Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has firmly responded to recent reports suggesting her retirement in 2025. Earlier this week, Puck News reported that the seasoned film producer planned to step down at the end of her contract this year, mentioning that she had considered retiring in 2024 but postponed the decision. However, Variety cited a source close to Kennedy dismissing Puck's report as "pure speculation," while The Hollywood Reporter corroborated the initial claim.

Amidst these conflicting reports, Kennedy herself has clarified her position. Speaking to Deadline, she revealed that she is collaborating with Disney CEO Bob Iger on a succession plan after 13 years in her role. Star Wars Rebels creator and current Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni is reportedly in a "strong position" to succeed her. Despite this, Kennedy was emphatic about her ongoing commitment to filmmaking: "The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring."

"I will never retire from movies," she added. "I will die making movies. That is the first thing that’s important to say. I am not retiring."

While acknowledging that Lucasfilm intends to announce a succession plan "months or a year down the road," Kennedy affirmed her continued involvement with the company. She is set to produce upcoming projects such as the Mandalorian movie and a Star Wars film directed by Shawn Levy of Deadpool & Wolverine fame.

It appears that while Kennedy is planning for her eventual departure from the presidency of Lucasfilm, she has no intention of leaving the film industry or the company entirely. "I’m not going to be here forever," she stated. "George [Lucas] asked me 13 years ago to step in, and now I’m looking at who’s going to replace me. And as I said, 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."

Kennedy also refuted any suggestions that she is being "pushed aside" or "in need of being replaced," calling such notions "absolutely not the case" and "could not be further from the truth." Her tenure at Lucasfilm has been marked by significant achievements, including the launch of the new sequel trilogy (Star Wars Episodes 7-9) and the inception of Star Wars' streaming era, which includes series like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Andor, Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, and The Acolyte. While some projects like Star Wars: The Force Awakens were blockbuster successes, others have been divisive, and films like Solo: A Star Wars Story faced financial losses.

When directly questioned by Deadline about stepping down as Lucasfilm's president this year, Kennedy responded that she did not know "at this stage," but emphasized that any decision to leave would be "100% my decision." She remained non-committal about whether Filoni would take over her position.

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