A late-night shocker from Matt Belloni’s Puck newsletter — Kathleen Kennedy will step down as President of Lucasfilm by the end of the year, after more than 10 years at the top of the company.
According to the report, Kennedy had planned to step down by the end of 2024 (when her contract was also up), and had even set up an exit interview with a reporter, but eventually decided to stay for one more year. Three sources are telling Belloni that she has already informed Disney, as well as friends and associates. Both Disney and Kennedy’s personal publicist declined comment to Belloni. We have reached out to Lucasfilm, but will probably not hear back given the hour.
There is no information on succession as of yet. The official confirmation will probably wait, but other Hollywood trades might pick it up in the coming hours.
Kennedy assumed the role of head of the company after George Lucas decided to sell to the Walt Disney Company on October 30, 2012. She has overseen the entire machinery since then, including six theatrical feature films, five Star Wars movies and a fifth and final Indiana Jones adventure, as well as the release of many live-action series on Disney Plus and the production of several others that will be coming out soon.
Kennedy’s 10 years at Lucasfilm were marked by her collaboration with several filmmakers, from bringing on JJ Abrams to make the $2-billion-grosser The Force Awakens, which saw the return of the main cast from the original films, to Rian Johnson to make the divisive The Last Jedi. She also brought Tony Gilroy to the Rogue One set to help the team correct the course of the film, and eventually partnered with him to make Andor for Disney Plus.
She also hired Jon Favreau and paired him up with Dave Filoni to make The Mandalorian and set up an entire hub of live-action shows in the New Republic era. However, there have also been major setbacks, including the creative overhaul of Solo mere weeks away from completing principal photography with one set of directors, or the announcement of around a dozen film projects that were ultimately scrapped or reworked significantly because of creative differences between studio and filmmakers.
In November 2024, it was reported that Kathleen Kennedy had brought filmmaker Simon Kinberg to write and produce a new trilogy of theatrical feature films that would push the narrative of the franchise into the future. No details have been revealed, but the reports seem to indicate that they will take place in the era after The Rise of Skywalker. Kennedy will still be producing those movies, in addition to every other Lucasfilm project that is currently in the works.
Kinberg’s movies join a full slate of films also in development, as well as the forthcoming The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is currently in post-production and will be ready for release on May 22, 2026. Shawn Levy’s movie is also reportedly set to go in front of the cameras later this year, and is currently circling Ryan Gosling to star. James Mangold is co-writing and directing a new movie set 25,000 years before The Phantom Menace. Dave Filoni is directing a film that will culminate all storylines so far in the New Republic era. And Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will direct Daisy Ridley’s return as Rey in a new film that was originally announced to take place 15 years after Palpatine’s final defeat.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as movies from Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
