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Home > Kathleen Kennedy Steps Down as Lucasfilm President

Kathleen Kennedy Steps Down as Lucasfilm President

By L'Wren Alexa and Dan Sarto | Monday, January 19, 2026 at 4:30pm
In Business, Digital Media, Films, Jobs & Recruiting, People, Television, Theme Parks - Installations, Visual Effects | ANIMATIONWorld, Headline News, VFXWorld | Geographic Region: All

Kathleen Kennedy has stepped down from her role as president of Lucasfilm, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The exec will maintain her role as producer on the upcoming films The Mandalorian and Grogu, out May 22, and Star Wars: Starfighter, which is set for a 2027 release.

The longtime producer stepped into the president role in 2012. She previously founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and her future husband Frank Marshall in 1981.

Following the exit, Dave Filoni has been promoted to president and chief creative officer, Lucasfilm. President & GM of Lucasfilm business Lynwen Brennan will now act as co-president, Lucasfilm. Both execs will report to Alan Bergman, co-chairman, Disney Entertainment.

“It has been a true privilege to spend more than a decade working alongside the extraordinary talent at Lucasfilm,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Their creativity and dedication have been an inspiration, and I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together. I’m excited to continue developing films and television with both longtime collaborators and fresh voices who represent the future of storytelling.”

Filoni was previously mentored by George Lucas and served as EP on Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels and Star Wars: Resistance animated series. He also teamed with Jon Favreau on the beloved series The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.

“Kathleen Kennedy has been a tremendous force in the industry for 50 years, and it’s been our privilege to have her here at Disney leading Lucasfilm for nearly 14 of them,” commented Bergman.

In potentially unrelated news, Disneyland has announced Star Warsland will shift focus from newer franchise characters such as Kylo Ren back to original Lucas creations.


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