Kathleen Kennedy, steward of 'Star Wars,' steps down from Lucasfilm
[January 16, 2026]
By JAKE COYLE
After more than 13 years at the helm of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy is
stepping down from the “Star Wars” factory founded by George Lucas.
The Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday that it will now turn to Dave
Filoni to steer “Star Wars,” as president and chief creative officer,
into its sixth decade and beyond. Filoni, who served as the chief
commercial officer of Lucasfilm, will inherit the mantle of one of the
movies marquee franchises, alongside Lynwen Brennan, president and
general manager of Lucasfilm’s businesses, who will serve as
co-president.
“When George Lucas asked me to take over Lucasfilm upon his retirement,
I couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead,” said Kennedy. “It has been a
true privilege to spend more than a decade working alongside the
extraordinary talent at Lucasfilm."
Kennedy, Lucas’ handpicked successor, had presided over the
ever-expanding science-fiction world of “Star Wars” since Disney
acquired it in 2012. In announcing Thursday's news, Bob Iger, chief
executive officer of the Walt Disney Co. called her “a visionary
filmmaker.”
Kennedy oversaw a highly lucrative but often contentious period in “Star
Wars” history that yielded a blockbuster trilogy and acclaimed streaming
spinoffs such as “The Mandalorian” and “Andor,” yet found increasing
frustration from longtime fans.
Under Kennedy’s stewardship, Lucasfilm amassed more than $5.6 billion in
box office and helped establish Disney+ as a streaming destination —
achievements that easily validated the $4.05 billion Disney plunked down
for the company. But Kennedy also struggled to deliver the big-screen
magic that Lucas captured in the original trilogy from the late 1970s
and early 1980s, and her relationship with “Star Wars” loyalists became
a saga of its own.
Filoni has established himself almost entirely on the small screen,
entering the franchise with the animated series “Star Wars: The Clone
Wars” and creating the tepidly received Disney+ series “Ahsoka.” Filoni,
who first collaborated with Lucas on “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” has
also been an executive producer on “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba
Fett” and “Skeleton Crew.”
Both will report to Alan Bergman, Disney Entertainment co-chairman.
“From Rey to Grogu, Kathy has overseen the greatest expansion in Star
Wars storytelling on-screen that we have ever seen,” said Filoni. “I am
incredibly grateful to Kathy, George, Bob Iger, and Alan Bergman for
their trust and the opportunity to lead Lucasfilm in this new role,
doing a job I truly love. May the Force be with you.”
Before joining Lucasfilm, Kennedy was one of Hollywood’s most successful
producers ever. In 1981, she co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven
Spielberg and her eventual husband, Frank Marshall. She produced “E.T.,”
“Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Jurassic Park” and the “Back to
the Future” trilogy.
[to top of second column]
|
Kathleen Kennedy, winner of the BAFTA Fellowship, poses with her
award backstage at the BAFTA Film Awards in central London, Feb. 2,
2020. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File)
 At Lucasfilm, her biggest hit came
at the start, with 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The J.J.
Abrams-directed film grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. But the
subsequent installment, Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” (2017), was
bitterly divisive. The third film, Abrams’ “The Rise of Skywalker”
(2019), was widely panned by critics and fans, alike.
After “The Rise of Skywalker,” “Star Wars” went dark on the big
screen despite a litany of announced projects. The dry spell is set
to be broken in May by Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian & Grogu.” The
intervening years have been marked by streaming successes in “The
Mandalorian” and “Andor,” but the future of “Star Wars” has felt
increasingly uncertain.
Struggles over tone and vision have been frequent. The 2018 Han Solo
spinoff “Solo: A Star Wars Story” saw its directors, Phil Lord and
Christopher Miller, fired during production and replaced by Ron
Howard. Most found the mixed-and-matched result blandly
disappointing.
More recently, Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the most
recent “Star Wars” trilogy,” divulged to The Associated Press last
year that he and Steven Soderbergh had developed a Ben Solo film
with Kennedy and Lucasfilm’s support for two years before Disney
chief Bob Iger nixed it. Fans were so irate that a plane was flown
over Disney’s Burbank studios with a banner reading “Save ‘The Hunt
for Ben Solo.’”
Instead, the only “Star Wars” movie of Kennedy’s stewardship to win
widespread and prevailing approval from fans was arguably 2016’s
“Rogue One.” Gareth Edwards’ spinoff was also a troubled production,
leading to Tony Gilroy, eventual creator of “Andor,” overseeing
reshoots. Yet despite that, “Rogue One” — taking place within “Star
Wars” but outside of the main Jedi storyline — might be the only
film of Kennedy’s “Star Wars” reign that managed to both stay true
to the space odyssey’s tone and to break new ground.
Kennedy's fingerprints will be on many of coming “Star Wars”
projects for years to come. That includes Shawn Levy's “Star Wars:
Starfighter,” with Ryan Gosling, due out in May 2027, and a fleet of
other projects in various stages of development.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
