Lucasfilm Updates: Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan to take over as President while Darth Maul Looms on the Horizon
Image Courtesy of Reddit
By Luis Zonenberg
For well over a decade, legendary producer Kathleen Kennedy held the reins to one of the most beloved franchises of all time and managed to turn almost every fan away in the process. Despite making a name for herself overseeing many classic films like Jurassic Park and Back to the Future, Kennedy perhaps made herself even more infamous for her mismanagement of the Star Wars brand. Instead of encouraging people to try out new ideas with the sequels, she made arrangements to retell the same story beats in the original trilogy, with even George Lucas criticizing how “there’s nothing new here.”
On January 15, 2026, as if a stirring in the force arose, millions of fans leapt with joy following the announcement that Kathleen Kennedy was officially on the outs as President of Lucasfilm. After years of speculation, Kathleen Kennedy officially stepped down from her position and will be superseded by Dave Filoni, who will also double as the Chief Creative Officer. Filoni will be joined by Lynwen Brennan, serving as Co-President, with her leading the business operations behind the scenes.
Not long after the announcement was made public, Lucasfilm debuted the trailer for their latest Star Wars show, Maul: Shadow Lord. The series takes place during the formative years of the Empire, focusing on the criminal underbelly hiding under the surface of Coruscant. The show will center on Darth Maul struggling to live under a new oppressive regime as he works to build his own crime syndicate and perhaps train a new apprentice in the process.
The series shows some real promise, but it’s no coincidence that Lucasfilm dropped the trailer now, since Filoni developed it with famed Clone Wars writer Matt Michnovetz. The series is being placed as the first product of Filoni’s Presidency, with the first two episodes premiering on April 6, 2026, and two new episodes releasing weekly until May 4, 2026—better known as Star Wars Day. This will be followed by the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu, which Filoni co-wrote with director Jon Favreau.
Filoni was always the safest choice for President out of all the potential candidates, especially since he worked closely with George Lucas during the production of The Clone Wars series. Since then, Filoni has made a name for himself overseeing many of Lucasfilm’s animated projects, such as The Bad Batch and Star Wars: Rebels. Filoni also made the transition into directing live-action Star Wars content, working on The Mandalorian and Star Wars: Ahsoka.
Lynwen Brennan, though, was much of a wild card here, especially since she originally started out working in the VFX department for the company back in 1999. Brennan even served as President of Industrial Light & Magic, the main VFX company for Star Wars, managing the company for well over six years. Brennan even received the prestigious Visual Effects Society Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 for her contributions to VFX in the film industry. Brennan’s technical and logistical skills make her a great, though unexpected, complement to Filoni, who will spearhead the creative side of productions.
Fans still remain skeptical about the direction of the franchise, with many tuning out after the disappointment of the Sequel trilogy and many of the live-action shows. It’s very clear that Filoni is working to regain fans’ interest in the series, and perhaps some of the upcoming projects might do just that. Overall, this is not a bad toss-up, though only time will tell if Filoni and Brennan’s leadership will bear any real fruit in the Star Wars garden.
