*

Kennedy led Lucasfilm since 2012

*

Filoni co-created 'The Mandalorian'

*

New 'Star Wars' movies in the works

By Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski

LOS ANGELES, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Kathleen Kennedy will

retire from her role as president of "Star Wars" movie producer

Lucasfilm this week, Walt Disney ( DIS ) said on Thursday.

Disney ( DIS ) has named Dave Filoni, a protégé of "Star Wars"

creator George Lucas and ‌the co-creator of "Star Wars" streaming

TV series "The Mandalorian," president and chief creative

officer of Lucasfilm. He will work alongside co-president Lynwen

Brennan, who ​runs the studio's business operations.

Filoni, 51, will now steer one of the highest-grossing movie

franchises in ‍history as well as live-action and animated TV

shows.

The 72-year-old Kennedy, who ⁠has run Lucasfilm since ⁠Disney

bought it in 2012, oversaw three blockbuster sequels to the

original "Star Wars" trilogy and the successful spinoff "Rogue

One." But 2018 film "Solo," ‌which introduced a new actor as the

smuggler made ​famous by Harrison Ford, flopped in theaters.

Disney ( DIS ) put the "Star Wars" movies on hiatus in 2019 to focus

on live-action TV series, including "The Mandalorian" starring

Pedro Pascal and ⁠the popular character Baby Yoda.

Disney ( DIS ) scrapped planned "Star ‍Wars" films ​from directors

Patty Jenkins and Rian Johnson as Kennedy worked to reset the

film strategy.

Filoni, meanwhile, oversaw many popular and acclaimed TV

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

franchise, about a group of rebels in a galaxy far, far away,

has brought in more than $10.3 billion at global box office

receipts, according to Comscore.

Lucas hand-picked Kennedy as his successor to lead

Lucasfilm. The five films she oversaw brought in a combined $5.9

billion. The most successful, 2015's "Star Wars: The Force

Awakens," ​surpassed $2 ‍billion in worldwide ticket sales.

Lucasfilm expanded into producing live-action streaming TV

series under Kennedy, including Filoni's "The Mandalorian,"

which debuted with the launch of the Disney+ streaming service

in 2019. Other ​series included "Ahsoka" and "Andor."

The company also added "Star Wars"-themed lands at Walt

Disney World in Florida and at Disneyland in California.

In 2005, Lucas hired Filoni to help build a "Star Wars"

animation studio. Filoni, often spotted at Hollywood premieres

and fan events wearing a cowboy hat, helped create the animated

TV series "The Clone Wars."

"The Mandalorian" will head to the big screen in May in a

film co-written by Filoni called "The Mandalorian and Grogu."

The movie "Star Wars: ​Starfighter," featuring Ryan Gosling, is

scheduled to reach cinemas in May 2027. Kennedy will continue to

work as a producer of those films.

Daisy Ridley, star of the sequel trilogy that began in 2015,

also has said she is returning to ‍a new "Star Wars" project.