Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan will replace Kathleen Kennedy as heads of Lucasfilm

Jan 07, 2026

After years of speculation, a new report from Puck News' Matt Belloni claims that Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan will soon replace Kathleen Kennedy as co-presidents of Lucasfilm.

According to the report, Dave Filoni will lead all creative development for Lucasfilm, and Lynwen Brennan (current president and CEO of Lucasfilm Business) will oversee the executive and commercial sides of the company.

This structure with two co-presidents is similar to the structure of DC Studios. James Gunn is the creative head of the Warner Bros.-owned studio, while Peter Safran is in charge of business development. Lucasfilm appears to be replicating this structure as part of the company's post-Kennedy reorganization in the near future.

It is currently unknown exactly when Kathleen Kennedy will leave Lucasfilm, although media rumors suggest it will be sooner rather than later. If The Mandalorian and Grogu is a financial and critical success when it hits theaters in May, Kennedy might want to retire on a high note.

Until then, Filoni will keep his hands full with various upcoming Star Wars projects. Filoni recently wrapped production on the second season of Ahsoka and is playing a key role in the development of the next Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu. Filoni also handles all things animation at Lucasfilm, including the upcoming Disney+ series Maul: Lord of Shadows. If the Puck News report is true, it will be interesting to see how involved Filoni will be in the development of the upcoming Star Wars projects, or if he will take a step back to keep a bird's eye view of everything.

If reports that Dave Filoni will succeed Kathleen Kennedy as president of Lucasfilm (along with Lynwen Brennan) turn out to be true, we will be very happy. Filoni has come a long way from being a student of George Lucas to become an interesting storyteller and director. He is the biggest Star Wars fan and has a keen understanding of what makes a Star Wars story compelling, both in terms of storytelling and style.Each of his projects is like a love letter to a galaxy far, far away. And his willingness to integrate aspects from Legends/EU into canon is unmatched by other Lucasfilm creators.

Those who regret this decision are missing the fact that he played an important creative role at Lucasfilm for many years and openly supported projects he was not involved in that were very different from his own, including Andor, The Last Jedi and The Acolyte. Filoni, like the most thoughtful Star Wars fans, knows that the franchise is not one-dimensional - mystical stories about the gods of the Force can exist in the same universe as realistic and relevant political thrillers. Therefore, we predict that he will not be afraid to commission a variety of Star Wars projects, in addition to those that he directly oversees.

With the arrival of Lynwen Brennan, who will be in charge of the business and executive side of the business, Lucasfilm will presumably mirror the structure of DC Studios, with one executive handling the creative side of the business and another overseeing the business side. This will allow Filoni to fully focus on developing new Star Wars stories, while the company at the business level will be in the capable hands of Brennan, who is reliable and trustworthy.

In our opinion, this news was inevitable and bodes well for a truly exciting and positive future for Star Wars and Lucasfilm. Can't wait to see what the future brings.