A film still from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi featuring Luke and Darth Vader on the Death Star crossing lightsabers.

James Waugh

Senior Vice President, Franchise Content & Strategy

As Senior Vice President, Franchise Content and Strategy at Lucasfilm, James Waugh oversees the Franchise Story and Content teams, and has been a member of the Star Wars creative brain trust since 2016. In this role, Waugh leads narrative development and creative strategy across Franchise Animation (for which he also serves as an Executive Producer), Video Games, Theme Parks, Publishing, Immersive Entertainment, Consumer Products, and Digital/Online Content initiatives.

In addition to maintaining a holistic story-world experience, Waugh has led Lucasfilm’s transmedia efforts for Rogue One, Solo, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, as well as series including The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Book of Boba Fett, Star Wars Young Jedi Adventures, Star Wars Rebels, The Clone Wars , Star Wars Visions, The Bad Batch. He has also led the story group’s development efforts for multiple video game titles, including Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge. Waugh spearheaded strategic initiatives such as StarWarsKids.com, and, after leading its development and creation, provides ongoing stewardship for The High Republic, Star Wars’ first new fictional era since the Disney acquisition.

In Animation, Waugh served as the Executive Producer and series developer on Star Wars: Visions Volumes 1 and 2, Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, LEGO Star Wars Terrifying Tales, LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation, Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures, Star Wars: Roll Out, Star Wars Galaxy of Creatures, and others in various stages of development and production.

Prior to joining Lucasfilm, Waugh served as the Sr. Director of Story & Creative Development at Blizzard Entertainment, leading the company’s Creative Development Department while overseeing narrative and IP for many of its cross-media blockbuster franchises. In the games-to-film space, Waugh spearheaded Blizzard’s development on projects with ABStudios and Legendary Films, and played a critical role in the development of Warcraft: The Beginning, the feature film directed by Duncan Jones.

For Star Wars, Waugh strives to build evocative content across media and pioneer new forms of storytelling.