Kathleen Kennedy has spoken out, denying reports she’s about to retire from Lucasfilm and Star Wars. The last few days have seen a buzz of excitement after reports Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is set to retire. Now, though, Kennedy has spoken out to set the record straight – although her word choice is notably very careful.

Speaking to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Kennedy insisted she is not retiring – and that all that is being reported is pretty standard succession planning.

“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. 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. 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.”

Kennedy refuses to speak out about who her eventual replacement will be, but insists there is no behind-the-scenes “chaos.” “George asked me 13 years ago to step in, and now I’m looking at who’s going to replace me,” she noted. “We have a bench of people internally to handle the business, the creative side. The job has grown also since I stepped in. There was no streaming, there weren’t a lot of the things that we’re involved in right now going on. So it has grown.” She added that she would probably make formal announcements “months or a year out,” and that she would be remaining in a supporting role afterwards.

Kathleen Kennedy’s Word Choice Is Very Careful

But She’s Clearly Not Going Anywhere Soon

Kennedy’s word choice is very careful, very deliberate. She stresses that the reports seem to be inspired by normal succession planning, and that everything is in order. “I can’t say who [my successor] is,” she points out to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, “because there’s just an internal process that goes on inside a large corporation and a publicly held company, as to how we go about making deals, finalizing decisions, and making announcements. There’s nothing unusual about that, and we’re in that process.“

Oddly enough, although Kennedy is reʙuттing the original reports from Puck News‘ Matthew Beloni, her comments fit with other reports over the last few days. Industry insider Jeff Sneider had reported Kennedy was far from done with Star Wars, and planned to remain active as a producer on both Shawn Levy’s movie and the upcoming Kinberg trilogy. Here, Kennedy herself reports that she’s planning to continue supporting Lucasfilm even after she steps down as president.

Our Take On Kennedy’s Retirement

The Rumors Of Her Departure Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

One thing does seem certain; succession planning at Lucasfilm is well in progress, which explains a degree of confusion in the trades. There’s no set timescale here, though; in fact, when questioned, Kennedy carefully avoids confirming anything. Announcements could be made in months or even years, but will be made when Lucasfilm feel the time is right. There had been speculation official word would be given at Star Wars Celebration, and that can’t be ruled out.

Still, the future of Star Wars feels a lot more secure. In her interview with ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, Kennedy stresses that three or four other projects are in the works. These include Shawn Levy’s mysterious Star Wars project and Simon Kinberg’s trilogy, which she teases as “the new saga that moves us into the future.” When Kennedy does eventually leave Lucasfilm, it will be with her head held high and a lot more movies in the works.

Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline