After nearly 14 years at the helm, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy will step down this week, marking a major — though expected — changing of the guard at the Walt Disney Co.-owned “Star Wars” studio.

In her place, current Lucasfilm Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni has been named president and will retain his creative title and Lucasfilm Business President and General Manager Lynwen Brennan has been named co-president, Disney said Thursday. The pair will co-lead the San Francisco-based studio and will report to Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman.

“When George Lucas asked me to take over Lucasfilm upon his retirement, I couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead,” said Kennedy, 72, in a statement Thursday. “It has been a true privilege to spend more than a decade working alongside the extraordinary talent at Lucasfilm. Their creativity and dedication have been an inspiration, and I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together. I’m excited to continue developing films and television with both longtime collaborators and fresh voices who represent the future of storytelling.”

The move comes amid widespread speculation about Kennedy’s future. Handpicked in 2012 by “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” creator George Lucas to helm the company he founded, Kennedy oversaw the expansion of the “Star Wars” franchise into a new trilogy, two spin-off movies, as well as several TV shows, including “The Mandalorian” and “Andor.” Under her leadership, the studio also grew its presence in Disney’s theme parks with “Star Wars”-themed lands in both Anaheim’s Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World in Florida.

But the expansion, and her tenure, were not without setbacks.

2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” grossed a disappointing $392.9 million at the box office, after a fraught production in which the studio replaced the directors during shooting. Several “Star Wars” projects have been announced over the years with big names attached, only to be delayed or dropped, including a planned trilogy with “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

Kennedy told The Times in 2019 that perceptions of director churn at Lucasfilm were overblown.

“Nobody in our business develops something with one person, that’s it, and everything goes perfectly,” she said at the time. “That’s a fairly common part of the process. We fall under incredible scrutiny because it’s ‘Star Wars.’ Because of the quality I’m striving for, I’m reaching out to top talent, and vice versa.”

Kennedy also had to weather scrutiny from die-hard fans about the new direction of the franchise. Nevertheless, the newest “Star Wars” trilogy grossed a collective $4.3 billion in worldwide box office revenue, with spinoff “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” hauling in more than $1 billion globally and leading to the popular series “Andor.”

She will continue as producer of Lucasfilm’s next two theatrical films — May’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” and “Star Wars: Starfighter,” which is being helmed by “Deadpool & Wolverine” director Shawn Levy and set for release in 2027.

“The Mandalorian and Grogu” will mark the first “Star Wars” theatrical film since 2019’s “Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker.” During production for that movie, Kennedy asked Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger if the company could take a pause on “Star Wars” films to give them more time develop new storylines. At that point, the company had released at least one “Star Wars” movie a year since 2015, while Lucas himself had previously waited at least three years between films. (Since 2019, the studio did release “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” as well as several “Star Wars”-adjacent series and and streaming films, including some Lego movies and an ILM documentary.)

“When we acquired Lucasfilm more than a decade ago, we knew we were bringing into the Disney family not only one of the most beloved and enduring storytelling universes ever created, but also a team of extraordinary talent led by a visionary filmmaker — someone who had been handpicked by George Lucas himself, no less,” Iger said in a statement Thursday. “We’re deeply grateful for Kathleen Kennedy’s leadership, her vision, and her stewardship of such an iconic studio and brand.”

Both Filoni and Brennan step into their new roles as Lucasfilm veterans.

Filoni, who frequently wears a cowboy hat in public and is thus widely recognizable to fans, was chosen by Lucas in 2005 to build the studio’s animation business. He created Lucasfilm’s first series, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” as well as “Star Wars Rebels,” was the executive producer on shows including “The Mandalorian” and “Ahsoka” and is producer and writer of the “The Mandalorian and Grogu” film.

Brennan joined Lucasfilm visual effects studio Industrial Light & Magic in 1999 and currently leads business strategy, franchise and production operations, as well as ILM’s expansion worldwide.

Paramount suffered a blow in a Delaware courtroom Thursday as a judge refused to expedite its lawsuit against Warner Bros. Discovery seeking information about internal deliberations and a financial analysis.

Reuters reported that Vice Chancellor Morgan T. Zurn of the Delaware Chancery Court said during a hearing that Paramount had failed to show it would suffer “cognizable irreparable harm” without the financial details it sought.

Now the pressure is on Paramount to win over Warner shareholders before next week’s tender offer deadline. Investors have until Wednesday to sell their stock to Paramount for $30 a share. Paramount could extend that deadline.

Paramount sued on Monday, claiming investors needed information that Warner has yet to provide about how board members valued various assets in determining that its sale to Netflix was more lucrative.

Paramount wanted the judge to fast-track the proceedings to help boost its outreach to Warner shareholders.

The David Ellison-led company has insisted its $108-billion deal, including absorption of Warner debt, represents a higher value for Warner shareholders than Netflix’s Dec. 4 cash-and-stock deal. Warner board members closed the auction that night, awarding Netflix the prize.

Netflix, which has seen its stock slide about 17% since early December, is reportedly weighing whether to bolster its bid by offering all cash for Warner Bros. movie and television studio, HBO and HBO Max. Netflix declined to comment.

Paramount wants to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including CNN and the other basic cable channels.

In a statement Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery said Paramount Skydance’s legal challenge “was yet another unserious attempt to distract and the Judge saw right through it.”

“We are pleased a Delaware Court agreed with our belief and rejected the notion that this lawsuit needed special treatment and may have other serious flaws,” Warner Bros. Discovery said. “Despite its multiple opportunities, Paramount Skydance continues to propose a transaction that our board unanimously concluded is not superior to the merger agreement with Netflix.”

Paramount downplayed its latest setback, saying Zurn’s ruling “does not pertain to the merits of Paramount’s claim.”

Paramount, in its statement, said that Warner shareholders deserved information about how Warner board’s evaluated the value for Warner’s cable channels to better compare the two proposals.

Netflix doesn’t want the cable channels allowing Warner to move forward with plans to spin off those channels this summer. Warner shareholders would get stock in that new company, called Discovery Global.

“WBD shareholders should ask why their Board is working so hard to hide this information,” Paramount said, adding it “continues to urge WBD to make these disclosures so that WBD shareholders can make an informed decision.”

Times staff writer Samantha Masunaga contributed to this report.

Asad Ayaz, the Disney marketing chief behind creative campaigns for Disneyland Resort’s 70th anniversary and films like “Zootopia 2” and the live-action adaptation of “Lilo & Stitch,” has been named chief marketing and brand officer for Walt Disney Co., the entertainment giant said Wednesday.

The 21-year veteran most recently served dual roles as the company’s first chief brand officer as well as president of marketing for Walt Disney Studios.

Ayaz will now lead a new marketing and brand organization within the Burbank media and entertainment company. He reports to Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger, as well as the heads of Disney’s film and TV studios, theme parks segment and ESPN for those sectors’ respective marketing efforts.

“As our businesses have evolved, it’s clear that we need a company-wide role that ensures brand consistency and allows consumers today to seamlessly interact with our wonderful products and experiences,” Iger said in a statement Wednesday. “The Chief Marketing and Brand Officer role is critical for this moment, and Asad is the perfect fit.”

In his new role, Ayaz will lead the company’s global marketing efforts, including social and digital strategy, overseeing corporate partnerships and franchise priorities, Disney said.

Ayaz previously worked on brand campaigns commemorating Disney’s 100th anniversary, global expansion of Disney’s D23 fan club and led marketing for Disney+, including shows such as “The Mandalorian,” Marvel Studios’ “WandaVision” and the launch of Taylor Swift’s “The End of an Era” on the streaming platform.