This Week, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Lucasfilm Carves the Path for Its Future With New Leadership and Feature Films

Happy Sunday! If you live in the US, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and either way, I hope you had a wonderful week. It wasn't a holiday where I live, but I still enjoyed some time tuning out the news and the entertainment business (other than watching Napoleon on Friday) for a few days. And though it seemed like it would be a slow week for Star Wars, it was most definitely not, as Lucasfilm and Daisy Ridley dropped a one-two-punch on Tuesday. The effects of these stories reverberated into the weekend with more interviews from Dave Filoni and Taika Waititi. Let's try to unpack it all!


<h2>Star Wars Quote of the Week</h2>


'It’s not what I expected, but I’m very excited,' Daisy Ridley told Collider in a recent chat discussing her new feature film, which will mark the return of Rey Skywalker in a story set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker. There is a lot to unpack from the few sentences she said about the project, but this is definitely the one that's been circulating the most. Prior to this comment, she also pointed out that 'The story is really cool'.



So what did she expect, exactly, and what is the story, then? Whenever this topic comes up, I think back to the Resistance Broadcast's podcast panel at Star Wars Celebration, when someone in the audience dropped this bomb of a question 'Do you think Rey will have kids in the new film?' It makes perfect sense for Rey to want to become a mother at some point, but it was certainly not something that had ever crossed my mind until I heard it mentioned. Was Daisy Ridley in a similar position, and was perhaps also surprised by the inclusion of children for Rey? Or was it a completely different surprise? I would love to see Rey as a young mother, though I don't think her kids should be old enough to be trained as part of the New Jedi Order yet.



I am aware that there are a lot of people who are not interested in this film or this character, but (even though I did not like The Rise of Skywalker) that is not my case at all. I am eager for the galaxy to move forward, and whether that's pushing the story further into the future or going all the way back to the past, I'll be there. However, my biggest questions about this movie are regarding the state of the galaxy and, most importantly, the villain.



This isn't the time for yet another galaxy-level threat, so don't be afraid to lower the stakes this time -- I'm talking to you, Steven Knight. We don't need another version of the Empire looming over our heroes. The challenge will be in developing another significant villain that is wholly new and yet threatening enough for the large scale of the big screen and the blockbuster Star Wars name. I'm still not convinced by Knight's feature film resumé, but I remain optimistic.







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<h2>Star Wars Quote of the Week's Runner-up</h2>


Another actor (/director, this time) talked about his future Star Wars film this week. It isn't the first time we've heard Taika Waititi talk about it in recent weeks as he's currently out in the world promoting his latest film, Next Goal Wins, and, of course, has been asked about Star Wars. He told The Kelly Clarkson Show: 'That [film] in particular, it’s something I’d really like to get right so I don’t want to rush it. It’s going to bubble along on the side.'



We'd kind of assumed that he wasn't fully committed to developing this next, as he recently told Business Insider that he would be directing Klara and the Sun next. However, he isn't writing that one, as far as we know, and the word on the street was that Taika owed Lucasfilm a new draft (after having submitted several of them earlier this year) in the fall. Perhaps most interestingly, reporter Jeff Sneider, who put that rumor out, said that there were multiple writers working on it. This is something that is driving me insane, as someone who likes to know everything about the status of a project in development, so if you have any tips about these mysterious writers, we're all ears here.



Whatever the case may be, I still think Taika is underplaying his commitment to the project these days. He may be thinking about Klara and the Sun, or even The Incal, but I do believe he's opening up that final draft document containing his Star Wars script more than once a week. Remember when Variety reported months ago that he was in negotiations to star in the movie? Given his track record of starring in his own movies, it may have been obvious news, but at least to me, it signaled that he was actively thinking about the film. Deadline also said earlier this year he wanted to shoot it in 2024, and though I once thought that was likely, it definitely does not look that way anymore. After all, there is a reason why his name was not brought up at Star Wars Celebration nor mentioned anywhere in the Vanity Fair story about the future of Lucasfilm that we'll be discussing next.







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<h2>Three Things That May Have Flown Casual (Ahsoka Edition)
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• Rosario Dawson and Hayden Christensen spoke at length with Vanity Fair about Ahsoka Part Five. Was that Anakin or Vader that Ahsoka saw? Was it the World Between Worlds? And what was the meaning of Ahsoka's narrative arc in that episode? Not all questions have been answered, but we do have a little bit more insight into what the episode meant. Check it out here.

• Dave Filoni also stopped by Entertainment Weekly's Dagobah Dispatch podcast to discuss all things Ahsoka, and the topic of the late Ray Stevenson and Shawna Trpcic came up. He said: 'Going forward, it will be a challenge. These were meaningful people to us. They were collaborators and friends, and they will be missed.' Do I think Baylan should be recast going forward? Yes, I do. But I also acknowledge that this will be a challenge for the crew and also whoever steps up to fill those shoes, so (in a post-Rise of Skywalker and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever world) I will understand it if we don't see him anymore.

