With reports now circulating about Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy’s departure from the home of theStar Warsfranchise later this year, the reason for her stepping down has already become a subject of speculation - though it’s actually very simple and understandable. Kennedy has been in her presidential role at Lucasfilm ever since 2012, and her tenure has certainly been controversial, mostly due to Disney’s acquisition of the franchise at the time of her appointment.
Unfortunately, Kennedy has long since been on the receiving end of intense negativity fromStar Warsfans for years, but this has never deterred her - not even when things got very bad after the release ofStar Wars: The Last Jediin 2017. This news of her somewhat sudden departure has thus become even more of a shock for many people.Why is Kennedy stepping away now?Thankfully, it has little to do with any specific negativity, and more to do with the next phase of Kennedy’s own life.
Kathleen Kennedy Is Ready To Retire
She’s Been A Part Of Lucasfilm For A Long Time
Kennedy has been a part of Lucasfilm, and the greater industry, for a long time.At the age of 72, Kennedy is simply ready to retireand put her working life withStar Warsbehind her. This is completely understandable;George Lucas was 68 when he decided to sell Lucasfilm, and thusStar Wars, to Disney and move on to a life of retirement.
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Kennedy has been putting in the work for a long time, weathering some tough storms during her tenure, and I think it’s more than deserved that she gets to pass the torch now. The topic of her potential successors is a whole other discussion, but that’s likely already been lined up or is currently being determined to allow Kennedy to enter her new era of life. In fact,Kennedy has reportedly already been waiting long enough, and longer than originally planned.
Sources Claim She’d Originally Planned To Leave Last Year
But Plans Changed For Star Wars In 2024
Various sources that are currently reporting about Kennedy’s Lucasfilm departure insist that Kennedy actually planned on leaving last year, and that she even had an exit interview scheduled, but she ultimately decided to hold off. There could be plenty of reasons why that is, especially because ofthe controversial yearStar Warshad in 2024. Leaving right aroundThe Acolyte’s cancelation, for example, would have unnecessarily tainted her own legacy.
Leaving right around The Acolyte’s cancelation, for example, would have unnecessarily tainted her own legacy.
That potential reasoning alone makes it easy to understand why Kennedy decided to hold off on retiring until this year. WithStar WarsCelebration Japanset to take place in just two months' time,it’s likely that Kennedy will formally announce her retirement there, and perhaps even announce her successor. That event, however, will also be doing much more for theStar Warsfranchise, which also explains why this is an understandable timeframe for Kennedy’s Lucasfilm departure.
Star Wars Is About To Be Relaunched For A New Era
This Is The Perfect Time For New Leadership, Too
It’s very clear thatStar Warsis setting itself up for a relaunch that will be described in greater detail at this year’sStar WarsCelebration. This is because, afterAndorseason 2premieres in April of this year, there will be noupcomingStar WarsTV showsaside fromAhsokaseason 2 - not in live-action or animation.Celebration has the chance to announce all these new TV projects, likely under a brand-new model that works forStar Wars, though a big focus will be on movies, too.
The nextStar Warsproject to release afterAndorseason 2, as of right now, is 2026’sThe Mandalorian and Grogumovie, the firstStar Warsmovie to hit theaters since 2019’sStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.This movie is clearly acting as a brand-new launching pad for the franchise, similarly to how the debut ofThe Mandaloriandid the same forStar Warsin regard to TV. AsStar Warsprepares to reset itself in such a way, it makes sense that its leadership does the same.
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Things are lining up well for Kennedy to make her departure and enjoy a life of retirement beyondStar Wars. She has left quite the legacy behind her, and although some may focus on the negativity and the controversy, there’s also so much good Kennedy contributed to Lucasfilmduring her tenure. After all, it was under her leadership that we got belovedStar Warsmovies and TV shows likeRogue One: A Star Wars Story,The Mandalorian,Andor, and the completion ofStar Wars: The Clone Wars- with more still to come.
