Corporate ‘Star Wars’: Kathleen Kennedy Steps Down From Lucasfilm After Over 13 Years at the Helm, Dave Filoni To Fill In Her Shoes as President and CEO

Los Angeles (JAKE COYLE), January 16: After more than 13 years at the helm of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down from the Star Wars factory founded by George Lucas. The Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday (January 15) that it will now turn to Dave Filoni to steer Star Wars, as president and chief creative officer, into its sixth decade and beyond. Filoni, who served as the chief commercial officer of Lucasfilm, will inherit the mantle of one of the movies marquee franchises, alongside Lynwen Brennan, president and general manager of Lucasfilm's businesses, who will serve as co-president. "When George Lucas asked me to take over Lucasfilm upon his retirement, I couldn't have imagined what lay ahead," said Kennedy. "It has been a true privilege to spend more than a decade working alongside the extraordinary talent at Lucasfilm."

Kennedy, Lucas' handpicked successor, had presided over the ever-expanding science-fiction world of "Star Wars" since Disney acquired it in 2012. In announcing Thursday's news, Bob Iger, chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Co. called her "a visionary filmmaker." Kennedy oversaw a highly lucrative but often contentious period in "Star Wars" history that yielded a blockbuster trilogy and acclaimed streaming spinoffs such as The Mandalorian and Andor, yet found increasing frustration from longtime fans. 'Star Wars' Actor Harrison Ford to Be Honoured with SAG-AFTRA's Life Achievement Award at 2026 Ceremony.

Lucasfilm Performance Under Kathleen Kennedy

Under Kennedy's stewardship, Lucasfilm amassed more than $5.6 billion in box office and helped establish Disney+ as a streaming destination — achievements that easily validated the $4.05 billion Disney plunked down for the company. But Kennedy also struggled to deliver the big-screen magic that Lucas captured in the original trilogy from the late 1970s and early 1980s, and her relationship with Star Wars loyalists became a saga of its own. Kathleen Kennedy Confirms That the Iconic Opening Crawl is Set to Return in Future Star Wars Movies!

About Dave Filoni

Filoni has established himself almost entirely on the small screen, entering the franchise with the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and creating the tepidly received Disney+ series Ahsoka. Filoni, who first collaborated with Lucas on Avatar: The Last Airbender, has also been an executive producer on The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Skeleton Crew. Both will report to Alan Bergman, Disney Entertainment co-chairman. "From Rey to Grogu, Kathy has overseen the greatest expansion in Star Wars storytelling on-screen that we have ever seen," said Filoni. "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."

Kathleen Kennedy Career Before 'Star Wars'

Before joining Lucasfilm, Kennedy was one of Hollywood's most successful producers ever. In 1981, she co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and her eventual husband, Frank Marshall. She produced E.T., Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Jurassic Park and the Back to the Future trilogy.

At Lucasfilm, her biggest hit came at the start, with 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The JJ Abrams-directed film grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. But the subsequent installment, Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi (2017), was bitterly divisive. The third film, Abrams' The Rise of Skywalker (2019), was widely panned by critics and fans, alike.

After The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars went dark on the big screen despite a litany of announced projects. The dry spell is set to be broken in May 2026 by Jon Favreau's The Mandalorian & Grogu. The intervening years have been marked by streaming successes in The Mandalorian and Andor, but the future of Star Wars has felt increasingly uncertain. Struggles over tone and vision have been frequent. The 2018 Han Solo spinoff Solo: A Star Wars Story saw its directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, fired during production and replaced by Ron Howard. Most found the mixed-and-matched result blandly disappointing. ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’: Highly Awaited First Trailer of Jon Favreau’s ‘Star Wars’ Film Starring Pedro Pascal Is Out! (Watch Video).

More recently, Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the most recent Star Wars trilogy," divulged to The Associated Press last year that he and Steven Soderbergh had developed a Ben Solo film with Kennedy and Lucasfilm's support for two years before Disney chief Bob Iger nixed it. Fans were so irate that a plane was flown over Disney's Burbank studios with a banner reading "Save 'The Hunt for Ben Solo.'"

'Rogue One'

Instead, the only Star Wars movie of Kennedy's stewardship to win widespread and prevailing approval from fans was arguably 2016's Rogue One. Gareth Edwards' spinoff was also a troubled production, leading to Tony Gilroy, eventual creator of Andor, overseeing reshoots. Yet despite that, Rogue One — taking place within Star Wars but outside of the main Jedi storyline — might be the only film of Kennedy's Star Wars reign that managed to both stay true to the space odyssey's tone and to break new ground.

Kennedy's fingerprints will be on many of coming Star Wars projects for years to come. That includes Shawn Levy's Star Wars: Starfighter, with Ryan Gosling, due out in May 2027, and a fleet of other projects in various stages of development.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 16, 2026 04:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).