Disney’s ‘Star Wars’ Succession Problem: Who Will Replace Kathleen Kennedy?
When Dave Filoni’s acclaimed Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series launched back in 2008, the premiere episode’s opening crawl proclaimed: “Great leaders inspire greatness in others.”
But who should Disney choose to inspire greatness in the next generation of Star Wars creatives now that longtime Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is retiring later this year?
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The job hunt will be like nothing before in Lucasfilm history. Star Wars creator George Lucas handpicked Kennedy in 2012 to run the company before selling his ownership stake to Disney, which elected to keep her in place. Now, for the first time, Disney will pick somebody new to lead its galaxy far, far away.
During her tenure, Kennedy guided the Star Wars brand across many celebrated achievements (such as the franchise’s return to theaters with The Force Awakens and its successful shift to TV with The Mandalorian). She has also been often criticized for the franchise’s many missteps (including some lackluster movies and shows, and overseeing numerous announced-and-discarded projects). The executive — along with Disney in general — has also often been targeted by franchise’s fandom for diverse casting moves and a perceived “woke” agenda (a perception that Disney boss Bob Iger has been eager to move past).
But while Kennedy’s pending retirement might be drawing cheers from fans online, insiders say that replacing the seasoned executive will be rather difficult. Some in the industry — from studio managers to representatives — believe that the company’s senior leadership has done a poor job in training and elevating a next generation of Padawan executives from which to potentially tap a replacement.
“One reason Kathy stuck around for so long is because there is no credible alternative,” said one person who has many interactions with Lucasfilm leadership. Sources say former Lucasfilm executive Rayne Roberts, who was at the company for 12 years, was being groomed by Kennedy as a likely replacement. But just last week, Roberts was announced as Searchlight’s new senior vp production.
Then there are the details of the job itself. Kennedy was a movie producer who ended up not only overseeing new Star Wars films, but an Indiana Jones movie, and a wide range of live-action and animated series. It’s a role that is less creative in nature and more blandly managerial than outsiders realize.
“What people don’t understand is that it’s not a creative job,” says one producer with ties to Star Wars. “That’s about 10 percent. The rest of it is dealing with Disney, licensing and fans.”
That said, there are some potential candidates to replace Kennedy whose names have been floated in the past, or who have been mentioned by industry observers as having some of the chops needed for one of the hottest — and hardest and most scrutinized — jobs in Hollywood.
Jon Favreau: Favreau is responsible for launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2008’s Iron Man, successfully launching Star Wars into TV hyperdrive with 2019’s The Mandalorian and is directing the first new Star Wars film since 2019 with his upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu. With Mando, Favreau demonstrated an understanding of the universe while also seeming to intuitively know what casual fans want. He’s also served as an executive producer on several other Star Wars shows. But as noted, Kennedy’s job is less about being creative than being a manager. “He won’t want to be an executive,” predicts one observer.
Dave Filoni: Mentored by Lucas himself, Filoni is beloved by the franchise’s fandom, who see the passionate writer-director as one of their own who gradually managed to become a major player in the Star Wars dream factory. Filoni has come a long way since launching The Clone Wars — working closely with Favreau on The Mandalorian, shepherding other animated shows, and showrunning his first live-action scripted series with 2023’s Ahsoka. But Ahsoka had a mixed reception, and Filoni is seen by some in the industry as being too far from a manager or corporate boss type (which isn’t an insult). “He’s a great resource of knowledge, but he’s ultimately a TV guy,” says one source. “He’ll be killed by all sides.” And yet, one source tells THR that Filoni is already Disney’s choice to succeed Kennedy and predicts his ascendancy will be announced at Star Wars Celebration in April (this has not been confirmed by others, however).
Favreau or Filoni … Plus: To quote Jedi Master Yoda: “When there is no perfect choice, two choices make.” OK, Yoda never actually said this, but it’s still solid advice. One possibility for replacing Kennedy is to pair Favreau or Filoni with a highly experienced studio managerial type who doesn’t necessarily know Coruscant from Corellia (such as 20th Century Studios head Steve Asbell, or Lucasfilm president and GM Lynwen Brennan). This would be like how Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn was teamed with former lit manager and producer Peter Safran to run DC Studios. One person makes the creative decisions, and another handles the less glamorous corporate matters. Disney could also opt to pair Favreau and Filoni together, and offload some of the position’s more mundane duties to their executives.
Kevin Feige: Many insiders believe the best candidate for the job is Marvel Studios topper Feige, who has shown an uncanny ability to balancing corporate needs with an understanding of a core IP. He’s a major Star Wars fan, too (he was even slated to produce a Star Wars movie until his project, like so many others under Kennedy’s tenure, was scrapped). But in some ways, Feige’s moment of opportunity has passed. The ideal time for Feige to seize the Star Wars empire’s throne was after the mic drop that was two back-to-back blockbuster Avengers movies (2018’s Infinity War and 2019’s Endgame), back when Marvel was at a zenith. Since, Marvel has suffered — partly because Feige has been stretched thin by the overly ambitious content demands of Disney+. Those reverberations are still being felt, as seen with the mixed reception of Captain America: Brave New World. Feige is focused on recalibrating Marvel, which means relaunching Fantastic Four this summer and focusing on the new Avengers movies, which will shoot this year. “He’s the only one that makes sense, but he needs to focus on Marvel,” says one Disney insider.
J.J. Abrams: Abrams directed the wildly successful Star Wars relaunch The Force Awakens but also its lambasted entry, The Rise of Skywalker. He clearly has an affinity for the brand and, with Bad Robot, managed a small media empire. But he and Bad Robot have hit a rough and unproductive patch, and the filmmaker is only now getting ready to shoot his first movie since Skywalker. But that could be because of the blaster stun from his Star Wars experience, which proved harrowing. “I don’t see him coming back to that toxic cesspool,” says one insider. “It definitely left a mark on him.”
Emma Watts: Watts is a respected executive who was the longtime president of production at 20th Century Fox who, among other projects, who notched franchise experience by steering the (wildly ranging in quality) X-Men movies — including launching Deadpool. James Cameron’s Avatar was also made under her tenure. She had a brief stint as president of Paramount’s motion picture group but has been sitting on the sidelines since a studio leadership change in 2021. She’s been waiting for a comeback.
Hannah Minghella: Speaking of Bad Robot, Abrams former employee Minghella is a name that surfaced as a possible contender on Tuesday. The exec has formidable experience across the live-action and animation spheres as well as family fare. She also had a long stint at Sony Pictures, where titles she worked on ranged from Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Hotel Transylvania to Jumanji and Goosebumps. She has been running Netflix’s feature animation and live-action family divisions since last summer, so would have to extricate herself from a multiyear deal.
— Aaron Couch contributed to this report.
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