Dave Filoni Officially Named Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm, Carrie Beck Selected as Head of Development

by Darian Scalamoni

    Many have argued that Lucasfilm having their own "Kevin Feige" of sorts would help the overall direction of the brand moving forward. Well now, confirmed in a Vanity Fair article, the company responsible for franchises such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones has their guy and girl for the foreseeable future.

    Dave Filoni, one who is often compared to George Lucas with his devoted fandom and creative look at the Star Wars franchise is undertaking the role of Chief Creative Officer at Lucasfilm. Filoni, who has written and created such TV series as The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Mandalorian and Ahsoka is also set to make his feature film directorial debut with Star Wars: Heir to the Empire. "In the past, in a lot of projects I would be brought into it, I would see it after it had already developed a good ways," Filoni said within the interview with Vanity Fair, however, he'll now be involved from early on in development along with Carrie Beck, who will serve as the Head of Development at Lucasfilm going forward.

    This comes at a time where Star Wars is at a unique period in their content releases across all mediums. While it's made its mark in the streaming landscape over the years, the series that have released have been major hit or miss. While Andor and the first two seasons of The Mandalorian stand out amongst some of the very best, other shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Book of Boba Fett have largely disappointed. There also hasn't been a theatrical release for the franchise since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker despite many attempts to get projects made and released under filmmakers such as Patty Jenkins, Taika Waititi, Colin Trevorrow and many, many more. 

    Despite all of this, there are still projects in the pipeline that are done with production and gearing up for the next step amongst a galaxy far, far away. Skeleton Crew was originally supposed to premiere before 2023 wrapped up, however, now it's expected to release next year. The Acolyte which is headlined by Dafne Keen, Amandla Stenberg and Lee Jung-jae is also supposed to release in 2024. Additionally, other feature films have been announced to be directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and resident Lucasfilm collaborator James Mangold, who just directed Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

    No word yet on what will happen to the remainder of the Lucasfilm properties such as Indiana Jones, Willow or Labyrinth under Filoni and Beck's watch, but we'll be sure to provide more information when it's made available!

    What are your thoughts on Dave Filoni and Carrie Beck taking over the creative side of Lucasfilm? Are you happy to see them have a larger role overall? Let us know in the comments!