Speculation about who might replace Kathleen Kennedy has reached an all-time high, and two names have emerged as potential front-runners.
A new report by Peter Kiefer of The Hollywood Reporter goes inside Hollywood's Succession Wars and reveals the two names currently being tossed around to replace Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. According to the report, Lucasfilm intends to replace Kennedy with chief creative officer Dave Filoni or production head Carrie Beck.
The other possible scenario is for Filoni and Beck to share duties and take on co-head roles at Lucasfilm. Filoni's a well-known name among Star Wars fans, although taking on duties as Lucasfilm president would be a significant departure from being the chief creative officer. George Lucas mentored Filoni for many years, and the master and apprentice worked on creating The Clone Wars together.
Nowadays, Filoni works closely with The Mandalorian and Iron Man creator, Jon Favreau. While Filoni is well known, many fans are unfamiliar with Carrie Beck's name. Beck worked as an executive producer on several Star Wars projects, including Ahsoka, The Bad Batch, and Tales of the Jedi. She was a co-producer on The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew.
Both Filoni and Beck lack Kathleen Kennedy's extensive experience as a movie producer, which is a major drawback to their promotion. However, I think it would be best if Dave Filoni continues as chief creative officer and doesn't take on duties as president of Lucasfilm. The Hollywood Reporter quoted a Disney insider who spoke unfavorably of Filoni, referring to him as the guy who's too steeped in Star Wars lore.
Referring to Dave Filoni, the Disney insider said, “He’s not the Andor guy, he’s the Ahsoka guy". If Disney has a negative opinion of Dave Filoni's love of Star Wars mythology, then this collaboration may not be the best idea. Moreover, it's not only Disney that has an unfavorable view of Filoni; Fans have also turned against him. The Star Wars fandom is currently divided between those who believe Andor is the greatest Star Wars ever made and fans who love nearly all Star Wars.
After all the love Andor has received, and all the criticism its success has garnered Dave Filoni, it would be a ridiculous decision to promote Filoni to Kennedy's position, even if he deserves it. Filoni should continue working on the creative side of things and hopefully improve his work to match the expectations fans of his animated shows and newer fans have from him. Otherwise, the fandom divide would grow bigger.
Kathleen Kennedy has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism ever since she took over Lucasfilm, and you can argue that, given the current state of the Star Wars fandom, things would get worse if Dave Filoni replaces her. Carrie Beck might be the best one for the job, with Kennedy joining forces with Beck from time to time on bigger projects, including future films.
Hopefully, Filoni will be able to redeem himself in fans' eyes through Ahsoka Season 2, which is currently in production.
Ahsoka Season 2 premieres next year on Disney+.