• So...will there be a second season of Ahsoka? Filoni wouldn't budge, telling EW 'Always in motion is the future.' However, Rosario Dawson did confirm to Vanity Fair that the creative was working on an outline earlier this year, and he may now be in a position to greenlight it. (Read on.) Interestingly, though, the Vanity Fair story did refer to what we saw this summer as a full series, not just a season.

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<h2>Always Two There Are: Breaking Down Recent Leadership Changes at Lucasfilm</h2>


In that Vanity Fair article I've mentioned a few times, there was a major bombshell aside from the cast and crew interviews on Ahsoka. Lucasfilm gave the exclusive to Anthony Breznican to announce to the world that two major promotions have happened at the company. First, and what caught most people's attention, Dave Filoni will now oversee all things Star Wars storytelling as the new Chief Creative Officer. (Congrats to everyone on Star Wars Twitter who sent out 18 posts after each episode of Ahsoka dropped asking for this.) And second, and perhaps most significant to me, Carrie Beck is now the new head of development.



There's so much to discuss here, so let us begin with Filoni's new title. While many people's first reaction to this may have been 'about time', I'm actually kind of surprised they took this turn now. Sure, this is a reaction to Ahsoka, but is it a deserved one? I didn't love the show by the end, and judging by the small sample that is Star Wars Twitter, it seems like most people had mixed-to-positive feelings about it. Was that the standing ovation I assume Lucasfilm was expecting? Definitely not, but they likely had their minds made up before the show ended (or perhaps even started).



To me, this actually seemed like the kind of announcement you would put out after his upcoming feature film opens to a great critical reception a few years from now. The 'Man Who Conquered It All', you could call him. He rose through the ranks of the Lucasfilm animation division, warmed our hearts and then ripped them apart in live-action TV, and then culminated years of storytelling in a feature film that is beloved by critics and fans. Now, he will lord over all things Star Wars creative. By then, he (hopefully) won't be tied to developing more stories in a specific era, or writing/directing a feature film -- a task that will consume most of his time. I mean, the press release writes itself, and I can see Return of the Jedi-like celebrations happening all over the world.



Filoni has definitely been handling some of those consulting duties in recent years, which is (I think) also why their recent projects weren't always a home run: The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian, and Ahsoka all had great moments. They also had some questionable choices and underwritten subplots that could have used more dedication from the team involved. Could Filoni be spread too thin? This solidifies my theory that we won't see his feature film hit theaters until May 2027, at the earliest.







So why the announcement now? As I speculated earlier, this was not because of the fans' reaction to Ahsoka, they likely had this ready beforehand. This is also where I'll bring in the other half of the story -- Carrie Beck is now head of development. Beck shares a similar path to Filoni. After joining Lucasfilm in November of 2012 as part of the Story Group, she co-created Star Wars: Rebels and Star Wars: Resistance and later moved over to live-action with Filoni, being a co-executive producer on The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, and finally, an executive producer on Ahsoka. Much like in Filoni's case, that was a test for her, and she aced it. She's also been promoted to one of the top positions at the company without having actively worked on a feature film.



You may notice that, with this, Kathleen Kennedy's duties are mostly delegated to other people. She remains President of Lucasfilm, but the person in charge of choosing and/or meeting with filmmakers for each of the projects the company is developing is now Carrie Beck. The person in charge of figuring out the story they want to tell is now Dave Filoni. And the person overseeing the business side, and making sure they are executing the strategy they've set, is Lynwen Brennan.



So was this announcement the first step of Kathy Kennedy announcing her retirement? I think so. Her contract is up next year, and it's around this time that the leader would typically start thinking about a succession plan, should they decide to not re-up it (Bob Iger does not know what I'm talking about). I've been thinking for many months that this is also why they won't be having a Star Wars Celebration next year, as the company may be in a restructuring phase and not ready to be planning a big event -- just a wild theory, though.







There's also the belief that Kennedy wants to stay on to at least see the next Star Wars movie out in theaters before she rides into the sunset -- if nothing else, to prove that she still has what it takes. While that's possible, she turned 70 this year, and she will be about to turn 73 if they manage to get a movie out in May 2026. By then, does she still want to be the head of a studio that can pretty much run itself these days thanks to the wonderful creatives she's been grooming for years, or would she rather take a producer deal to keep doing what she likes to do best?



Whether or not she steps down next year, she will still be an executive producer on, at least, Daisy Ridley's film. I can already see an announcement like Michelle Rejwan's last year, where they say she wants to go back to producing, which is what she enjoys most. Speaking of whom, what is going on with Michelle Rejwan these days? Deadline had reported that she'd stay on as a producer on multiple Star Wars projects, including Taika Waititi's film; Puck News later added The Acolyte to the mix, which makes sense time-wise. However, her name has been absent from every press release on that show and pretty much everyone seems to have forgotten about her. Once again, feel free to reach out if you know anything about what Rejwan is up to these days.



