Kathleen Kennedy admitted to feeling “a little bit of relief” after leaving Lucasfilm early in 2026 after 14 years at the helm of one of America’s biggest film franchises.
The longtime producer reflected on the end of her leading role in the Star Wars universe during an interview Wednesday evening devoted to his career at Bloombergthe annual Screentime event in Los Angeles. When asked if she felt “bittersweet” about leaving Lucasfilm, Kennedy said no. “I guess there’s a bit of relief. These jobs aren’t easy and going into something like the one George (Lucas) created was an incredible challenge.”
She remembers asking Star Wars creator Lucas, after choosing her as his successor in the company, if he had any material, she should draw on it for storytelling guidance. At the time, Kennedy was a longtime creative collaborator or Steven Spielberg, having produced Jurassic Park, Lincoln And Munichand had produced other major titles like Back to the Future, Twisters And Gremlins.
“He (Lucas) said, ‘No, no, it’s all here,'” she said, pointing to his head. “I said, okay, well, it’s going to be interesting to try to exploit that.” (She added that she received “a few paragraphs” with story ideas, but no story treatment.)
Kennedy’s tenure at Lucasfilm was marked by moments of fan outrage in some corners (the response to The Acolyte was particularly vicious) and praise (Andor), with Kennedy the face of the brand in both its ups and downs. And interviewer Brad Stone, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg Business Weekwas quick to ask him about the challenges of catering to a wide audience, including diehards. Star Wars fans.
“Well, I think that’s the challenge that all franchises face, certainly something that’s been around for 50 years. There are people that it means a lot to them,” she said. “But at the same time, the challenge is trying to create something new, something original. So finding that balance is really the hardest thing.”
Stone said some audiences felt Kennedy was listening Also a lot to some fans. Did she learn anything from this experience? Kennedy argued that she needed to pay attention to fans “without making it a referendum”, but also support artists with a clear vision of the stories within the Star Wars galaxy.
Her proudest accomplishments in this job, she added, were relaunching the film franchise with 2015’s. Star Wars: The Force Awakens and deployment of the Disney+ series Andor And The Mandalorian. Meanwhile, she wasn’t specific when asked about her regrets or possible overhauls. “I mean, I don’t think you can do anything in the movie business where every single thing is going to be a perfect success,” she said. “I think we learn things, I always like to learn things from the films we make, the postmortems we do about what worked and what didn’t work. But I’m always proud of the work that was done.”
She also briefly discussed directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s withdrawal from the film. Solo in 2017 due to creative differences. Asked what it means to be an executive responsible for firing certain people rather than just supporting filmmakers, Kennedy replied, “Well, that’s really only happened once, thank God.” (As The Hollywood Reporter reported at the time, Kennedy also sidelined director Gareth Edwards during the 2016 shoot. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story with Tony Gilroy brought in to complete the project alongside Edwards.)
“I didn’t have to do that. There are a lot of complicated situations that develop and certainly come to a point where you have to make a difficult decision like that,” she added. “My background certainly shows that I have worked with many different directors, I have made many types of films and I have never been in a situation like this.”
Kennedy joined Lucasfilm in 2012, just before Disney purchased the company for $4.05 billion that year. Kennedy noted that the purchase came with “tremendous anticipation” from the studio. Still, she insisted that the Disney acquisition was worth it. “Oh, yes, I think there’s no doubt,” she said. “And I think Star Wars It was a perfect acquisition for Disney and that’s what George wanted. There was no other company he wanted to sell the franchise to other than Disney.
Now, for a long time Star Wars creative Dave Filoni and director Lynwen Brennan lead Lucasfilm. And Kennedy is returning to independent production with the company she shares with her husband, veteran filmmaker and producer Frank Marshall. She does not completely leave the Star Wars neither does the universe, since it produces the next Ryan Gosling Star Wars: Starfighter film directed by Shawn Levy.
As she faces the brave new world of independent production in 2026, like many people, Kennedy worries about the prospect of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. merging. Discovery. “I think it worries all of us. For a studio to disappear and fewer films to be made, less content to be created,” she told Stone on Wednesday. “The ability of studios to expand the work that many of us do. I think that’s the biggest concern. We’ll see,” she said. “If it’s really 30 films a year, we’ll see.”
Amid corporate consolidation and the increasing integration of AI into Hollywood’s workflow, she has spent the last few months trying to understand where the industry is heading. “I think what’s happening right now is absolutely extraordinary. So rather than forming a real opinion or judgment about it, I’m just trying to absorb and meet as many people involved in the new technology,” she said.
She added, gesturing to the readjustment following her time at Lucasfilm, “I’m also trying to reconnect with people that I had lost track of. Because you find yourself in a bit of a bubble when you do something like Star Wars.»
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