After more than a decade in a galaxy far, far away, Kathleen Kennedy is charting a course toward retirement. The Lucasfilm boss has told associates she plans to retire by the end of 2025, Puck reported Monday night.
Reps for Kennedy and Lucasfilm were not immediately available for comment.
Kennedy joined Lucasfilm in 2012 as co-chair alongside Star Wars creator George Lucas, and a few months later took the reins after Disney paid $4 billion for the company and Lucas exited.
She relaunched the franchise, beginning with J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), which grossed more than $2 billion globally and reinvigorated the property as a big screen brand. Disney released a Star Wars film every year from 2015-2019 and then took a pause following Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, which received a mixed response and earned just half of what Force Awakens had brought in just a few years earlier.
As Lucasfilm boss, Kennedy held one of the most visible and scrutinized jobs in Hollywood, and it was not always smooth sailing. She fired Chris Lord and Phil Miller as directors of Solo: A Star Wars Story in the middle of production. (The film went on to be the first Star Wars movie to lose money theatrically.) She also sidelined Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards, replacing him with Tony Gilroy, who was brought on to oversee reshoots. (The film became a $1 billion hit). Other projects were promised that never materialized, such as Rian Johnson’s trilogy, and another one overseen by Game of Thrones showrunners D.B. Benioff and David Weiss. Daisy Ridley’s upcoming return to Star Wars has been languishing in development since being announced to fanfare almost two yaers ago.
But even as Star Wars struggled to return to the big screen, the franchise found newfound life on Disney+, with The Mandalorian launching in November 2019 along with the streaming service. It became a breakout hit, spawning multiple spinoffs, including the critically acclaimed Andor, which returns for a second season in April, as well multiple shows that failed to hit the zeitgeist and sparked worries of diluting the Star Wars brand.
Coming up, Lucasfilm has The Mandalorian and Grogu from director Jon Favreau due out May 22, 2026 as the first big screen outing for the franchise since Rise of Skywalker.
Kennedy’s storied career includes work with Steven Spielberg and husband Frank Marshall, with collaborations including Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Gremlins (1984), The Color Purple (1985), The Goonies (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and the Back to the Future trilogy (1985-1990) and the Indiana Jones films, which concluded with last year’s Dial of Destiny. In all, she has produced or executive produced more than 70 films and been nominated for eight Oscars.
The news comes ahead of April’s Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo, where the future of the Star Wars franchise is expected to be unveiled.