If this is indeed going to be Kennedy's final year at Lucasfilm, it has to be huge for them (not necessarily for us). I'll give you an illustrative example: the Lando series-turned-movie came to be because of Kennedy's relationship with Glover. If Carrie Beck is to inherit the whole mothership, like I've been speculating for a few months (and like this announcement seems to suggest), she has to be brought into these meetings to get to know the actor/writer creatively and make sure they are on the same page. Since she was still working on Rebels and Resistance when Solo came out, she doesn't have the relationship with Glover that Kennedy does.



What will happen later? I could see Lucasfilm being run as DC Studios, with Beck and Filoni being co-heads of Lucasfilm (akin to James Gunn and Peter Safran). I admit it would seem kind of weird to promote just Beck and have her be Filoni's boss moving forward, so having not only George Lucas' heir, but also the lead creative at a company that is built on creativity as one of its co-heads, looks like the best choice here. Moreover, having a creative like Filoni as the sole leader of the company doesn't really line up. Remember: Always two there are!







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<h2>What Does Star Wars Look Like Under Dave Filoni As CCO?</h2>


Aside from not having worked on a feature film, this is the question that has me the most concerned right now. Filoni has more than proven he excels at telling years-in-the-making stories set inside the Skywalker Saga. He loves these characters, this galaxy (galaxies?), and this timeline. And while I respect that, as I said earlier, I also cannot wait to move past it.



My friends from the Sith Council had a 30-minute debate this week on this topic, where they graciously quoted my piece on the announcement. Host of the show Kristian Harloff was mostly concerned about Filoni perhaps not being interested in something like Andor, which enriched Star Wars in many ways last year. That seems like a logical conclusion, especially if you know that the show was born out of Kennedy's desire to work with Tony Gilroy again, along with Gilroy's ambitious pitch for a multiple-season series about the start of the Rebellion.



However, I would argue that there is a lot of what Gilroy and the team did in Andor that is very similar to some of the themes George Lucas was very passionate about. Pablo Hidalgo said it best: 'THX George would’ve 100% made Andor.' He also replied to someone who said he would have loved to do something like that by saying: 'As having been privileged to see the old unproduced live-action TV scripts, yes indeed.' (Note: Hidalgo is a massive Andor fan, and constantly talks about it on social media.)



Andor Cast and Crew at Star Wars Celebration London 2023



In fact, what I'm most concerned is about something like The Acolyte happening. Is Dave Filoni interested in anything outside of the Phantom Menace-Rise of Skywalker timeline? We know he was in the room when they were in early discussions about Damon Lindelof's never-made Star Wars film, but how excited is he about that, exactly? He doesn't have the power to shut down the New Jedi Order film (Carrie Beck does from the sound of things), but he can definitely shut down future, still-undeveloped plans to explore that story.



And before you start firing those comments about Filoni hating the sequel trilogy, remember that he was really close with Rian Johnson after spending a lot of time shadowing him on the set of The Last Jedi. He even credited Johnson with inspiring him to pursue a career in live-action.



Here's my plea to anyone interviewing Dave Filoni in the post-strike media landscape: We know what he thinks about Ahsoka and Anakin and The Clone Wars. Feel free to geek out about it for five minutes if you want to. But let's ask him what he thinks about the future of Star Wars. He's definitely interested in one specific era. Would he be willing to do a multi-year Old Republic era-set show? What stories is he most interested in telling going forward? Should we expect a little bit of everything, or perhaps a narrow focus on a specific period in time? Just ask new and interesting questions!



(L-R): Dave Filoni and Rosario Dawson on the set of Lucasfilm's STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. &amp; TM. All Rights Reserved.



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<h2>This Year, We at SWNN Are Thankful for...</h2>


All of you, our readers. I am not from the US and don't know much about the Thanksgiving tradition, but it's never a bad time to say 'Thank you'. It's been an interesting year for us, both in terms of Star Wars output and also behind the scenes. We've had new people joining the team, we relaunched our YouTube channel, and also brought about several other changes and upgrades. Earlier this year, I was named co-editor-in-chief after three years working here, and for that, I have a ton of people to thank, from the captain of the ship, the site's founder, and EIC, Val Trichkov, to my former editor and good friend, John Hoey, to every single person that's been on this journey with me.



Everyone on the team is incredibly excited for the next few years and the return of Star Wars to the big screen, as well as to share the journey to the next big theatrical event with all of you. Check back in a month for more sentimental messages once Christmas rolls around! In the mean time, THANK YOU!



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Have a great week!



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