Kathleen Kennedy Responds to Reports She’s Resigning From Lucasfilm

Kathleen Kennedy has responded to rumours that she will be stepping down from the role of President of Lucasfilm in an interview with Deadline. 

When asked directly, she said “The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring. I will never retire from movies. I will die making movies. That is the first thing that’s important to say. I am not retiring. What’s happening at Lucasfilm is I have been talking for quite some time with both Bob and Alan 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. 

“We are in lockstep as to what that’s going to be, and I am continuing. I’m producing the Mandalorian movie right now, and I’m also producing Shawn Levy’s movie, which is after that. So I’m continuing to stay at Lucasfilm and looking very thoughtfully with Bob and Alan as to who’s stepping in. So that is all underway, and we have every right to make that announcement when we want to make it.”

This comes after a story in Puck News claimed that the 71-year-old producer would be stepping down at the end of 2025 to go into retirement. 

Kennedy also explained that Levy’s movie would take place 5 or so years after ‘Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker’, and confirmed that Simon Kinberg is working on a trilogy that is also set after ‘The Rise of Skywalker’. 

The next ‘Star Wars’ movie to come out will be ‘The Mandalorian And Grogu’, which releases on May 22, 2026.