This week Hollywood went into hyperdrive after a report said Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy would retire by year’s end. That led to speculation over who would replace her in one of the industry’s most high profile jobs. There was even some question as to whether or not she was leaving voluntarily or if Disney was pushing her out. Now, Kennedy has addressed that report head-on. Kathleen Kennedy says she is not retiring as the head of Star Wars just yet. She also said she’ll never stop making movies. But Kennedy said she’s had discussions with her bosses for a couple of years about who her eventual successor will be. And it sounds like even if she’s still Lucasfilm President in 2026, her tenure at the helm of Star Wars is ultimately getting close to the end.
“The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring. 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.” That’s what Kennedy told Deadline‘s Mike Fleming Jr. about the report she’s stepping down as the leader of the Star Wars franchise and Lucasfilm this year. Instead, she says she has long talked with very supportive superiors, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger and the company’s Co-Chairman Alan Bergman, about who will take over for her… eventually.
Kennedy wouldn’t confirm if any one candidate is the favorite to be next in charge of Star Wars’ world as Lucasfilm’s next president. But she did say the studio has “a bench of people internally to handle the business, the creative side.”
She might name her successor relatively soon, too. While Kathleen Kennedy is focused on producing both The Mandalorian movie and Shawn Levy’s Star Wars film, she said an announcement about when she will step down is probably “months or a year out.” Even when that happens, though, she said, “I have every intention of sticking around to help that person be successful.”
Kathleen Kennedy’s time leading Star Wars is not over, but it is getting close to the end. And even then, she’s not really leaving, which is fitting for a franchise where “no one’s ever really gone.”