Kathleen Kennedy announces departure from Lucasfilm after 14 years
Kathleen Kennedy has confirmed her departure from Lucasfilm, the production company behind Star Wars, after 14 years as president.
On January 15th, the Walt Disney Company revealed that Dave Filoni will step up and take on the reins as the president and chief creative officer of the Star Wars brand alongside Lynwen Brennan, who has been confirmed as co-president.
During Kennedy’s time as president of the film industry behemoth, she oversaw the return of Star Wars, which churned out five feature films during her tenure, including the highly lucrative sequel trilogy.
Additionally, Star Wars also branched out into standalone film territory with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Furthermore, Star Wars teamed up with Disney+ for the hit series, Andor and The Mandalorian.
Despite leaving her role at Lucasfilm, Kennedy is slated to remain involved in upcoming films, The Mandalorian and Grogu and Star Wars: Starfighter as a producer.
In a statement, Kennedy reflected on her time at the company, “When George Lucas asked me to take over Lucasfilm upon his retirement, I couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead.”
She continued, “It has been a true privilege to spend more than a decade working alongside the extraordinary talent at Lucasfilm. Their creativity and dedication have been an inspiration, and I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together.”
The film chief added of her own future, “I’m excited to continue developing films and television with both longtime collaborators and fresh voices who represent the future of storytelling.”
Meanwhile, Filoni said of taking over as president, “My love of storytelling was shaped by the films of Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas. I never dreamed I would be privileged to learn the craft of filmmaking from both of them.”
Brennan also stated of her new role as co-president, “I have been so fortunate to learn from George Lucas, Kathy Kennedy and Alan Bergman and have unwavering faith in Dave’s creative vision for the next chapter in this storied studio’s legacy.”
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