It seems things might be shaking up in the galaxy far, far away, with rumors that Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan have been tapped to co‑lead Lucasfilm. According to Puck insider Matt Belloni Filoni and Brennan will replace Kathleen Kennedy as co-presidents of Lucasfilm, with Filoni elevated to co‑president of the creative side, with Brennan maintaining control over general business affairs.
Of course, all of this hinges on when Kathleen Kennedy finally decides to step down. More importantly, will it even matter?
Are two heads better than one?
From what we’ve seen over the years, it’s been playing out this way for quite some time now. A rumor like this shouldn’t really surprise anyone. It’s more of a logical conclusion based on some pretty good guesstimations. Dave Filoni has been, for the most part, officially in control of Star Wars’ direction for a while now. Aside from the movies, his shows, characters, and collaborations have been the main content for the Disney Plus shows. His favorite character, Ahsoka, is getting a season 2. You can see what we thought about season 1 here.
My quips about Filoni aside, I did enjoy what he brought us with The Clone Wars, most of Rebels, and The Bad Batch, and the first two seasons of The Mandalorian. His Tales of series was hit or miss — you know, the usual stuff I harp on, or praise. Still, he always felt stronger when George Lucas was officially behind him. And yes, I believe Ahsoka should have remained dead during Rebels. Adding time travel to Star Wars sadly just enforces the meme that “no one’s ever really gone.”
In the matter of Kathleen Kennedy, like many others, I was excited to see what she would do with Star Wars, since her producer bona fides were attached to so many movies I loved. As the sequels rolled out and the Expanded Universe was demoted to Legends, it became pretty apparent she was not a good pick. You can throw onto that pile the long list of projects she’s announced and then cancelled—excuse me, “pushed back”—over the years: the Rey movies, Rogue Squadron, Rian Johnson’s trilogy, and more.
Even her rumored exit has become a running joke among some fans, which tells you everything about how overdue this all feels.
Kathleen “The Force is Female” Kennedy and AlliesWhen it all comes down to it, this leadership shuffle is still just a rumor for now. What we do know is that Filoni has already been the creative head for a while, and while there’s plenty he’s done that works, Star Wars has taken a lot of creative bruises under his watch. The question is whether those bruises came from the shackles of Filoni’s overlords or from his own decisions. There’s still room for improvement if someone brings real leadership and vision to the table. For now, we’ll watch his career with measured interest.
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