Former Lucasfilm Boss Kathleen Kennedy Takes On the LA Olympics

Star Wars News · Edition of Thursday 29 October 2026 · covering 22–29 October

Kathleen Kennedy, who spent 14 years running Lucasfilm, has a new stage to fill: she will lead the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games. Elsewhere this week, Dave Filoni’s new Ahsoka comic has been dated for the same day as season 2, Star Wars fans have been remembering voice actor Eric Bauza, Rogue One: Darth Vader closes Marvel’s anniversary one-shots, and Star Wars: Unlimited has been named Game of the Year at the first TCG Awards.

The Star Wars News That Matters

Former Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy will lead the LA28 Olympic ceremonies

• New development: LA28 named Kennedy its Head of Ceremonies and Content on Wednesday 28 October. She will be executive producer of all four ceremonies for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles
• The handover: She takes over from Peter Rice, who has just become Netflix’s chief content officer and stays on as an executive producer. She will work with creative director Ben Winston and ceremonies producer Scott Givens
• The dates: The Olympic opening ceremony is on 14 July 2028 and the closing on 30 July. The Paralympic ceremonies follow on 15 and 27 August
• Where to watch in the UK: The BBC (free to air) and TNT Sports hold UK rights to the 2028 Games. Kennedy’s next Star Wars film as producer, Star Wars: Starfighter, is due in cinemas on 28 May 2027 (US date)

“I can’t think of anyone better to conjure the magic of Hollywood than Kathleen,” said LA28 chairperson Casey Wasserman. Kennedy said the Olympics had been “a touchstone” in her life, adding that she and her husband, Frank Marshall, “have attended virtually every Games since Los Angeles in 1984”.

Kennedy stepped down as Lucasfilm president after 14 years in the job, a run that brought The Force Awakens to cinemas and included some well-documented turbulence, not least the firing of Phil Lord and Chris Miller from Solo. She has not left the galaxy entirely: she is a producer on Ryan Gosling’s Star Wars: Starfighter, which arrives in the franchise’s 50th anniversary year.

Dave Filoni’s Ahsoka comic Escape from Thrawn lands on the same day as season 2

• New development: Marvel’s January 2027 listings, published on Friday 23 October, confirm that Star Wars: Ahsoka – Escape from Thrawn #1 goes on sale on Wednesday 20 January 2027, the day Ahsoka season 2 arrives on Disney+
• The story: A five-issue series from a story by series creator Dave Filoni, written by Filoni and Rodney Barnes and drawn by Andrea Di Vito. It follows Ezra Bridger’s escape from exile after stowing away aboard Grand Admiral Thrawn’s flagship, the Chimaera
• The covers: Phil Noto draws the main cover, and one variant by Rod Reis is billed as a preview of Ahsoka season 2
• UK release: Available digitally on release day. Print copies reach UK comic shops that stock Marvel titles. Ahsoka season 1 streams on Disney+ in the UK now, and season 2 follows from 20 January 2027

Marvel calls it a “thrilling companion” to the new season, and the timing makes the point: Ezra’s side of the story arrives in print just as the show returns. The same listings confirm that Kevin Smith’s Star Wars | Marvel: Hope Assembles crossover starts a week earlier, on 13 January.

Filoni has been talking up the new season for weeks, including his claim that Ahsoka fans are either Mulder or Scully. A comic that fills in what Ezra was doing off screen suggests season 2 will pick up the story at speed.

Star Wars remembers Eric Bauza, voice of EB-3 and the LEGO Luke Skywalker

• New development: Bauza’s family announced at the weekend that the voice actor had died suddenly, aged 46. The Los Angeles County medical examiner gave the cause as hypertensive cardiovascular disease
• His Star Wars roles: He voiced the droid EB-3 in the Disney Junior series Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, and was Luke Skywalker in LEGO Star Wars specials from The Yoda Chronicles to this year’s LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian
• His wider career: Best known as the modern voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, he had more than 400 credits and won three Emmys, for Teen Titans Go!, Bugs Bunny Builders and Looney Tunes Cartoons
• Where to watch in the UK: Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures and the LEGO Star Wars specials, including LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian, stream on Disney+ in the UK

Warner Bros. Television’s Channing Dungey called him “a unique voice talent who brought joy and laughter to millions around the world”, and said he had followed “in the footsteps of giants like Mel Blanc”. Bauza was born in Scarborough, Toronto, in 1979.

For a generation of younger fans, his voice was part of how they first met Star Wars, whether through EB-3 or the LEGO Luke who turned up again in LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian on Disney+ in September. He was still working on new projects when he died, so some of his performances have yet to be released.

Rogue One: Darth Vader closes Marvel’s 10th-anniversary one-shots

• New development: The one-shot went on sale on Wednesday 28 October. It is the last in Marvel’s series of single issues marking 10 years of Rogue One, which followed Rogue One – Chirrut & Baze earlier this month
• The story: Director Krennic’s talks with Harqque, ruler of the gem-rich planet Harreld, have stalled over the kyber the Death Star needs. When the Emperor hears about it, he sends Darth Vader to get the kyber “by any means necessary”
• The team: Written by Christopher Condon and drawn by Luke Ross, with a main cover by David Marquez
• UK release: Out now digitally and in UK comic shops that stock Marvel titles. Rogue One and its prequel series Andor stream on Disney+ in the UK

Kyber, Krennic and Vader are a familiar mix, but the issue goes back to the start of the Death Star story told in the film. Rogue One turns 10 in December, and if you want to warm up for it, Andor was our pick for tonight on Monday.

Star Wars: Unlimited wins Game of the Year at the first TCG Awards

• New development: Fantasy Flight Games’ trading card game won four prizes at the first TCG Awards gala, held at Spiel Essen in Germany and reported on Saturday 24 October
• The awards: Game of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Set of the Year for A Lawless Time, and Event of the Year for the Galactic Championships in Las Vegas
• How it was judged: The new awards combine community voting with an expert jury, across categories covering games, artwork, events and the people behind them
• UK availability: Star Wars: Unlimited and its sets, including A Lawless Time, are sold in UK game shops and other retailers

“First and foremost, I want to thank the players for their passion,” said Jim Cartwright, co-head of studio at Fantasy Flight Games. “They are at the heart of the game’s success.” It is a good result for a game that is still only a few years old, at a time when Star Wars gaming is getting more attention than it has for a while.

It also adds to a busy autumn for Star Wars games, which began with Star Wars: Galactic Racer hitting the starting line earlier this month.

Watch the A Lawless Time trailer

Who would you put in charge of a Star Wars spectacle on the scale of an Olympic opening ceremony?