Few figures in Star Wars are more divisive than . The Lucasfilm president took over from George Lucas in 2012, and ever since, she’s served as the primary defender of the Star Wars universe, frequently bearing the brunt of fan anger over whatever issue was bothering them—from the choice to remove “Legends” from canon to the backlash against The Rise of Skywalker.
But after 14 years, Kennedy is stepping down, and her position will be filled by two existing Lucasfilm leaders: Dave Filoni, the creator of Ahsoka Tano and current at the studio, and Lynwen Brennan, Lucasfilm’s Executive Vice President. Filoni will oversee the company’s creative vision, while Brennan manages the business aspects—similar to how James Gunn and Peter Safran work together at DC Studios. Along with this leadership news, there were updates on upcoming Star Wars projects—including a surprisingly underwhelming update about one of Filoni’s passion projects.
Per , Dave Filoni’s long-awaited first feature film as director—a project meant to tie together “Mandoverse” shows like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka—has been put on the back burner. Given that Filoni now has more creative authority than ever, this is an unexpected shift, but it’s obvious where the focus has gone instead: Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu, set to hit theaters in May.
The direction of Filoni’s film could potentially hinge on how audiences react to The Mandalorian and Grogu. While the characters are popular on Disney+, transitioning them to movie theaters remains a gamble.
Not all the news was negative, though—reportedly, Simon Kinberg’s trilogy is still in the works, and the scripts for Donald Glover’s Lando film and Taika Waititi’s next project have been submitted. No updates were given on the Rey sequel, and Kennedy told that James Mangold’s rumored Dawn of the Jedi movie is “definitely pushing boundaries and… on pause.”
Even though leadership has changed, Lucasfilm’s modus operandi appears unchanged—plenty of projects in development, with priorities shifting regularly. If The Mandalorian and Grogu performs well at the box office, hopefully, all the projects in the pipeline will eventually come to fruition.