Kathleen Kennedy Officially Exits Lucasfilm

It’s expected and now it’s official – Kathleen Kennedy has announced she is stepping down as the president of Lucasfilm after 14 years.

Kennedy’s retirement is effective as of today and marks a major change to one of the biggest IPs in the world. As part of her exit, she will continue on as a producer on both “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and “Star Wars: Starfighter” films.

Her exit has been rumoured for more than a year now, but reports picked up major steam almost two weeks ago, which indicated Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan will take over as the new co-presidents of Lucasfilm.

Those reports have now proven accurate, with Filoni set to handle the creative direction of the company while Brennan will handle the business side. Filoni and Brennan will report to Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman. In a statement, Kennedy says:

““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. Their creativity and dedication have been an inspiration, and I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together. I’m excited to continue developing films and television with both longtime collaborators and fresh voices who represent the future of storytelling.”

Kennedy is expected to continue producing films, now outside of Lucasfilm. Her non-Lucasfilm producing credits include movies such as “The Sixth Sense” and “Lincoln”, with her movies racking up eight Best Picture Oscar nominations.

It’s expected that with Kennedy’s exit, the company will move ahead with more “Star Wars” projects after being in something of a holding patten in recent years.

Source: StarWars.com