Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has responded to reports that she is set to retire later in 2025.
Earlier this week, Puck News claimed the veteran film producer was looking to retire at the end of her contract this year. Additionally, Puck claimed Kennedy previously considered retiring in 2024, but decided to hold off on making a decision.
While Variety reported that a source close to Kennedy called Puck’s story “pure speculation,” The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the report.
Now, Kennedy has responded herself. According to Deadline, Kennedy is working with Disney boss Bob Iger on a succession plan 13 years into the job, with Star Wars Rebels creator and current Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni apparently in a “strong position” to take on the role. However, she insisted: “The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring.”
“I will never retire from movies,” she continued. “I will die making movies. That is the first thing that’s important to say. I am not retiring.”
While Kennedy confirmed that Lucasfilm has “every intention of making an announcement months or a year down the road” on an eventual succession, she is “continuing to stay at Lucasfilm.” That involves producing the upcoming Mandalorian movie and a Star Wars film from Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy.
It sounds like plans are very much in the works for Kennedy to step down from her current role as president of Lucasfilm, but that doesn’t mean she is leaving the company behind or retiring from the movie business.
“I’m not going to be here forever,” she said. “George [Lucas] asked me 13 years ago to step in, and now I’m looking at who’s going to replace me. And as I said, we have a bench of people internally to handle the business, the creative side. The job has grown also since I stepped in. There was no streaming, there weren’t a lot of the things that we’re involved in right now going on. So it has grown.”
Kennedy also denied she was being “pushed aside” or “in need of being replaced,” insisting that was “absolutely not the case” and “could not be further from the truth.” Her tenure includes overseeing a new sequel trilogy that comprises Star Wars Episodes 7-9, as well as the start of Star Wars’ streaming era that includes The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte. While some films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens were blockbuster hits, other projects have proven divisive, and some, such as Solo: A Star Wars Story, lost money.
Deadline asked Kennedy point blank whether she will step down as Lucasfilm boss this year, and she replied to say she didn’t know “at this stage,” but confirmed it would be “100% my decision.” Kennedy wouldn’t say whether Filoni was in-line for the top job.
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
