Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy isn’t going anywhere Star Wars fans. At least not anytime soon. This, according to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who recently addressed the topic during the company’s shareholder meeting. There has been more than some desire by fans online to see someone like Dave Filoni or Jon Favreau, who are behind The Mandalorian, take over as head, or heads, of Lucasfilm. But Chapek shot down that idea in a hurry.
During the Q&A portion of the Disney shareholder meeting, someone asked point-blank whether or not Dave Filoni, who was behind The Clone Wars and Rebels, or Jon Favreau, who has directed hits like Iron Man and The Lion King for Disney, were going to replace Kathleen Kennedy at Lucasfilm. Bob Chapek did not mince words in his response. Here’s what he had to say about it.
“We’ve been absolutely thrilled that we can have the kind of talent like Kathleen Kennedy to direct Lucasfilm… We look forward to having Kathleen Kennedy running the Lucasfilm organization for many years to come.”
So there we have it. Kathleen Kennedy, a legendary producer who has been a Hollywood staple for decades, took over as head of Lucasfilm when Disney purchased the company from George Lucas in 2012. Kennedy has steered the ship for nearly a decade, overseeing the Star Wars sequel trilogy, as well as spin-offs like Rogue One and Solo. The movies produced under her watch have grossed nearly $6 billion at the global box office. Not to mention merchandise sales, publishing sales and everything else that has come about during that time.
This is not to say it has all gone smoothly. The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker were, regardless of what one thinks of those movies personally, quite divisive. Several directors have also left projects. Phil Lord and Chris Miller after filming most of Solo, which went on to disappoint financially. Colin Trevorrow on Episode IX. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who had been planning a movie trilogy. But, overall, especially thanks to the success of The Mandalorian on Disney+, Kennedy’s tenure has more wins than losses.
Fans who have been unhappy with the creative direction of Star Wars have often pointed to Kennedy, in terms of blame. To that point, many fans have also praised the work that Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau have done. So much so that quite a few have expressed a desire to see them take over as creative heads at the company.
That won’t be happening. That having been said, Favreau and Filoni will be doing much more with Star Wars in the coming years. Disney+ will be home to several shows, such as The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka and Rangers of the New Republic, which will take place in the same timeline as The Mandalorian. Favreau and Filoni will be directly involved in those projects. And Kathleen Kennedy will continue to steer the ship as president, seemingly for as long as she’s content to do so. This news was previously reported by Collider.