A new report making the rounds this week suggests that Dave Filoni is being lined up to effectively run Star Wars once Kathleen Kennedy eventually steps down as president of Lucasfilm.
The headline that kicked this off came from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2026/01/06/new-report-says-dave-filoni-is-about-to-run-all-of-star-wars/
This isn’t just fan rumor, though. The original sourcing traces back to Puck News, a well-known Hollywood industry publication, and multiple outlets have independently echoed the same details.
GamesRadar followed up with a breakdown here: https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/star-wars-movies/ahsoka-creator-dave-filoni-is-reportedly-set-to-take-over-from-kathleen-kennedy-as-co-president-of-star-wars-studio-lucasfilm/
ScreenRant reported similarly: https://screenrant.com/star-wars-kathleen-kennedy-replacement-dave-filoni-lynwen-brennan/
According to those reports, Disney’s internal plan would split leadership into two roles:
- Filoni overseeing all creative direction for Star Wars (films, TV, canon, long-term storytelling).
- Lucasfilm COO Lynwen Brennan handling the business and operational side.
Important context: Filoni is already Lucasfilm’s Chief Creative Officer, a role he took on in 2023, and he’s deeply involved in projects like The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, and upcoming films. This rumored move would mostly formalize the influence he already has.
Also worth stressing: Disney has not officially announced Kathleen Kennedy’s departure yet, so this is still reported, not confirmed. But the fact that Forbes, GamesRadar, ScreenRant, and others are all pointing back to the same industry source makes this feel less like random speculation and more like a pending transition.
If this ends up happening, it would be the biggest creative power shift in Star Wars since George Lucas sold Lucasfilm.
Curious what everyone thinks, finally the right structure, or too much Star Wars under one hat?