Kathleen Kennedy chats potential Lucasfilm replacements & departure timeline

When it was announced earlier this week that Kathleen Kennedy would be stepping down as president of Lucasfilm – a position she has held since 2012 – the news was met in more or less the manner you’d expect. But there was also a lot of speculation: What happened? Who is taking over? What the hell species if Yoda anyway? Now, Kennedy is here to answer the questions – well, most of them…

Speaking with Deadline in what feels like an urgent interview, Kathleen Kennedy assured the industry that she isn’t retiring but simply stepping away from Lucasfilm. So where does that leave the position? “What’s happening at Lucasfilm is I have been talking for quite some time with both Bob [Iger] and Alan [Bergman] about what eventual succession might look like. We have an amazing bench of people here, and we have every intention of making an announcement months or a year down the road…”

Right now, much attention has turned to the likes of Dave Filoni, who serves as CCO at Lucasfilm and who has a strong relationship with Kathleen Kennedy. Expectedly, Kennedy is sidestepping such rumors at this point. “I can’t say who it is because there’s just an internal process that goes on inside a large corporation and a publicly held company, as to how we go about making deals, finalizing decisions and making announcements. There’s nothing unusual about that, and we’re in that process.”

Kathleen Kennedy also insisted that she would be sticking with the projects she is currently involved with at Lucasfilm, name-checking both The Mandalorian & Grogu and Shawn Levy’s planned installment in the Star Wars universe. Kennedy’s confirmation of this – as well as her unwillingness to say whether or not 2025 will be the year of her departure – points that she still has some time left at the company.

Kathleen Kennedy has no doubt been a vital figure in the world of Star Wars and there’s something to be said about more than a dozen years in the position. The issue many are trying to grasp right now is just how sudden it seemed, something even those that dislike her contributions were shocked by. But as Kennedy points out, she is not being forced out of Lucasfilm. “Is absolutely not the case. It could not be further from the truth. And everything that we do inside of Lucasfilm is in lockstep and in communication with Disney. We all know what’s going on. The communication has been completely collaborative as you would expect. This is a big piece of business for them, and they want to empower me to help them make that decision and that choice. I’m doing that.”

What do you make of Kathleen Kennedy’s exit from Lucasfilm? What is the most immediate impact the departure will make?

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