Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy May Be Retiring Later This Year

Kathleen Kennedy, one of the most prolific and successful producers in modern Hollywood history, may be retiring at the end of this year. For the past decade-plus, she’s been the president of Lucasfilm where she–for better and worse–helped usher Star Wars into the 21st century with a new trilogy, spinoffs, and a burgeoning television slate. Now, however, that all may be coming to an end.

The news broke early Tuesday morning via Puck News, who framed the reporting as specifically Kennedy retiring from the position, rather than being ousted in one form or another. Puck News further alleges that Kennedy had previously considered retiring sometime in 2024, going as far as to set up a potential exit interview in the press, but eventually decided to pause the decision for another year. io9 reached out to Lucasfilm for comment but hadn’t heard back as of publication.

In 2012, before Lucasfilm was sold to Disney, Kennedy was hand-picked by George Lucas to shepherd the studio in its new and unprecedented era. In the years since, Kennedy brought the franchise back in ways both good and bad. She, of course, had massive success with The Mandalorian, Rogue One, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but also has been criticized for releasing too much too soon, not being adventurous enough with the projects that do make it to screens while leaving a swath of announced products in various states of uncertain limbo, and, especially in more recent years, failing to convincingly navigate Lucasfilm through the culture war that Star Wars has often found itself a part of, leaving cast and crew to fend for themselves.

So no, it was not always smooth sailing. On the other hand, it’s impossible to deny the successes Kennedy has helped bring in during her tenure as Lucasfilm’s president–helping to craft new characters like Grogu and Rey that have become beloved by generations of fans new and old, bringing back stars like Ewan McGregor and Temuera Morrison, or pushing for one of Star Wars‘ greatest modern successes in Andor. Because even when she missed, Kennedy was doing what she felt the fans wanted.

Of course, before becoming the queen of Star Wars, Kennedy enjoyed a long career as a blockbuster producer. She got her start working alongside Frank Marshall and Steven Spielberg on Raiders of the Lost Ark and stayed on that path, working with them and others on everything from The Goonies and Back to the Future, to Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and the rest of the Indiana Jones films.

If Kennedy is retiring, the question becomes, who steps in? Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has long fancied himself a bigger Star Wars fan than a Marvel fan so, maybe he’d see this as a chance to jump ship. Internally, Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau–who’ve been the main creative forces at the studio in recent years, marked by Filoni’s own ascension to the position of Chief Creative Officer in late 2023–both seem like good guesses. The executive team also has a plethora of experienced talent up and down the list, from president of business Lynwen Brennan, to longtime producer and current executive vice-president Carrie Beck and others.

Whoever takes over though will join at a key moment in Star Wars history. In the time since Disney took over the franchise, we’re currently in the longest drought of big-screen Star Wars films to date with the next one, The Mandalorian and Grogu, still over a year away. After that, films spread all across the Star Wars timeline are reportedly in the works but nothing is set in stone. This is a crossroads, not just because of where Star Wars is going, but because its latest captain may finally be stepping down. With all eyes on Star Wars Celebration in just a few month to give us a vision of Star Wars‘ future at this crossroads from a creative standpoint, it wouldn’t be surprising if we hear more about Kennedy’s own future in more certain terms soon.

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