Puck News reports Kathleen Kennedy is set to step down as Lucasfilm president by the end of the year:
"It’s happening: After years of speculation, and polite
urging from observers like me,
Kathleen Kennedy has informed Disney, as well as friends and associates, that she will exit as Lucasfilm president by the end of the year, per three sources. Disney and Kennedy’s personal publicist declined to comment.
Not a huge shock, of course. Kennedy will be 72 in June, and the legendary movie producer will have run Lucasfilm for 13 years as
George Lucas’s handpicked steward under Disney. Kathy was actually planning to leave last year, I’m told, and had even set up an exit interview with a journalist, but she decided to stay for one more year.
O.G. Puck readers know I’ve been
critical of Kennedy’s record at Lucasfilm. She gets credit for reinventing
Star Wars for streaming with
The Mandalorian, but the hit rate on Disney+ series has been low, especially considering the cost of those shows. And she effectively tossed the
Star Wars film franchise into a Death Star trash compactor with three high-grossing yet increasingly desperate and disjointed Skywalker movies, plus two spinoffs, and a parade of high-profile development that led to scrapped projects and disgruntled creatives. Ask a top creator about their experience working with Lucasfilm and you’ll likely get an earful: unclear direction, paralyzed decision-making, extreme aversion to creative risks yet also slavish devotion to a fan base that has become increasingly toxic. Not great.
Kennedy has been telegraphing her exit lately, selling her and husband
Frank Marshall’s Malibu house,
offloading art, and talking to friends about working with Frank more. She’s also been collecting career honors from everyone from the Austin Film Festival to the American Society of Cinematographers to this week’s
Oscar Wilde Awards in L.A. Departing this year will allow a successor to handle the 2026 release of
The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first
Star Wars movie since 2019’s
The Rise of Skywalker. This year she’s got only the second season of
Andor, which will likely be an Emmy contender (the
trailer looks good), and some kids’ stuff on Disney+.
Who might Disney film chief
Alan Bergman choose as Kennedy’s successor?
Dave Filoni would be the top internal candidate, I’d surmise, assuming
Jon Favreau has little interest. Who else? Let the speculation throughout the Hollywood galaxy begin."
After a mixed 13-year run, the legendary movie producer has informed Disney, as well as friends and associates, that she will exit as Lucasfilm president by the end of the year.
puck.news
www.hollywoodreporter.com
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