2026 is an important year for Star Wars for a variety of reasons. The franchise’s extended hiatus on the big screen comes to an end this summer with the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu. New TV series Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord looks to keep the tradition of Lucasfilm Animation alive with a compelling story about the galactic underworld. But these events pale in comparison to the biggest development for Star Wars this year. Kathleen Kennedy is no longer Lucasfilm president. The job now falls to a pair of co-presidents: Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, who will manage the studio’s creative and business endeavors respectively. With this transition of leadership, another 2026 Star Wars release has become the most vital moving forward.
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While an official release date has not been set as of this writing, it is widely expected that Star Wars: Ahsoka Season 2 will premiere at some point in 2026. Picking up the lingering threads from the Ahsoka Season 1 finale, the show will have a lot on its plate as it chronicles the escalating conflict against Grand Admiral Thrawn. There’s a lot riding on Ahsoka Season 2, even more so now that Filoni is in charge of all things Lucasfilm.
Dave Filoni Is the Main Creative Voice Behind Ahsoka
While Filoni was involved with directing and writing certain episodes of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, Jon Favreau was the showrunner. It wasn’t until Ahsoka rolled around that Filoni’s responsibilities behind the scenes expanded. He is credited as the creator, showrunner, and sole writer on Ahsoka Season 1. Considering Filoni’s history with Lucasfilm, this makes a lot of sense. He co-created the character of Ahsoka Tano with George Lucas for Star Wars: The Clone Wars, so Ahsoka has essentially been his baby from the very beginning. If anyone deserved to spearhead the character’s live-action spin-off series, it’s him.
Filoni was once again heavily involved with the creative process for Ahsoka Season 2. In late 2024, he confirmed that he is once again “the single writer on it,” so while he’s collaborating with a stable of directors, he is still the defining voice behind Ahsoka. In a previous year, when Lucasfilm was under Kennedy’s leadership, this wouldn’t be as big of a deal. However, it’s much more fascinating now that Filoni is a co-president of Lucasfilm. Star Wars is entering a new era, and Filoni and Brennan will have a say in which projects get the green light. Ahsoka Season 2 will essentially be an inside look into what Filoni’s ideal vision of Star Wars looks like, perhaps providing hints for future plans.
Star Wars fans may have mixed feelings about that. Filoni is undeniably passionate about the galaxy far, far away and has a deep appreciation for the lore and what the franchise means to people. That love and admiration should be great assets Filoni can tap into as he starts a new phase of his career. It’s also a reason why some fans might be concerned about his vision for Star Wars. Filoni has a tendency to lean on deep cuts and fan service in his projects, which runs the risk of turning something like Ahsoka into more of a niche series. That show is so reliant on characters and storylines from Star Wars Rebels that the casual viewer tuning in for new Star Wars could be lost or find it difficult to follow if they are unfamiliar with the animated show (which ran for four seasons).
On one hand, it’s great to see characters like Ahsoka, Sabine Wren, and Grand Admiral Thrawn get an opportunity to shine in live-action, and there’s certainly a place for something like Ahsoka in the larger Star Wars landscape. But it shouldn’t be the default setting for the franchise. Filoni’s approach and sensibilities are fine when Ahsoka is part of a larger whole and there’s someone else at the top making creative decisions. But now, Ahsoka is going to be under much more scrutiny than it would under normal circumstances. It’s basically “Filoni’s Star Wars,” and now all of Star Wars is “Filoni’s Star Wars” with his promotion to co-president. The Ahsoka Season 2 scripts and storylines are going to be held under the microscope as fans attempt to get an idea of what Filoni’s dream vision for Star Wars is.
Can Ahsoka Season 2 Assuage Fan Concerns About Filoni?
Whenever Ahsoka Season 2 arrives later this year, it will be interesting to see if the show can do anything to soothe over any concerns people might have about Filoni. The biggest issue some people have is that Filoni is essentially too deep into the weeds and doesn’t always see the forest for the trees when it comes to telling Star Wars stories. It’s unlikely Ahsoka Season 2 can do much to directly address that. The season is obviously a continuation of a series that’s basically a sequel to Star Wars Rebels. And with the tease of the Mortis gods and Baylan Skoll’s journey to learn the secrets of the Force, it’s all but confirmed that the show will go even deeper into the mythology, tying into elements from the animated shows.
There’s a chance Ahsoka Season 2 could be too esoteric for some from a narrative standpoint, but this one season of TV shouldn’t be a referendum on Filoni’s vision for Star Wars as a whole. It’s still just one project within a larger tapestry, and it’s important to keep in mind there’s a co-president who will be in charge of running things alongside Filoni. While Brennan will be focusing more on the business aspects while Filoni handles the creative side, the two will still be working together to make decisions about what gets the green light. Filoni has stressed the importance of a collaborative environment, ensuring he alone doesn’t dictate the direction of the franchise. In this respect, Brennan could provide a different perspective on things, counterbalancing Filoni’s usual tendencies.
A reason to be optimistic about Ahsoka Season 2 is how things changed behind the scenes regarding the actual production. In its Disney+ era, Star Wars became a bit too reliant on using The Volume to shoot shows like The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The technology is undeniably impressive and is a tremendous resource for filmmakers, but it also has its fair share of limitations. For Ahsoka Season 2, Lucasfilm made the decision to utilize a variety of production techniques, including shooting on location. As seen with Andor, this can be a much more effective way to convey the sense of scope and scale people have come to associate with Star Wars since the camera isn’t confined to a soundstage.
We’ve also seen the upcoming film Star Wars: Starfighter make use of practical sets and locations. It’s encouraging Filoni and Co. have already made this shift, indicating this is part of the plan moving forward. The Volume will still be there and is a great tool, but placing less of an emphasis on it demonstrates Filoni is dedicated to a variety of production styles and will pick the ones that best fit each project. If Ahsoka Season 2 impresses from a technical perspective, fully immersing audiences in worlds and environments that feel epic, that’ll be an encouraging sign for fans moving forward.
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