Kathleen Kennedy Addresses Retirement Rumors, Reveals Star Wars Succession Strategy

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has addressed recent reports about her potential retirement in 2025. Earlier this week, Puck News suggested that the veteran film producer planned to retire at the end of her contract this year, having previously considered stepping down in 2024. However, while Variety dismissed the story as "pure speculation," The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the report.

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20 ImagesKennedy herself has now responded to these claims. According to Deadline, 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."

"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."

Kennedy confirmed that Lucasfilm intends to make an announcement "months or a year down the road" about her eventual successor, but emphasized that she is "continuing to stay at Lucasfilm." Her ongoing projects include producing the upcoming Mandalorian movie and a Star Wars film directed by Shawn Levy, known for Deadpool & Wolverine.

While Kennedy is planning to step down from her position as president of Lucasfilm, she is not leaving the company or retiring from the film industry. "I’m not going to be here forever," she explained. "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/Getty Images for Disney.Kennedy also refuted any suggestions that she was being "pushed aside" or "in need of being replaced," stating that such claims were "absolutely not the case" and "could not be further from the truth." Her tenure has included overseeing the new sequel trilogy (Star Wars Episodes 7-9) and the launch of Star Wars' streaming era, which encompasses shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte. While some films such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens were major successes, others have been divisive, and projects like Solo: A Star Wars Story incurred financial losses.

When asked directly by Deadline if she would step down as Lucasfilm boss this year, Kennedy replied that she did not know "at this stage," but emphasized that any decision would be "100% my decision." She remained non-committal about whether Filoni would take over her role.