Kathleen Kennedy to step down as Lucasfilm Director

After a career spanning more than 40 years as a producer and thirteen as president of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy has begun planning her retirement.

Sources told the Hollywood Reporter the executive intends to exit her role by the end of 2025. Kennedy began her professional life as a producer, working her way up through assistant roles to a place beside Steven Spielberg. She received her first credit as an associate producer for her role on Tobe Hooper’s “Poltergeist” in 1982.

Through the 1980s, Kennedy’s name appeared as a full producer, alongside those of Spielberg and George Lucas.

Kennedy joined Lucasfilm in 2012. Just a few months later, the company was sold to Disney, and Kennedy named Lucas’ successor as president.

During her tenure, Kennedy was most noted for expanding the “Star Wars” franchise. The studio released a sequel trilogy to the original “Star Wars” films, several spin-off pictures including “Rogue One” and “Solo,” and streaming series including “Andor” and “the Mandalorian.”

Other existing properties were also revived. A new Indiana Jones film — “the Dial of Destiny” — was released in 2023, marking the most recent installment of a series which Kennedy has helped to produce since its debut.

Kennedy’s legacy at Lucasfilm has been described as “mixed” in the film industry press. The new “Star Wars” trilogy was sometimes characterized as incoherent, while the wider reach the series found under Disney has threatened its status as a cult favorite.

At the same time, she is credited with building Lucasfilm into a sustainable business. When Lucas left the firm, it had no other directors of note, and a paper-thin development pipeline. As attested by the studio’s sometimes-blistering pace of releases over the last decade, none of which are credited to Lucas, this is no longer a significant issue.

Kennedy and Lucasfilms have yet to speak publicly about their plans. A successor has not yet been named.