Earlier this week, it was rumored that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy would leave the production company by the end of the year. Well, Kennedy, who succeeded George Lucas as head of the company following the Disney acquisition in 2012, has now responded directly to these retirement rumors. While it’s great to have clarification on this matter, I’m frankly more pleased about the updates she provided on some of the upcoming Star Wars movies.
Kathleen Kennedy’s Response To The Retirement Rumors
In an exclusive interview with Deadline, Kennedy set the record straight by saying that retirement is in no way on the horizon for her. In her words:
The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring. I will never retire from movies. I will die making movies. That is the first thing that’s important to say. I am not retiring.
Ok, at least that’s been cleared up. Kathleen Kennedy, who scored her first film credit as a producer on E.T., will not be leaving the world of filmmaking. However, she did say that she’s been talking with Disney CEO Bob Iger and Alan Bergman, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, about a succession plan for Lucasfilm down the line. As she put it:
What’s happening at Lucasfilm is I have been talking for quite some time with both Bob and Alan about what eventual succession might look like. We have an amazing bench of people here, and we have every intention of making an announcement months or a year down the road. We are in lockstep as to what that’s going to be, and I am continuing.
This makes sense, as eventually there will come a time when new leadership is required and someone will replace Kennedy. For now though, she’s staying firmly entrenched in the world of Star Wars, adding:
I’m producing Mandalorian the movie right now, and I’m also producing Sean Levy’s movie, which is after that. So I’m continuing to stay at Lucasfilm and looking very thoughtfully with Bob and Alan as to who’s stepping in. So that is all underway, and we have every right to make that announcement when we want to make it.
Once that business was out of the way, Kathleen Kennedy also shared some updates on some of the Star Wars movies in the works, and it’s most welcome to learn how their progress is coming along.
Where Things Stand On The Star Wars Movies Front
As Kathleen Kennedy mentioned, next up on the Star Wars movies in order front is The Mandalorian & Grogu’s May 2026 release, which will be a theatrical movie rather than a Disney+ subscription exclusive like The Mandalorian series. During the interview though, Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. first inquired about the trilogy of Star Wars movies that Simon Kinberg is writing and producing. Here’s what Kennedy had to say about that:
We’re absolutely rolling fast and furiously. That has gone exceptionally well, and he’s literally going to script as we speak. We’ll see something probably around June. Simon, if you remember, he did some work with us years ago with the animated show, which was a really wonderful collaborative experience. And he then got very, very busy with X-Men and then recently became available again, and he segued into this space beautifully. We’re really excited about where that’s headed.
The executive added this trilogy will be “the next iteration, the new saga that moves us into the future.” Then, as mentioned by Kennedy earlier, there’s Shawn Levy’s mysterious Star Wars movie, which will reportedly star Ryan Gosling and come out after The Mandalorian & Grogu. She stated that Levy’s movie will also be set post-The Rise of Skywalker, “maybe five or six years out.”
Finally, there’s James Mangold’s Star Wars movie that’s set roughly 25,000 years before the events of A New Hope and explore the origins of the Force. When Kathleen Kennedy asked if that project is still happening, she answered:
Yep. He’s working on this script right now. Simon’s working on scripts right now. Shawn, we had been working with him already for about a year and a half. These guys are available now. Jim, he got delayed a bit because of the Dylan movie and the awards season. You have to accommodate top talent to a certain extent. And quality is so important with what it is we’re trying to do. I like to wait for people that I think are passionate and really good to step into Star Wars.
Of course, these are just a few of the Star Wars movies in development. Among the others are Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy-directed movie bringing back Daisy Ridley’s Rey, Dave Filoni’s New Republic movie and Taika Waititi’s untitled movie (Kathleen Kennedy admitted that the Thor: Ragnarok filmmaker’s been busy lately and still hasn’t turned in a script). Whether all those will get made remains to be seen, but per Kennedy, there’s enough cinematic entertainment set in a galaxy far, far away that’s progressing nicely.
The Mandalorian & Grogu will break the Star Wars movies dry spell when it’s released on May 26, 2026. But arriving much sooner than that is Andor Season 2, which premieres April 22 on Disney+.
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