Dave Filoni was named president of Walt Disney Co.-owned Lucasfilm on Thursday.
He is known as a disciple of “Star Wars” creator George Lucas and was a creative force behind the popular TV series “The Mandalorian.”
According to a statement issued by Disney, current Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy will step down from her position this week and work as a full-time producer.
Filoni, 51, will now helm one of the highest-grossing film franchises in history, as well as live-action and animated television shows, Reuters reported.
He will work alongside Co-President Lenwen Brennan, who manages the studio’s business affairs and operations.
Disney CEO Bob Iger praised Kennedy’s “leadership, vision and management” of the studio.
Kennedy, 72, who has run Lucasfilm since Disney bought it in 2012, has overseen three sequels to the original Star Wars trilogy and the hit spinoff Rogue One.
“Solo,” a 2018 film introducing a new actor as the smuggler made famous by Harrison Ford, flopped in theaters. This has raised concerns that fans are growing tired of the beloved franchise.
“Solo was a little bit disappointing for us,” Iger said in 2023. “It gave us pause just thinking that maybe the pacing was a little too aggressive. And so we decided to pull back a little bit.”
Disney halted the “Star Wars” films in 2019 to focus on live-action TV series, including “The Mandalorian” starring Pedro Pascal and introducing the popular character Baby Yoda. The company canceled planned “Star Wars” films from directors Patty Jenkins and Rian Johnson while Kennedy worked to recalibrate the film’s strategy.
Meanwhile, Filoni has overseen several popular and acclaimed television series including “The Mandalorian” and “Ahsoka.”
Both Kennedy and Filoni worked with Lucas, the creator of the original “Star Wars” film series that debuted in 1977. The series, which revolves around a group of rebels in a galaxy far, far away, has grossed more than $10.3 billion in global box office receipts, according to Comscore.