Kathleen Kennedy became the president of Lucasfilm in 2012, when Disney bought the company for $4 billion. With original founder George Lucas gone, it fell to Kennedy to chart the next era of Star Wars. Now, after 13 years and a great many highs and lows, Puck reports that Kennedy, who is now 71 years old, will retire by the end of the year.
It will be the end of an era at Lucasfilm, and different fans will tell you whether it was a good or a bad one. Kennedy relaunch the Star Wars film franchise in 2015 with The Force Awakens, which grossed over $2 billion at the box office. Follow-up films The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker were also big hits, but much more contentious among fans. Under Kennedy, Lucasfilm tried to get into a rhythm of releasing standalone Star Wars movies; Rogue One was a big hit while Solo became the first Star Wars movie to lose money theatrically.
There hasn't been a Star Wars movie released into theaters since 2019, although there has been an unusually high number of false starts; at one point or another, we were supposed to get new Star Wars films from the likes of Taika Waititi, Kevin Feige, Patty Jenkins, Rian JohnsonandGame of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. All of those projects were either cancelled or have been put so far back on the backburner they might as well have been. I don't know whether to chock that up to mismanagement or an over-eagerness to announce projects even though they're not ready not.
While Star Wars dwindled on the big screen, it exploded on the small. Again, there were mixed results. The Mandalorian was the first-ever live-action Star Wars show, and it was a big hit right out of the gate. Star Wars: Andor is another critical darling. On the other hand, The Mandalorian got a little unwieldy as it went on, with shows like Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett being folded into the story and making the whole thing feel too much like homework. Meanwhile, The Acolyte underperformed and was cancelled after its first season, despite clearly having more story to tell.
Before she became the head of Lucasfilm, Kennedy served as a producer on some legendary movies, including Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Gremlins, The Color Purple, The Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the Back to the Future trilogy. Whatever you think of her, she's an important figure in the history of the movies, and whoever replaces her will have a huge responsibility ahead of them.
The next Star Wars thing to come out will be the second and final season of Andor, which is looking amazing. That may be one of the last big things to air under Kennedy's watch, and could serve as a great swan song.
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