Kathleen Kennedy says leaving Lucasfilm was ‘a bit of relief’

The former Lucasfilm president spoke at Bloomberg’s Screentime event Oct. 1, nine months after stepping down. She named The Force Awakens, The Mandalorian and Andor as the work she’s proudest of.

Nine months after leaving the top job at Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy admitted she doesn’t miss all of it.

“I suppose there’s a bit of relief,” Kennedy said Oct. 1 at Bloomberg’s Screentime event in Los Angeles, per The Hollywood Reporter. She said jobs like hers “are not easy,” and that following what George Lucas built was “an incredible challenge.”

Kennedy stepped down as Lucasfilm president on Jan. 15, 2026. Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan took over as co-presidents.

What did Kathleen Kennedy say about leaving Lucasfilm?

Mostly that it was hard, and that she’s proud of a few things in particular.

Kennedy ran Lucasfilm for 14 years. She took over in 2012, the year Disney bought the company from Lucas for about $4 billion, and she oversaw every Star Wars movie and series since.

She pointed to three projects as her proudest work, per Star Wars News Net’s account of the THR report:

• The Force Awakens, which brought Star Wars back to theaters in 2015 after a 10-year gap

• The Mandalorian, the show that launched Disney+ in 2019

• Andor, the critically praised spy drama

Two of the three came out on streaming, not in theaters.

What did Kennedy say about Star Wars fans?

That balancing what fans want with trying new things was the hardest part of the job.

“Finding that balance is really the toughest thing,” she said, per Star Wars News Net. She said you have to listen to fans without letting their reaction become “a referendum” on every creative decision.

That’s a careful way to describe one of the loudest fan bases in entertainment. Kennedy’s era included big box office highs and some of the most heated fan fights the franchise has seen, especially around the sequel trilogy.

Did Kathleen Kennedy fire directors at Lucasfilm?

She said it happened once, and called it “a difficult decision,” per Star Wars News Net.

She didn’t name the project in the remarks that were reported. Several Star Wars films changed directors or had major creative shake-ups during her time, so fans will have their own guesses.

What is Kathleen Kennedy doing now?

She’s still producing.

Kennedy is a producer on Star Wars: Starfighter, the movie directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Gosling, per Star Wars News Net. It’s set for theaters in May 2027, and Gosling plays a new character named Kade Auberon, per StarWars.com.

Filming has already wrapped, and Gosling showed the first footage at D23. So she hasn’t left Star Wars entirely, just the office with the president’s title on the door.

Before Star Wars, Kennedy was one of Hollywood’s most successful producers. She co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall and produced films like E.T., Jurassic Park and the Back to the Future movies.

Who runs Lucasfilm now?

Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, as co-presidents since Jan. 15, 2026.

Filoni is the animation veteran behind The Clone Wars and a creative force on The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. Brennan has long run the business side of Lucasfilm, including its visual effects company, Industrial Light & Magic.

Under the new team, Jon Watts, director of the Spider-Man trilogy with Tom Holland, is reportedly lined up to direct a new Star Wars film. Lucasfilm hasn’t officially confirmed it.

Kennedy’s relief, in other words, is someone else’s to-do list now.

Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.

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Hat Tips:

• The Hollywood Reporter (Oct. 1, 2026), Kennedy’s Screentime remarks

• Star Wars News Net (Oct. 1, 2026), full quotes on relief, fans, directors and Starfighter

• StarWars.com and The Hollywood Reporter, Starfighter release window, Gosling’s role, wrap and D23 footage

• Wikipedia, Lucasfilm leadership change and Jan. 15, 2026 date

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