Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy may be retiring by the end of this year, according to reports. The news was first reported by Puck, but industry trades like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter have since shared the same reports.
It should be noted, however, that some of these reports are decidedly less concrete than Puck’s original newsletter. That article suggested that Kennedy had actually planned to retire last year, even going so far as to line up an exit interview with journalists, before deciding to stay for one more year. The report noted that Kennedy has already informed Disney executives, friends, and associates. But Variety, in corroborating Puck’s reporting saying sources indicate Kennedy will retire, also shared from another source close to Kennedy that it is all “pure speculation” at this point and nothing has been decided. CNN seemed to hear similar, with their report quoting a source saying “there’s nothing there right now” and that an announcement would be made when “actual decisions are made”.
As we would expect given all of this, Disney and Lucasfilm representatives have yet to make any comments on the situation.
All of which is to say that it sounds increasingly likely that Kennedy, who will turn 72 this summer, is eyeing retirement very soon, and that could very well happen this year to coincide with the end of her current contract. But until it’s publicly announced (which, if happening, could come at Celebration), we should treat this as a rumor – one with plenty of smoke, but not yet confirmed.
If the end of Kennedy’s tenure running Lucasfilm is coming to a close – and, given her age, we’ve long known it was sure to be coming at some point – it will mark the end of a significant chapter in the company’s history and put them at one of their most significant and defining crossroads.
Kennedy was hand-picked by longtime friend George Lucas to take his company into the future. She was hired by Lucas as co-chair of Lucasfilm in the summer of 2012, and when Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney in October 2012 Kennedy took over as President. At the time she was already one of the most respected filmmakers in Hollywood, having worked on movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and Indiana Jones, among others. She was a co-founder of Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall, and later went on to found The Kennedy/Marshall Company with Marshall. Kennedy was a home run hire for George Lucas, bringing in someone with extensive credibility within the industry, impressive filmmaking track record, and significant experience running production companies.
As Lucasfilm President, Kennedy’s tenure has been divisive for the Star Wars fanbase but has unquestionably delivered results. She led Star Wars back to the box office for a brand new era with The Force Awakens, which grossed over $2 billion and remains one of the highest-grossing movies in history. She produced the first ever Star Wars spin-off live-action movie in Rogue One, a daring new step for the franchise that paid wonderful returns, grossing over $1 billion at the box office and spawning the critically-acclaimed series Andor, which Kennedy also produced. The Last Jedi ($1.334 billion) and The Rise of Skywalker ($1.077 billion) both did well at the box office too, though Solo ($393.3 million) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($384 million) disappointed.
Kennedy also led Star Wars into the streaming era with The Mandalorian, which she produced and which became a pop culture phenomenon and has created a whole series of shows and, soon movies. Further shows including The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, The Acolye, Skeleton Crew, and the aforementioned Andor have kept Star Wars very active, and she even brought back the return of George Lucas’s lesser-known world with a Willow series.
Beyond the screen, Kennedy’s tenure at Lucasfilm has seen the launch of the Galaxy’s Edge theme park at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, as well as further advances in the filmmaking industry thanks to Industrial Light & Magic and related ventures. The President of Lucasfilm not only runs the studio that makes Star Wars but also runs one of Hollywood’s leading visual effects companies, one of the leading sound companies, and more. It’s all part of the legacy left behind by George Lucas.
Kennedy’s tenure has not been all smooth sailing, however, as several well-known setbacks and dilemmas with projects have made development especially tricky for the franchise. Based on this, and varied reception to the projects, Kennedy has been the frequent subject of attacks from fans online. While some of it has been justified, a lot of it seems to be from people who either don’t know what a producer does or simply don’t like modern Star Wars.
But because of this, the person who steps into the chair after Kennedy, whenever it happens, will have at the same time one of the most attractive jobs in Hollywood and one of the least enviable. A segment of the fanbase was notoriously critical of George Lucas when he ran the studio, and a segment of the fanbase was notoriously critical of Kathleen Kennedy when she’s been running the studio. In other words: it’s not just her. It’s something that comes with the position. Whenever the day comes that she does step down from Lucasfilm, it will mark a very important crossroads for the company, and along with it, the Star Wars franchise. And when that day does come, Kennedy should be celebrated for her contributions, the ways Star Wars has grown into a new era, and her incredibly impressive lifetime track record in Hollywood.
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