Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has addressed recent reports suggesting her retirement in 2025. Earlier this week, Puck News claimed that the veteran film producer was set to retire at the end of her contract this year, having previously considered stepping down in 2024. While Variety reported a source close to Kennedy dismissing the story as "pure speculation," The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news.
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In response, Kennedy told Deadline that she is collaborating with Disney CEO Bob Iger on a succession plan after 13 years in the role. Star Wars Rebels creator and current Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni is reportedly in a "strong position" to succeed her. However, Kennedy firmly stated, "The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring."
She further emphasized her commitment to filmmaking, saying, "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."
While Kennedy confirmed that Lucasfilm plans to announce a succession strategy "months or a year down the road," she affirmed her continued involvement with the company. This includes her work on the upcoming Mandalorian movie and a Star Wars film directed by Shawn Levy of Deadpool & Wolverine fame.
Kennedy's comments suggest that while she is preparing to step down from her presidency at Lucasfilm, she is not leaving the company or the film industry. She remarked, "I’m not going to be here forever. 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."
Kathleen Kennedy at the launch of Disney+ Star Wars show The Acolyte. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Gett
Kennedy also refuted claims that she was being "pushed aside" or "in need of being replaced," calling such suggestions "absolutely not the case" and "could not be further from the truth." During her tenure, she has overseen the new sequel trilogy (Star Wars Episodes 7-9) and spearheaded the franchise's expansion into streaming with series like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte. While some projects like Star Wars: The Force Awakens were major successes, others have been divisive, with Solo: A Star Wars Story notably underperforming financially.
When asked directly by Deadline if she would step down as Lucasfilm boss this year, Kennedy replied that she didn’t know "at this stage," but assured it would be "100% my decision." She did not confirm whether Filoni would take over her role.
