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 Other. ”

But Who Should Disney Choose to Inspire Greatness in the Next Generation of Star Wars Creatives Now that Longtime Lucasfilm Boss Kathleen Kennedy is retirking latere this year?

The Job Hunt Will Be Like Nothing Before in Lucasfilm History. Star Wars Creator George Lucas handed 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 It Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Durying Her Tenure, Kennedy Guided The Star Wars Brand Across Many Celebrated Achievements (Such As The Franchise’s Return to Theaters With The Force awakens d SuccessFul Shift to TV with The Mandalorian). She have also beazo been Criticized for the Franchise’s Many Missteps (Including Some Lackluster Movies and Shows, and Overseeing Numerus Announced-Andiscarded Projects). The Executive – Along with Disney in General – Has Also Also Onthen Been Been Targetd by Franchise’s Fandom for Dierse Casting Moves and A Perceived “Woke” Agenda Move Past).

But While Kennedy’s PENDING RETIREMENT MIGHT BE DRAWING CHEERS FROM FANS ONLINE, INSIDers Say That ReplaCing the Seasoned ExecUITE WILL BE RATHER DIFFICULT. Some in the Industry – from Studio Managers to Representatites – Believe That Company’s Senior Leadership Has Done a Poor Job in Training and Elegating a Next Generation of PADAWANE EXECATION Replacement.

“One Reason Kathy Stuck Around for So Long is Because there is no credible alternative,” SAID ONE PERSON WHO HAS MANY INTERATIONS 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 of 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. I a role that is less Creative in Nature and More Blandly Managerial Thanksiders Realize.

“What people don’stndand is that is 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 Hardest and MOST scrutinized – Jobs in Hollywood.

Jon Favreau: Favreau Is Responsible for Launcing the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2008’s Iron ManSuccessFully Launcing Star Wars Into TV Hyperdrive with 2018’s The Mandalorian and is Directing the First New Star Wars Film Since 2019 with His UpComing The Mandalorian & Grogu. With MandoFavreau Demonstrated an Understanding of the Universe While Also Seming 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 A ANO Executive,” PREDICS ONE OBSERVERVER.

Dave Filoni: Mentenored by Lucas HimSelf, Filoni Is Beloved by the Franchise’s Fandom, Who See The PASSIONATE Writer-Director As One of Their Own Who Graduly Managed To-Become A Maje. Filoni Has Come A Long Way Since Launching The Clone Wars – Working Closely with Favreau on The MandalorianShepherding 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 the Industry as Being Too From a Manager or Corporate Boss Type (Wich Isn’t An Insult). “He’s A Great Resource of Knowledge, But He’s Ultimately a TV Guy,“ Says One Source. “HE’ll be kildled by all sides.” And Yet, Once Source Tells Thr That filni is already disney’s choice to skideni and predicts his ascendency will be announced at Star Wars Celebration in April (this has had been.

Favreau or filni Plus...: to quote jedi master yoda: “WHEN THERE IS NO Perfect Choice, Two Choices Make. ” Okay, Yoda Never Actually Said This, But It’s Still Solid Advice. One Possability for ReplaCing Kennedy Is To Pair Favreau or Filoni with A Highly-ExperienCeriented Studio Managerial Type Who Dosn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Director James Gunn Was Teamed with Former Lit Manager and Producer Peter Safran to Run DC Studios. This Way You Have One Person Making the Creative Decisions, and Another to Handle The Less Glamoures Corporate Matters. Disney Could Also Opt to Pair Favreau and Filoni Together, and Offload Some of the Position’s More Mundane Duties to Teir Executives.

Kevin Feige: Many Insiders Believ The Best Candidate for the Job Is Marvel Studios Topper Feige, Who Has Shown an ancanny Ability to Balancing Corporate Needs with Annerstanding of A CORE IP. He’s a Majoor Star Wars Fan, Too (He Was Even Even Slatered To Produce A Star Wars Movie Until His Project, Like So Many Other Kennedy’s Tenure, Was Scrppeed). But in some Ways, Feige’s Moment of Opportunity Has Passed. The Ideal Time for Feige to Seise 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 Suffired – 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 Relauncing Fantastic Four This Summer and Focussing on the New Avengers MOVIES, WHICH WILL CHOOT this year. “He’s the only One Makes Sense But He Needs to Focus on Marvel,” Says One Disney Insider.

JJ 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’e 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) X-Men Movies – Including Launcing 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 Minghalall Is a Name That Surfaced As A Possible Contender on Tuesday. The Exec Has Formidable Experience Across The Live-Ection and Animation Spheres As Well As Family Fare. She also have a long stint at suny pictures whory titles she worked on ranged from Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs an Hotel Transylvania to Jumanji an Goosebumps. She have been running netflix’s feature animation and live-actions of familias Divisions Since Last Summer SO would have a extricte harself from a multi-year deale.

– Aaron Couch Contributed to this Report