With the "Skywalker Saga" behind it, the "Star Wars" franchise is heading for a bold future.
Much of that future belongs to Disney Plus. The streaming service, which has amassed more than 60 million subscribers since launching in November 2019, is home to the first live-action "Star Wars" series, "The Mandalorian," of which the second season premiered October 30.
It's already a hit. According to analytics company Antenna, its premiere weekend drove 3.1 times the average weekend sign-ups to Disney Plus when compared to other weekends in October.
And there is plenty more in the works for the service, from an Obi-Wan Kenobi series to an untitled series headed by "Russian Doll" cocreator Leslye Headland.
As the franchise enters a new era, Business Insider identified the executives and creatives most essential to the future of the franchise based on what we know is in development. Some projects, such as "The Last Jedi" director Rian Johnson's new film trilogy, lack any details surrounding them, but are still in the works.
Johnson's trilogy isn't the only "Star Wars" film project on the table. "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi will direct a movie and Kevin Feige will produce one (it's unknown whether they are related).
Disney has three release dates set for a "Star Wars" trilogy in 2023, 2025, and 2027, but no details have been announced beyond that after the "Game of Thrones" showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, exited the first movie as writers and producers in October last year.
Overseeing all of this is Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Though her contract expires next year and she's hinted at uncertainty about her "Star Wars" future, she's still in charge of the franchise's direction right now.
But creatives like "The Mandalorian" executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni could have plenty of say in that, as well.
Kathleen Kennedy — president, Lucasfilm
As "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' handpicked successor, Kennedy was named Lucasfilm president in 2012 (the same year that Disney bought the company for $4 billion), giving her the keys to one of the most lucrative franchises of all time.
Kennedy has decades of experience in Hollywood, having produced hits like "Jurassic Park" and "Back to the Future." She cofounded the production companies Amblin Entertainment and The Kennedy/Marshall Company.
During her tenure as president of Lucasfilm, the "Star Wars" franchise has completed the "Skywalker Saga" with the sequel trilogy, along with two standalone movies and the first live-action "Star Wars" TV show, "The Mandalorian," for Disney Plus.
While the finale of the new trilogy, "The Rise of Skywalker," was met with poor response from critics last year and 2018's "Solo" underwhelmed at the box office, the Kennedy/Disney "Star Wars" era has been largely successful on paper, with four of the movies grossing more than $1 billion worldwide and "The Mandalorian" being a massive success.
But behind-the-scenes drama, including last-minute director changes on "Solo" and "The Rise of Skywalker," has led to some speculation about Kennedy's future with the company (and her contract expires in 2021). In November 2019, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Jon Favreau, the creator of "The Mandalorian,""will have a lot of say over the future of 'Star Wars.'"
Kennedy told Rolling Stone ahead of the release of "The Rise of Skywalker" that she was uncertain about her future as president.
"I don't know yet," she said. "I'm looking at all of that. It's been incredibly satisfying to reach this point where we've completed the saga and, I think, made a really wonderful movie. It's going to feel very satisfying to the audience. So that's what I'm focused on right at the moment — and what the future holds, who knows."
But for now, Kennedy is still in the driver's seat.
Michelle Rejwan — senior VP of live-action development and production, Lucasfilm
Rejwan oversees all live-action development and production for theatrical and streaming content for Lucasfilm.
According to her bio on the official "Star Wars" website, she works closely with Kennedy in shaping the creative strategy for the "Star Wars" franchise. She was named senior VP of live-action development and production in June 2019.
Kennedy's contract expires in 2021, and she told Rolling Stone in November 2019 that she's uncertain about her future as president of Lucasfilm. With or without Kennedy, though, The Hollywood Reporter reported at the time that Kennedy envisions a "key role" for Rejwan in charting the franchise's future, suggesting bigger things for the exec's future at the company.
After all, her official bio says that she "has been a key member of the Lucasfilm Creative Brain Trust since 2015." She was thrust into the franchise thanks to her role on J.J. Abrams' production team on "Star Wars: The The Force Awakens" and then "The Rise of Skywalker," which Abrams directed.
