BREAKING NEWS: Kathleen Kennedy Will Retire And Step Down At Lucasfilm!!! For Real!!!

Yes, I know, you may be skeptical. But very reputable Hollywood trade newsletter Puck News (their newsletter and website have a paywall) broke the story earlier tonight, according to three of their sources Kathleen Kennedy will step down as Lucasfilm president and retire by the end of 2025. Major Hollywood trade magazines like The Hollywood Reporter are running the story as well, this time it’s apparently for real! Click through to read it all!!!

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According to Puck News Kennedy originally already wanted to step down at the end of 2024 and they even say she had already scheduled an exit interview with a journalist but for reasons unknown then decided (or it was decided) at the last minute to postpone her retirement until the end of 2025. 

But this time, at least according to Puck News, it’s for real. Various mainstream publications are already running the story as well, because Puck News is, as I said, a very reputable trade newsletter that has actual industry sources, these are not random YouTubers posting rumors. Here you can read the story posted on the website of The Hollywood Reporter, as one of the major Hollywood trade magazines they would not run the story if they believed it’s bogus!

Of course the big question now is… when Kennedy retires at the end of 2025… what does that mean for her pet project(s), mainly, the Rey movie? Will it be shelved? Is she already a lame duck? She really shouldn’t greenlight any major projects anymore when she’s on her way out. Did Disney ask her to stay one more year so they can find a replacement for her that can actually turn the ship around? And who is the most likely candidate for Lucasfilm president? I pray to the gods of entertainment that it will not be Dave Filoni. Maybe Jon Favreau? If he’s up for it? He’s more of a filmmaker and writer though. Who would you like to see as new Lucasfilm president?

I believe the timing is not coincidental, when Kennedy retires by the end of 2025 the marketing push for The Mandalorian & Grogu movie will not be impacted by Kennedy still wanting to make a Rey movie, in fact, the movie may get a boost, especially when the person chosen as her replacement is someone who has the support of the fans.

One word about Kennedy, as much as she was an acclaimed (co/associate) producer for countless Steven Spielberg movies and some of the most beloved movies of all time her tenure as Lucasfilm president was very mixed at best, under her reign all the OT characters were unceremoniously killed off. She greenlit The Acolyte. Under her reign Star Wars has declined greatly, to the point the shows on Disney+ now fail as well. She hired and fired too many people. She announced projects that never saw the light of day one too many times.
She killed and buried Willow for good, she oversaw production of one of the worst box office flops of all time, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, that only isn’t the biggest box office bomb of all time because The Marvels failed even harder. Then The Acolyte happened and Star Wars hit rock bottom on Disney+. Even much more positively received Skeleton Crew could not turn things around and in fact failed even harder than The Acolyte. Star Wars is in crisis mode. Nothing, literally, works anymore. In 2024 all shows flopped. In 2024 merchandise flopped. In 2024 the big AAA Star Wars video game flopped. Nothing works anymore.

Still, Kennedy also has many accomplishments and she is one of the most successful Hollywood movie producers ever. It is unfortunate that the past decade or so was marred by controversy, movies that upset fans, with a short relief provided by surprise hit The Mandalorian, one of her last real success stories. But ever since then it all went downhill. Her retirement is inevitable and the right decision. And she can save face, since she was not fired, but I never expected Disney to actually fire her publicly, they would always allow her to leave with some dignity intact.

The only real highlights of her Lucasfilm career are The Force Awakens, because it made money, Rogue One, the only really good movie she ever made as Lucasfilm president, and The Mandalorian. Especially in more recent times she went from one disaster to the next and she announced nonsense projects like the Rey movie that puzzled most people. My guess is the Rey movie is history now. It would be for the best. Star Wars needs a clean cut, a restart. And for that you need new and better people.

But to make one thing clear, replacing Kennedy is not “it”. For Star Wars to return to form Lucasfilm need to entirely rethink their approach, the new boss absolutely must not be the same as the old boss, to quote some old song, and there should be nothing sacred or “impossible”, the status of the sequels has to be discussed, since they will always be a major millstone that affect and potentially ruin everything. A Luke Skywalker Disney+ series… why bother when he becomes a suicidal loner hermit who molests innocent sea creatures and then dies from using the Force too much? Any sequel to the sequels must be shut down, whatever trilogies they are thinking about at Lucasfilm or Disney must not be connected to Rey or the sequels. And they have an easy way out with Dave Filoni’s “World Between Worlds”.

Star Wars needs to start from scratch and return to the drawing board. End the High Republic. End any and all plans Kennedy still had, especially that Rey movie, but the Mangold movie as well.  Maybe, if they are lucky, The Mandalorian movie will make bank and a few of his adventures can help fans pass the time, but they absolutely need a new massive trilogy of movies that has all the things people truly love about Star Wars and that also reaches new audiences without alienating the fans they still have.

And this is probably the very, very last chance the new Lucasfilm president will have to kindly ask George Lucas for some ideas and treatments they can use for future projects. And to be serious about it this time.

So merely replacing Kennedy will not solve any of the issues currently plaguing Star Wars. Star Wars needs a complete overhaul and new beginning. In fact, I believe Lucasfilm needs a proper house cleaning as well. Just replacing the boss will not be enough.

Share your thoughts in the comments! And while there is no offcial word from Lucasfilm or Disney yet (Puck News tried to get confirmation from them directly) chances are that this time it is actually real. After years and years of rumors Kennedy is on her way out.

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