There have been rumors for some time about Kathleen Kennedy, the longtime president of Lucasfilm, possibly leaving Disney. However, recent reports suggesting that Kennedy plans to retire at the end of her contract may be premature.
Kennedy, who is 71, is expected to step down as president of Lucasfilm before the end of 2025. Several news outlets have echoed this claim. However, a source familiar with the matter told another outlet that there is currently no truth to these rumors and that any official retirement announcement would be made once a final decision is made.
Kennedy joined Lucasfilm in 2012 as co-chair alongside George Lucas. After Disney’s $4 billion acquisition of the company, she became president once Lucas parted ways with the company.
She has been credited with revitalizing the “Star Wars” franchise, helping to launch the recent trilogy. While the three films of the sequel trilogy were box-office successes, their returns began to decline, with 2015’s “The Force Awakens” making over $936 million, followed by 2018’s “The Last Jedi” with $620 million, and 2019’s “Rise of Skywalker” pulling in $515 million. However, these movies still earned more at the domestic box office than the original prequel films.
Under Kennedy’s leadership, Lucasfilm released one “Star Wars” film per year from 2015 to 2019, but not all of them met with success. The 2016 film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was praised by critics and grossed over $532 million, while 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” made just $213 million, becoming the first “Star Wars” movie to lose money.
With the decline in box-office returns, Lucasfilm shifted focus to streaming, debuting the first season of “The Mandalorian” on Disney+ in November 2019. Since then, the company has released multiple live-action series, including additional seasons of “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Ahsoka.”
While not all of the series have been met with acclaim—such as the one-season, mixed-reviewed “The Acolyte”—Lucasfilm recently released a trailer for the highly anticipated second season of “Andor,” which will premiere on Disney+ on April 22.
In 2024, Lucasfilm also announced that it would be working on a feature film from “The Mandalorian” series, titled “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” marking the company’s first movie release since 2019.
