The news earlier this week that Kathleen Kennedy would step down as president of Lucasfilm at the end of 2025 came as a shock to “Star Wars” fans. And with the news came a flurry of questions: on whether Kennedy was ousted or will leave on her own volition; what her departure means for future “Star Wars” projects; and the complicated legacy Kennedy leaves behind, particularly the last five-plus years without a new “Star Wars” film in theaters.
Well, as it turns out, Kennedy isn’t leaving Lucasfilm after all, and she sat down with Deadline to set the record straight. In a new interview with the outlet, Kennedy denied the retirement reports but admitted she’d been talking to Disney’s Bob Iger and Alan Horn about who would succeed her as the Lucasfilm chief. The Lucasfilm President also suggested she would continue producing “Star Wars” films even if she passes the Lucasfilm reins onto someone else.
“The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring,” Kennedy told Deadline. “I will never retire from movies. I will die making movies. That is the first thing that’s important to say. I am not retiring. What’s happening at Lucasfilm is I have been talking for quite some time with both Bob and Alan about what eventual succession might look like. We have an amazing bench of people here, and we have every intention of making an announcement months or a year down the road. We are in lockstep as to what that’s going to be, and I am continuing.”
While three “Star Wars” films were announced at Star Wars Celebration 2023, movies to be directed by James Mangold, Dave Filoni, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, none of them are ready, and two more have jumped that queue entirely. One is Jon Favreau‘s “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” and Kennedy says the next film to come after that will be Shawn Levy‘s “Star Wars” movie set to star Ryan Gosling.
“I’m producing “Mandalorian” the movie right now, and I’m also producing Sean Levy’s movie, which is after that,” confirmed Kennedy. “So I’m continuing to stay at Lucasfilm and looking very thoughtfully with Bob and Alan as to who’s stepping in. So that is all underway, and we have every right to make that announcement when we want to make it.”
Kennedy also denied reports that she was pushed out, reiterating that succession plans have been in the works for a while. “It’s absolutely not the case,” said the Lucasfilm president. “It could not be further from the truth. And everything that we do inside of Lucasfilm is in lockstep and in communication with Disney. We all know what’s going on. The communication has been completely collaborative as you would expect. This is a big piece of business for them, and they want to empower me to help them make that decision and that choice. I’m doing that.”
So there it is: Kathleen Kennedy hasn’t been ousted from Lucasfilm. But Deadline had to clarify if Kennedy will indeed step down as the studio’s boss at the end of this year. “We really don’t know at this stage,” said Kennedy. “There’s so much going on. I don’t know.” And Kennedy also said whenever she does move on that it will be “100 percent my decision.” From the sounds of things, that won’t be until at least Jon Favreau and Shawn Levy’s films hit theaters, so expect Kennedy to still steer the “Star Wars” franchise for another couple of more years at least.
