5 People Who Could Take Over Star Wars As President Of Lucasfilm

Lucasfilm is going to be in need of a new captain, as longtime President Kathleen Kennedy is expected to step away at the end of 2025. Kennedy is coming up on 72 and has earned her retirement. With that, the "Star Wars" galaxy is likely going to be guided by new hands come 2026, which is a big deal to say the least of it.

Kennedy helped oversee Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm and subsequent relaunch of "Star Wars" on the big screen, taking over for George Lucas (who created a galaxy far, far away all those years ago in 1977). Kennedy's reign started off very strong with "The Force Awakens." The rest of the sequel trilogy proved to be divisive, however, culminating with 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker." Kennedy also helped launch "The Mandalorian" on Disney+, in addition to being in charge of quite a few "Star Wars" projects that never saw the light of day. It's been a mixed bag, to be certain.

So, who is Disney going to trust to take over for Kennedy? Is it going to go with another producer with a proven track record? An executive at the company? We're going to go over some options, ranging from the very obvious to the not-as-obvious. We're also going to assume, for the purposes of this list, that Disney isn't going to trust an outsider. This person (or persons) is probably already in the Disney ecosystem. With that, let's go over the options, shall we?

This is a name that has been coming up on the internet for years now. Even though Kennedy has been firmly at her post since 2012, certain corners of the fandom have been championing Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige to take over at Lucasfilm. Without getting into the complicated, often toxic reasons why certain people were falling for Feige to replace Kennedy at various points over the years, it's not hard to see why he's a popular choice. As the architect behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a $31 billion box office behemoth at this point, he seems equipped for the job.

Feige has proven that he can help weave a narrative across a vast universe. That's something "Star Wars" could use. It's also helpful that Feige is a huge fan who, at one point, was developing a "Star Wars" movie before it fell apart. Having been with Marvel for so long at this point, maybe Feige would welcome a new challenge? The bigger question for Disney is who Feige would hand the reins to at Marvel Studios (although that's also a brand that could use a shake-up).

If someone can fill Feige's shoes at Marvel, then it's easy to picture him sliding on over to Lucasfilm to try and work his magic there. Indeed, Feige feels like someone who could make the "Star Wars" galaxy feel big again.

Lynwen Brennan doesn't have the name recognition that others on this list do. However, if Disney wants to take the obvious succession path, this might be the way to go. Brennan currently serves as the President and General Manager of Lucasfilm Business. She wouldn't be a creative executive, per se, but she could easily steer the ship from a business POV while letting people like Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni ("The Clone Wars") shape the stories.

As far as bonafides go, Brennan is certainly accomplished. She got her start at Lucasfilm in 1999 as Technical Area Leader for the Computer Graphics Technical Directors at Industrial Light & Magic, eventually taking over as President of ILM in 2009. So, she's been in this ecosystem for a long time and knows the ins and outs of Lucasfilm as it exists today. Brennan also feels like a steady, trusted hand who could take the wheel and offer a smooth transition. That's something "Star Wars" could use at a time when Disney is trying to bring the franchise back to the big screen.

As Disney and Lucasfilm continue to figure out what the future of "Star Wars" looks like beyond the sequel trilogy, it's tough to think of a more logical pick, if not a flashy one, than Brennan.

Here, we arrive at another name that hardcore "Star Wars" fans may well recognize. That's because Carrie Beck has been a part of the Lucasfilm team for some time now, serving as the VP of Animation Development at the company for several years. Beck has been involved in everything from shorts like "Forces of Destiny" to the much-beloved "Star Wars Rebels," which ranks as some of the best "Star Wars" produced during the Disney era. Currently, Beck operates as the Executive Vice President of Live Action Development and Production.

Not dissimilar to Brennan, Beck would be a logical choice as she's already high up on Lucasfilm's leadership ladder, making for an easier transition. Not only that, but Beck also has the advantage of being more of a creative executive, having worked with the likes of Filoni, Jon Favreau ("The Mandalorian"), and others closely during her tenure. She could be seen as a "best of both worlds" choice.

The question is whether or not Disney would be ready to elevate Beck to such a high-ranking position. She certainly has a lot of experience in Hollywood, dating back to her days at Dimension Films and MTV Films. But is she what "Star Wars" needs right now? That's for CEO Bob Iger and the other Disney brass to decide.

"Star Wars" lovers of the world probably don't know who Steve Asbell is. Heck, anyone who doesn't pay attention to Hollywood corporate structure in any meaningful way probably doesn't know his name. Be that as it may, Asbell is a trusted executive within the Disney ranks and currently serves as the President of Production at 20th Century Studios (aka what 20th Century Fox became after Disney's landmark $71.3 billion acquisition in 2018).

Before Disney's reign, Asbell served as the VP of Production at 20th Century Fox dating back to 2012. So, he's got a lot of experience managing movies at the large scale. During the Disney years, he's helped usher in massive hits such as "Avatar: The Way of Water" and "Alien: Romulus," as well as creating a pipeline for Hulu with films like "Prey" and "No Exit," among many others that've headed directly to the streamer.

That would make Asbell a business-minded hire for Lucasfilm, which would certainly need to rely on other creatives to help steer "Star Wars." But if Disney wants a business-first approach to a galaxy far, far away, Asbell could make sense. The biggest question is who would then take over his post at 20th Century Studios, but certainly there is someone at Disney willing to rise to that challenge.

It's come to this. Quite frankly, the rest of this list almost feels inconsequential since it's so very easy to picture Disney making a splashy announcement in the coming months, revealing that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni will be taking over as a two-headed monster as the presidents of Lucasfilm. Yes, this does technically extend the list to six people instead of five, but setting that aside, the Favreau and Filoni combo makes more sense than anything else. It's borderline bound to happen.

Favreau, for his part, has done remarkable things at Disney. For one, he directed "Iron Man," the movie that kicked off the MCU as we know it. He's also directed massive hits like "The Jungle Book" and "The Lion King" before heading up "The Mandalorian," which may well be the most roundly well-liked "Star Wars" project of the Disney era. Rather crucially, he collaborated closely with Filoni, known best as the man behind "The Clone Wars," on that show.

As for Filoni, he was essentially the heir apparent to Lucas and was taken under the "Star Wars" creator's wing during the development of "The Clone Wars." In the years since then, Filoni has proven himself as knowledgeable as anyone when it comes to "Star Wars." Again, he's already the Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm, plus he now has experience in live-action storytelling thanks to his work on shows like "The Mandalorian," "The Book of Boba Fett," and "Ahsoka" (the latter of which he created). With "The Mandalorian" and its spinoffs, he and Favreau have also demonstrated their ability to build out a universe. On top of all that, Favreau knows the movie side of things as well as anyone, and is currently directing "The Mandalorian & Grogu" for a 2026 theatrical release.

Their powers combined, Favreau and Filoni seemingly have everything Disney needs to bring "Star Wars" into the future. They would, very importantly, likely be a popular choice amongst fans as well. If Las Vegas had betting odds on this situation, this would be the safest bet.

A couple of my colleagues spoke about this, along with a ton of other movie and TV news, on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast:

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