So... What's Next? [UPDATED]

After yesterday’s news there is already rampant speculation about who will succeed Kathleen Kennedy at Lucasfilm. The Hollywood Reporter even has an entire article about it and they have some insightful things to say! Click through for more!

UPDATE: Industry insider Jeff Sneider shared some additional info about Kennedy’s retirement and who may replace her.

Those guys?

According to THR sources one reason Kennedy stuck around for so long is that there simply were no alternatives, in fact, one person who had frequent dealings with LFL leadership flat out says Lucasfilm did a terrible job at training a potential successor who could take over from Kennedy. So she stayed, simply because there was no one else either fit or willing to take over from her.

Sources claim Kennedy herself wanted to get Rayne Roberts into her seat, once she retires. If you ask “who???”, do not let it bother you, she was one of those Kennedy hires who was brought into the company when she took over with almost zero experience, that is all you need to know, ok, one more thing, she also produced The Acolyte, which was her only actual producer credit while working at LFL (she worked as a creative executive on other Disney Star Wars projects), which may have contributed to Disney saying “please do something else now”, because as a producer you are very much in charge of budgets and making sure budget is under control and that the final product is actually good, so Rayne Roberts “left” Lucasfilm a short while ago, she’s now VP of Searchlight pictures, a Disney owned (via Fox) small indie studio that makes indie movies, so she’s out of the picture and as far removed from Star Wars as you can be, which is certainly for the very best.

The famous “more than 50% female executives at Lucasfilm” photo taken at Skywalker Ranch from 2016. Rayne Roberts is the black woman almost in the middle of the photo in the second row. Kennedy apparently wanted her to take over from her. Almost all the people in the photo (all but Roberts) are still at Lucasfilm or ILM in 2025, most of the women here are not involved with the creative process though but finances, legal and post production.  Source: The Hollywood Reporter

One THR source claims Dave Filoni will become the next Lucasfilm president and that it is already decided. No other source however confirmed this.

One theory is that not just one person will replace Kennedy, but that Favreau and Filoni will share duties as the creative team, whereas some seasoned manager/producer type will handle all the boring (for creatives) business side of things. Kennedy’s role as president and producer was mostly that of a manager and neither Favreau or Filoni are really the ones who either qualify for that or will want to deal with that side of the job. So pairing them with someone who will take on these duties could make a lot of sense.

But THR throws around a few other names as well, like Emma Watts, who used to be at Fox where she oversaw the X-Men, Deadpool and (executive) produced Cameron’s Avatar and also things like Alita Battle Angel, so she certainly has the experience. She’s a mother of three and 55 years old, so probably the right age and with lots of experience, it makes sense why THR would bring her up.

However, while I think it will not be a good idea, I believe Dave Filoni will be announced as (one of) Kennedy’s successor(s) eventually… but maybe not Filoni alone, Disney may want to pair him with Favreau as the ones who take control of the creative side of things and possibly team them up with some experienced producer who will deal with the more bureaucratic aspects of the job (like managing budgets, contract negotiations etc), which Filoni is not really qualified for and Favreau may not want to deal with, because he’s much more a creative than a manager.

And maybe that would be the best solution for now: get someone who handles the business side of things, but has no say over any of the creative decisions, and ask Favreau and Filoni to take over as the creative leads. Even though I feel Filoni is not a good choice, he is in many ways the only “real” heir Lucas ever had, and regardless of his qualities as a writer or creative lead, he has extensive Star Wars knowledge and knows the company and the franchise inside out. Paired with Favreau there is at least a chance the two could come up with something like The Mandalorian again.

My own recommendation is to ask Gilroy to be involved with the creative side of things as well. His Rogue One and Andor are two of the most praised Disney Star Wars releases, in fact, they are THE most praised releases. And it always helps to have someone on the team who is not wearing fanboy glasses (i.e. he may be someone who would say “no” to some of Filoni’s sillier ideas and his weird insistence on including space whales, space wolves and Ahsoka in basically everything he oversees).

And if you are unhappy about the prospect of Filoni being part of the solution (maybe not alone, most probably not alone)… ask yourself who else is available who could realistically take over? The job of the next Lucasfilm president won’t be an easy one, it may be the toughest job in Hollywood right now actually. It offers high rewards, but also comes with extremely high risks, potentially career ending risks should Star Wars fail. Not many may want to take over.

Chances are any announcement will be made at Celebration. Who would you realistically see as Kennedy’s replacement?

UPDATE: Jeff Sneider (he works for Bloomberg and has had various scoops in the past, he’s very reputable) has this to say about the upcoming retirement… and it may not be something you may want to hear!

– Kennedy will allegedly remain a producer for various upcoming Star Wars projects (Rey movie???)
– Kennedy did not retire at the end of 2024 because a new AI based production company she was trying to launch failed to get funding, she may still launch her own production company, partnering with her husband, Steven Spielberg and David Fincher
– It is believed there will be considerable layoffs at ILM once Kennedy leaves, she protected ILM employees from firings until now
– Dave Filoni is indeed a top contender for being one of the replacements, however, he will not be alone. Jeff Sneider believes Lucasfilm’s Carrie Beck is a top candidate as co-president (or maybe just Beck) should Filoni be promoted
– Apparently Disney (Iger and Bergman) do NOT want another powerful producer/Lucasfilm president like Kennedy was, this is probably meant to have someone at the top of Lucasfilm who can be more easily controlled and especially much more easily replaced and fired
– Jon Favreau and Kevin Feige are both not interested in the job according to Sneider

If Kennedy will actually be actively involved as a producer with future Star Wars projects (and it’s not just some title so she receives money as some kind of compensation as is often the case in Hollywood) then I think all hope is lost for Star Wars. If Disney actually allow her to go forward with a Rey movie they may as well end the franchise now.

Filoni taking over, at least partially, becomes ever more likely. Pairing him with an experienced producer makes sense, so he can focus on the creative aspects… which, in my opinion, is not very encouraging though. Filoni needs proper checks and balances, he has good ideas here and there, but these ideas need to be filtered and more talented people should write the actual stories and scripts.

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