(Maire Clayton, Headline USA) Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is expected to retire by the end of 2025, according to Puck.
Kennedy started in 2012 as the co-chair with creator George Lucas. Once Disney purchased the company a few months later, she was named the president.
While Kennedy was credited for relaunching the franchise with 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, she is often frequently associated with tanking the brand and polarizing the Star Wars fan base.
Kennedy angered the majority of Star Wars fans with her support over the controversial show The Acolyte. Fans disliked how far it deviated from the origin of the franchise and focused more on wokeness.
She defended the decision to make the show in a May 2024 interview with The New York Times.
“My belief is that storytelling does need to be representative of all people,” she said. “That’s an easy decision for me.”
As the news broke of Kennedy’s departure, social media users took to express their happiness over the 73-year-old stepping down.
“I’m so glad to have awoken to this news! Let’s make plans now for stripping her stuff from the canon,” one user wrote.
However, many noted how Kennedy damage to the brand will never recover.
“Now that she’s thoroughly decimated the franchise, she’s finally ready to step down,” one user wrote. “Never change Hollywood, never change.”
Others questioned if Kennedy will actually be leaving this time.
“These rumors have been going around for YEARS. I’ll believe it when I see it,” one X user noted.
Variety reported it spoke with two sources who had polar opposite responses. One called it “pure speculation” that Kennedy would be stepping down, while another one said she would.
It was previously rumored Kennedy was stepping down at the end of 2024, which did not happen.
