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Kathleen Kennedy has spoken out, denying reports she’s about to retire from Lucasfilm and Star Wars. The last few days have seen a buzz of excitement after reports Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is set to retire. Now, though, Kennedy has spoken out to set the record straight – although her word choice is notably very careful.
Speaking to Deadline, Kennedy insisted she is not retiring – and that all that is being reported is succession planning.
“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 Mandalorian the movie right now, and I’m also producing Sean 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.”
Kennedy refuses to speak out about who her eventual replacement will be, but insists there is no behind-the-scenes “chaos.” “George asked me 13 years ago to step in, and now I’m looking at who’s going to replace me,” she noted. “We have a bench of people internally to handle the business, the creative side. The job has grown also since I stepped in. There was no streaming, there weren’t a lot of the things that we’re involved in right now going on. So it has grown.” She added that she would probably make formal announcements “months or a year out,” and that she would be remaining in a supporting role.