In an interview with Laughing Place, a Disney news site, Rejwan noted how the franchise's timelessness impacts today's storytelling choices.
"Those timeless stories reveal even more levels over time and over generations," she said. "That is another test that you don't know [the result of], but you put forth what feels authentic and true to you and to the characters that are experiencing that conflict at that time. But I think 'timeless' is an excellent word that we hope to live up to, because that is very much in the DNA of Star Wars."
Bob Iger — executive chairman, The Walt Disney Company
Iger isn't Disney CEO anymore, but he's still a powerful force at the company as the board's executive chairman.
Iger stepped down from the CEO role in February to lead the company's "creative endeavors" through when his contract expires at the end of 2021.
"In thinking about what I want to accomplish before I leave the company at the end of '21, getting everything right creatively would be my No. 1 goal," Iger told The New York Times in February. "I could not do that if I were running the company on a day-to-day basis."
If Iger is going to have a say in creative choices at the company, that could impact "Star Wars," which he's had plenty to say about in the past.
After "Solo" disappointed at the box office in 2018, grossing less than $400 million worldwide, Iger expressed regret about Disney's release strategy for the movies, telling The Hollywood Reporter there was "too much, too fast" and to "expect some slowdown" (the next "Star Wars" theatrical movie is set for release in 2023).
He then told Bloomberg in November 2019 that there didn't seem to be much demand for "Star Wars" standalone movies like "Rogue One" and "Solo."
The emphasis on Disney Plus reflects these sentiments. While there has been "some slowdown" on theatrical movies, there are three live-action "Star Wars" series in the works for Disney Plus (not including "The Mandalorian") and the animated series, "The Bad Batch."
Kareem Daniel — chairman of media and entertainment distribution, The Walt Disney Company
With Disney Plus playing such a large role in the "Star Wars" franchise's future, that means Disney's new streaming head will, too.
Kareem Daniel was elevated to chairman of the new media and entertainment distribution group last month, which prioritizes streaming as Disney reels from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on its business. Daniel will make decisions on advertising, sales, operations, technology, and distribution of Disney's content.
Daniel has held a variety of roles at Disney over 14 years, starting as an intern hired by Disney CEO Bob Chapek while he was in grad school. He then joined the company in strategic planning in 2007 and was most recently president of consumer products, games, and publishing.
"He is a brilliant executive who has an unbelievable objectivity when it comes to fact-based decision making," Chapek told Bloomberg. "It perfectly positions him to be the right guy to make decisions. Not because there's a legacy of the business, but because it's right for today."
Alan Horn and Alan Bergman — cochairmen, The Walt Disney Studios
With a new "Star Wars" trilogy on the theatrical calendar starting in 2023, the Walt Disney Studios will play a key role in the future of the franchise.
Under the new organizational structure, Horn and Bergman remain in the charge of the company's movie arm, overseeing the development and production of movies across the studio's division, including Lucasfilm.
Since Horn joined Disney as head of the film studio in 2012, Disney has grown into a box-office juggernaut. Bergman, the former Disney Studios president, was elevated to cochairman in 2019.
The studio is coming off of a record-breaking 2019 with seven movies that grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, but has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, forcing most of its movies into next year or on Disney Plus.
Under the new organizational structure, the latter could be more of a regular occurrence, as Daniel, Horn, and Bergman work to determine what movies go to theaters and what go to streaming.
The likelihood of a "Star Wars" movie going straight to streaming is unlikely considering how much they make at the global box office, but Horn has acknowledged the importance of streaming for Disney.
"Netflix and companies like Amazon represent the great disruption in our business and a seismic shift in consumer offerings and viewing patterns," Horn told The Hollywood Reporter. "The interesting thing, which is not resolved yet, is how big is the consumer appetite for these incremental services? I like our chances."
Jon Favreau — creator of "The Mandalorian"
Favreau has quickly grown into a bonafide Disney creative leader.
After launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe with "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2," the director took on live-action remakes of Disney animated classics "The Jungle Book" (2016) and "The Lion King" (2019).
So it made sense that he would dip his hands into another Disney franchise. Favreau created "The Mandalorian" for Disney Plus last year, the franchise's first live-action TV series. It was a raging success and garnered an Emmy nomination for best drama series this year.
The Hollywood Reporter reported last year that Favreau "will have a lot of say over the future" of the franchise. Recent comments made by former Disney CEO (and current executive chairman) Bob Iger suggest as much.
During an earnings call in February, Iger teased the possibility of "Mandalorian" spinoffs, saying there's the "possibility of infusing it with more characters and taking those characters in their own direction in terms of series."
Favreau himself hasn't ruled out the world of "The Mandalorian" expanding.
"The line is blurring now," Favreau told Variety regarding the series potentially making the jump to the big screen. "Things that you would have only seen in the movie theater, you're seeing on streaming, and I think it could go the other way as well."
Dave Filoni — executive producer of "The Bad Batch" and "The Mandalorian"
Filoni, an animation extraordinaire who was a director and artist on Nickelodeon's "Avatar: The Last Airbender," took a stab at directing live action for the first time last year with two episodes of the "The Mandalorian," which he also serves as an executive producer on.
He'll also be executive producing a new animated series called "Star Wars: The Bad Batch," coming in 2021. It's a spinoff of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," the animated series that got a final season on Disney Plus this year and that Filoni was also an executive producer, writer, and supervising director on.
To sum it up, Filoni knows a thing or two about "Star Wars."
Kennedy sees Filoni having a "key role" in steering the future of the franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"There isn't a thing that we do in the storytelling space that I don't check with Dave," Kennedy told Vanity Fair last year. "What I find about Dave is you don't just sit down and have a discussion about plot or review characters inside the Star Wars world. You end up having meaningful, thoughtful discussions about what it is we're trying to say inside the storytelling. He has a lot of empathy."
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas holds him in high regard, too. He's known today as "The Chosen One," according to Vanity Fair, and Lucas' protege ever since landing the job to craft "The Clone Wars" more than a decade ago.
"We still talk and if I'm stuck I will bug George for ideas, because he is the canon," Filoni told Indiewire in February. "He created it and I respect that. One of my jobs and purposes is to keep things as intact to what George laid down as possible."
Filoni is joined by a few other prominent players on "The Bad Batch."
Brad Rau — executive producer and supervising director
Jennifer Corbett — executive producer and head writer
Athena Portillo — executive producer
Leslye Headland — showrunner of untitled "Star Wars" Disney Plus series
Lucasfilm announced in May that Headland would develop an untitled "Star Wars" series for Disney Plus. She'll write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner on the series.
Headland is coming off of the success of Netflix's "Russian Doll," which she cocreated. It was nominated for best comedy series at last year's Emmys.
Headland told Entertainment Weekly in July that it was "shocking" to be a gay woman in charge of a "Star Wars" TV series.
"Although I know it's true because there are so few of us that are allowed to sit at the table, so to speak, and many, many more that are still not allowed," Headland said. "It's an honor in the sense that I feel incredibly grateful and lucky."
Taika Waititi — director and cowriter of untitled "Star Wars" theatrical movie
Taika Waititi, director of "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Jojo Rabbit," has seen his career blow up in the last few years.
He won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay this year for "Jojo Rabbit." He's set to direct the "Ragnarok" follow-up, "Thor: Love and Thunder.""What We Do in the Shadows," the FX series based on his movie of the same name, was nominated for best comedy series at the Emmys this year. And he directed the finale of "The Mandalorian" season one.
Now he's ready to return to "Star Wars." Lucasfilm announced in May that he'll direct and cowrite an untitled "Star Wars" movie for theatrical release.
Krysty Wilson-Cairns — cowriter of untitled "Star Wars" theatrical movie
Wilson-Cairns is cowriting an untitled "Star Wars" movie with director Taika Waititi.
