Kathleen Kennedy expresses relief after leaving Lucasfilm

Kathleen Kennedy has expressed that stepping down as president of Lucasfilm has brought her “a bit of relief” after a 14-year tenure. Speaking at Bloomberg’s annual Screentime event, Kennedy reflected on the difficulty of succeeding George Lucas and managing one of the world's most significant entertainment franchises.

Kennedy’s leadership, which began in 2012, oversaw the transition of Lucasfilm to Disney following its $4.05 billion acquisition. Her tenure included the release of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and a major expansion into streaming content on Disney+, with series such as “The Mandalorian,” “Andor,” and “Ahsoka.”

She noted that the most difficult aspect of her role was finding the balance between honoring the intense personal connections fans have with the legacy and the necessity of creating original, new content. Kennedy stated that while not every project is a perfect success, she takes pride in the work accomplished and the lessons learned from both successes and critical challenges.