I know, another month and another rumour about Kathleen Kennedy exiting her position at Lucasfilm. I get it. It’s been a recycled story for the past four or five years and it’s tiresome. I completely agree and feel that way. However, this story is worth reporting on because of where it comes from.
Back in February it was first reported by Puck that Kathleen Kennedy had already planned to retire as Lucasfilm president by the end of 2025 – not to retire from filmmaking. Some of the Hollywood trades picked up and covered the report from Puck, which is something that has never happened before with the years of Kennedy leaving/getting fired rumours. Why? Because they’re usually from horrendous sources such as clickbait YouTubers and social media users and not from respected outlets or individuals.
Kennedy herself spoke on the reports later that month to confirm she wasn’t planning on retiring from filmmaking, that she had been succession planning with Bob Iger for quite some time over who will succeed her as Lucasfilm president, and that the announcement could arrive in mere months or up to a year from when she made her comments. I don’t know why some people decided to claim she shut down the reports, when she frankly did the opposite and you can read the her exact quote below.
“What’s happening at Lucasfilm is I have been talking for quite some time with Bob [Iger] and Alan [Horn] about what an eventual succession might look like. We have an amazing bench of people here [at Lucasfilm] and we have every intention of making an announcement months or a year down the road.” – Kathleen Kennedy
One of the journalists who covered the news from Puck was Jeff Sneider of TheInseider.com who actually shared in 2024 that he had heard that Kennedy would exit her post sometime in 2025. Sneider has now returned with an update on the situation.
According to Sneider, Kennedy “may be poised” to step down from her position at Lucasfilm this August. Sneider reaffirmed that though she’ll exit as Lucasfilm president, she will still help produce certain projects that have been greenlit and developed under her tenure. So, Star Wars: Starfighter releasing in May 2027 will have Kennedy listed as a producer, the Dawn of the Jedi movie from James Mangold (if it ever gets made) will have Kathleen Kennedy attached as a producer, as will any TV series she helped develop as Lucasfilm president.
I’ve seen some people in the past claim that Kennedy will secretly be the one in charge and operating from the shadows. She will not be. She will be active as a producer on projects that she personally helped develop, anything that’s greenlit and developed following her exit will be under whoever takes the position, which is rumoured to be Dave Filoni, possibly alongside a co-president just like the situation over at DC Studios with James Gunn and Peter Safran – one more creative and one more managerial/producer.
I sort of expected Kennedy to announce a planned exit, that she’ll leave in August for example, at Star Wars Celebration during The Mandalorian and Grogu panel, especially as she stood with Dave Filoni throughout the entire panel as guests came and went. It felt like it could’ve been the perfect passing of baton moment for the pair. Kennedy would’ve received a great response from those in attendance and they would’ve celebrated what she had achieved and given the fans, something she does deserve, and the roof would’ve blown off the place when it was announced that Filoni would’ve been announced as her successor. It feels like a missed opportunity.
I think it’s time for Kennedy to exit as president personally and I’m excited to see her get back to work as a producer, after all, she is undoubtedly one of the greatest producers of all time and I’d like to see what’s capable of away from Star Wars after dedicating so much of her life to a galaxy far, far away. It’s time for a new head for sure, but the grass isn’t always greener. I’m personally skeptical of a Filoni presidency, especially if he’ll be tackling the task solo, but I hope he proves my worries wrong and that he delivers.
Thank you for reading the article and if you enjoyed your read, or if you’re a regular reader of Bespin Bulletin then I kindly ask if you’d consider showing your support and appreciation by tipping me via my Ko-Fi page here, each tip is deeply appreciated or supporting my work via my Patreon page here. You can sign up to a mailing list below to receive an email each time I publish a new article and you if you’re not already doing so, follow me on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Blue Sky, and Threads
