Kathleen Kennedy Reportedly Retiring From Lucasfilm This Year

In the past few years, one of the biggest franchises in the world, Star Wars, has suffered from a decline in interest from the general public.  When Disney brought Lucasfilm from George Lucas in 2012, it went about bringing the franchise to a wider audience with new projects, including new themed lands at its theme parks, a themed hotel and plenty of new films and shows for fans to enjoy.

Disney had excellent box office success with some of its movies like “The Force Awakens”, “The Last Jedi”, “The Rise Of Skywalker” and “Rogue One”, which all pulled in over a billion dollars at the box office.   It also used the franchise to launch its new streaming service, Disney+, with the first-ever live-action series, “The Mandalorian”. 

However, mixed with the success, there have been some big failures, as Disney executives pushed Lucasfilm to create more and more content for Disney+ to boost subscription and viewership growth.   Over the years, the Star Wars brand was pushed too far, with the overall quality of many of its projects suffering, resulting in multiple backlashes from fans over Disney+ shows like “The Acolyte” and “The Book Of Boba Fett”, and the general lack of a plan in the sequel trilogy.

There have also been other failures, such as the Star Wars Galactic Cruiser-themed hotel in Walt Disney World, which closed down after just 18 months, the ill-fated “Willow” revival Disney+ series, and the latest Indiana Jones movie also bombed at the box office.

Other issues within Lucasfilm include a lack of being able to deliver many of the projects announced to fans at various events, with almost a dozen films and shows failing to ever get off the ground. 

There has also been lots of negativity surrounding some of the decisions she’s made about

All of these failures have put a lot of attention on the leadership of Lucasfilm President, Kathleen Kennedy.  Who many blame for most of the problems within the studio, who has been in charge of Lucasfilm since 2012 following Disney’s purchase.

According to a new report from Puck , Kathleen Kennedy has told her colleagues that she plans to retire soon.  The 71-year-old executive had previously considered leaving, but decided to remain at Disney.

Throughout her career, she has produced or executive produced more than 70 feature films, which have collectively garnered 120 Academy Award nominations and 25 wins. Among her credits are Jurassic Park, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, The Sixth Sense, the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Gremlins, The Goonies, Poltergeist, Empire of the Sun, Lincoln, War Horse, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Schindler’s List, The Color Purple, and The Adventures of Tintin.  In addition to the”Star Wars” shows and films since 2012.

It’s important to note that her retirement hasn’t yet been officially announced, but the decision has been expected for a while.  With the news spreading across the internet, it’s likely we might get something confirmed soon, possibly ahead of the upcoming Star Wars Celebration event, which takes place at Easter in Tokyo, Japan.

Roger’s Take: Kathleen Kennedy has had a fantastic career, and at 71 years old, she deserves to head into retirement to enjoy the rest of her life. While not every project in the past decade or so has clicked with audiences, plenty of shows and films have entertained audiences, such as “Andor,” “The Mandalorian,” and “Rogue One.” 

However, the last few years have highlighted that Star Wars needs a new leader to guide the franchise forward for a new generation.  One of my biggest problems with the Star Wars franchise is that it had no focus or direction, often jumping around the periods between different movies to fill in story gaps that aren’t required rather than pushing the story onward.  After the release of “The Mandalorian and Grogu” and hopefully the second season of “Ahsoka”, I think they need to give the franchise some time off and let whoever is going to replace Kathleen have some time to put together a plan.   It would also be some interesting news to reveal at the Star Wars Celebration event in April to get fans hyped for the future of Star Wars!

Do you think it’s time for Kathleen Kennedy to step away from Lucasfilm?  Let me know on social media!