Cairns was nominated for an Oscar this year for best original screenplay for the World War I movie "1917." She also wrote for Showtime's "Penny Dreadful."
Tony Gilroy — showrunner of "Rogue One" spinoff series
Gilroy, known for directing "Michael Clayton," is returning to the "Star Wars" universe as showrunner of Disney Plus' "Rogue One" spinoff series for Disney Plus, which will take place before the events of the movie and star Diego Luna as his "Rogue One" character Cassian Andor.
Gilroy stepped in for major reshoots and script rewrites on "Rogue One," the 2016 "Star Wars" standalone movie that leads right into the opening scene of "A New Hope."
He opened up about the process in an interview on "The Moment With Brian Koppelman" podcast in 2018.
"If you look at 'Rogue,' all the difficulty with 'Rogue,' all the confusion of it … and all the mess, and in the end when you get in there, it's actually very, very simple to solve," Gilroy said. "Because you sort of go, 'This is a movie where, folks, just look. Everyone is going to die.' So it's a movie about sacrifice."
Even though he said on the podcast that he's "never been interested" in "Star Wars" and wouldn't be interested in making another "Star Wars" movie, Gilroy will have a hand in another major "Star Wars" project.
Joby Harold — writer of Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney Plus series
Variety reported in April that Harold would replace Hossein Amini on writing duties for Disney Plus' Obi-Wan Kenobi series, in which Ewan McGregor will reprise his role from the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy.
The series takes place between "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope."
Harold executive produced "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" and is writing director Zack Snyder's upcoming Netflix zombie movie, "Army of the Dead."
Deborah Chow — director of Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney Plus series
Chow has been tapped to direct the Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney Plus after directing two episodes of "The Mandalorian" season one.
She's also directed episodes of AMC's "Better Call Saul" and Netflix's "Jessica Jones," among many other TV credits.
She was the "Star Wars" franchise's first female director.
"Honestly, when I first got the job, it didn't even occur to me," Chow told Rolling Stone last November of the accomplishment. "It's ridiculous to think how long it took me to realize that that might be the case ... In some ways, that was good that it wasn't a focus. I mean, I'm very proud, obviously; it's an accomplishment. At the same time, I'm a director. I just want to be judged based on the work, like everyone else."
Chow told Rolling Stone that if she hadn't gone on to the Obi-Wan series, she would have stuck with "The Mandalorian."
"I'm glad to get to stay in the universe," she said.
Kevin Feige — producer of untitled "Star Wars" movie
As president of Marvel Studios and creative chief of Marvel, Feige oversees the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. But as a huge "Star Wars" fan, Feige couldn't stop there.
The exec will produce a new "Star Wars" movie along with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy.
"With the close of the Skywalker Saga, Kathy is pursuing a new era in 'Star Wars' storytelling, and knowing what a die-hard fan Kevin is, it made sense for these two extraordinary producers to work on a 'Star Wars' film together," Walt Disney Studios cochairman Alan Horn said in a statement last year.
"In an interview during The Hollywood Reporter's "Awards Chatter" podcast in November 2019, Feige briefly teased his "Star Wars" plans.
"I love that world and I love the notion of exploring new people and new places in that universe, but that's all that can be said for now," Feige said.
Rian Johnson — creator of new "Star Wars" film trilogy
Johnson's "The Last Jedi," the second entry in the new trilogy, was met with critical praise and box-office success in 2017. But the movie was still controversial for some fans, and Johnson said he even received death threats after the movie's release.
That didn't stop him from wanting to return to the franchise.
Lucasfilm announced back in 2017 that Johnson would create a new "Star Wars" film trilogy, and would write and direct the first installment.
There haven't been any official updates about the movies since then. Disney has "Star Wars" movies on the theatrical release calendar for 2023, 2025, and 2027, but it's unknown if those are for Johnson's movies.
Johnson offered an update in January, telling Variety that he was "still talking to Lucasfilm." So it seems like his trilogy is still on the table.