged with Favreau on The Mandalorian will translate into big-screen momentum, restoring fan goodwill and box-office supremacy.
Kennedy, meanwhile, exits with the thanks of a multiglobal conglomerate and a filmography that helped shape modern blockbuster culture. Her next steps remain undisclosed.
Key Takeaways
- Kathleen Kennedy ends a 13-year run that delivered $5.6 billion in box-office receipts and Disney+ hits.
- Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan step up as co-presidents, tasked with relaunching theatrical Star Wars.
- The franchise’s next film, The Mandalorian & Grogu, opens May 2025-ending a four-year cinema drought.
