Hollywood Reporter says a source told them Dave Filoni is the top choice to be the next Star Wars boss, but other sources disagree

THR says they have a source claiming Disney already knows who their top choice is to take over Lucasfilm after Kathleen Kennedy departs at the end of 2025, and that’s Dave Filoni. The source even thinks he will be announced at Star Wars Celebration 2025 in Japan this coming April. Another source of theirs debates this is true. “He’s a great resource of knowledge, but he’s ultimately a TV guy. He’ll be killed by all sides.”

Hollywood Reporter also says that many of their Disney sources think Marvel boss Kevin Feige is the right guy for the job, and could jump over after launching Fantastic Four and getting the next Avengers films ready for release. He’s a massive Star Wars fan, and even developed a project himself before it was canned, and Disney insiders believe he has the best ability to balance corporate needs with an understanding of core IP.

The debate internally is there isnt a clearcut top candidate. ‘One reason Kathy stuck around for so long is because there is no credible alternative.’ Former Lucasfilm exec Rayne Roberts who recently left the division after 12 years was reportedly being groomed to takeover the role, and no one has stepped up for that part since.

Hollywood Reporter additonally floated another idea. Pairing Dave Filoni with Jon Favreau and offloading some of the exec aspects to other Disney employees, similar to what DC is doing with James Gunn and Peter Safran.

A producer with ties to Star Wars says “What people don’t understand is that it’s not a creative job. That’s about 10 percent. The rest of it is dealing with Disney, licensing and fans.”

Other candidates Hollywood Reporter thinks could be the next Star Wars boss are Emma Watts, Bad Robot exec Hannah Minghella, and even JJ Abrams, but an insider disagrees on that. “I don’t see him coming back to that toxic cesspool. It definitely left a mark on him.”

On a personal note, it is funny to think that JJ Abrams think this, considering the shotty direction of the Sequel Trilogy can be pointed directly at him with the mystery box approach, and honestly, a very safe Episode 7, outside of killing Han Solo, which is something Harrison Ford always wanted to happen. Still, he setup some storylines like Luke Skywalker in exile that were carried over into Rian Johnson’s film, but then seemingly tried to course correct with Episode 9 with making Palpatine the villain over Kylo Ren, which would’ve been a really interesting direction to go over retreading on old ground (again).

After all the reports, Kathleen Kennedy did come out and say she will never retire, but is working on a succession plan for the next candidate — implying it hasn’t been chosen yet. Her plan is to assist whoever the person is that takes over, and she will produce at least three upcoming Star Wars project, including the upcoming Rey film and Shawn Levy’s project starring Ryan Gosling, which is poised to be the next film to start production later this year.

As for their alleged top choice Dave Filoni, he is currently prepping to film Ahsoka, which is expected to start production in the next few months and be ready for release in 2026, likely after The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters May 22, 2026.

You can read THR’s original report here and check out our Star Wars section for more of the latest news.