Kathleen Kennedy Admits to “A Bit of Relief” in Stepping Down From Lucasfilm After 14 Years

Kathleen Kennedy says she feels “a bit of relief” after stepping down as Lucasfilm president in 2026, following 14 years leading the Star Wars franchise. She described succeeding George Lucas as an enormous challenge and said the central difficulty was balancing the expectations of long-time fans with the need to create original stories.

Kennedy said Lucas gave her few written story ideas when he chose her as his successor, leaving her to draw on his vision. She named launching The Force Awakens in 2015 and bringing The Mandalorian and Andor to Disney+ among her proudest achievements, while acknowledging that not every film can be a hit. She also discussed removing directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller from Solo, and said difficult personnel decisions were rare in her tenure.