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Kennedy's Relief: Stepping Down From Lucasfilm After 14 Years
1 Oct
Summary
- Kathleen Kennedy felt relief stepping down from Lucasfilm after 14 years.
- She cited the immense challenge of leading the Star Wars franchise.
- Kennedy highlighted relaunching the film franchise and Andor/Mandalorian.
Kathleen Kennedy recently shared that she felt a "bit of relief" upon stepping down from her 14-year leadership role at Lucasfilm in early 2026. Speaking at a Bloomberg event, she described the position, taken over from George Lucas, as an incredible challenge. Despite facing fan outrage and praise during her tenure, Kennedy identified relaunching the film franchise with 2015's The Force Awakens and developing acclaimed Disney+ series like Andor and The Mandalorian as her proudest achievements.
Kennedy acknowledged the difficulty of balancing the expectations of long-time fans with the need to create new, original content for the 50-year-old Star Wars universe. She also briefly touched upon removing directors, noting it was a rare occurrence. Her departure follows Disney's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. Now, Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan are leading Lucasfilm, while Kennedy returns to independent producing and is involved in an upcoming Star Wars movie.
Looking ahead to 2026, Kennedy voiced concerns about industry consolidation, particularly the merger of Paramount and Skydance, and the increasing integration of AI in Hollywood. She is actively engaging with new technologies and reconnecting with industry peers after being in the "Star Wars bubble."
