There’s a rumor going around—again—that Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down as president of Lucasfilm, and this time the source isn’t some dude in a voice modulator mask yelling into a webcam about secret studio coups. No, this one comes from Jeff Sneider, a real journalist with real credits, and also, yeah, a bit of a reputation. The kind of guy who can absolutely land a legit scoop one week and then absolutely faceplant the next. But at least with Jeff, you know where you stand. He’s not grifting for Patreon bucks by telling his followers exactly what they want to hear. He’s not feeding a machine of manufactured rage to get a few more super chats. He’s not Doomcock.
So when Sneider says Kennedy might be stepping down in August, it hits a little different than the usual noise. Especially because if this is it, she’d be going out with Andor Season 2—maybe the most critically acclaimed Star Wars project since the original trilogy—and frankly, a hell of a high note.
But before we all get caught up in the “who should replace her” discourse or what the next ten years of Star Wars should look like, let’s take a breath and look back at the career of a woman who, if you’re a Gen Xer, a xennial, or an elder millennial, probably shaped your childhood more than any single director not named Spielberg.
Let’s be real: Kathleen Kennedy is a titan. She didn’t just work with Spielberg—she helped build the Spielberg brand. She started as a PA on 1941, became his assistant on Raiders of the Lost Ark, and by Temple of Doom she was producing. Then she co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Spielberg and Frank Marshall, and the rest is blockbuster history: E.T., Gremlins, Back to the Future, The Goonies, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, The Sixth Sense. You name a classic, there’s a good chance she had a hand in making it happen.
That’s the thing the internet hive mind forgets when it’s salivating over rumors of her departure. This isn’t just some studio exec who flamed out trying to chase the Marvel model. This is one of the most accomplished producers in the history of the industry. She’s got a career that stretches across five decades, over 70 films, multiple Oscar noms, and the kind of legacy most of us would kill for.
Yeah, the Lucasfilm years have been bumpy. You don’t need to be a YouTuber with a custom thumbnail font to know that The Last Jedi divided the fanbase like Moses parting the sea. Solo underperformed. The Rise of Skywalker was a frantic, confused finale. And Lucasfilm has announced more projects than it’s actually made. But trying to replicate the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Star Wars was always going to be like trying to teach a Rancor to do ballet. They’re just not built the same.
Star Wars is moodier. More spiritual. A bit clumsy. A bit messy. It’s operatic and mythological in a way Marvel never tried to be. And under Kennedy, Lucasfilm tried to turn it into a cinematic machine—because that’s what Disney wanted. Blame the structure, not the person trying to navigate it.
What did work? TV. The Mandalorian worked. Andor really worked. Why? Because those shows had clearly defined creative leads—Favreau and Filoni on one end, Tony Gilroy on the other—while Kennedy kept the business running in the background. That’s the balance that made things click. It’s also why future success might mean splitting those responsibilities in two: someone to run Lucasfilm as a brand, and someone else to shepherd the creative heartbeat of Star Wars. No one person should have to wear both hats.
And if Kennedy is stepping down, then Andor Season 2 is a poetic place to end it. The show is everything Star Wars fans claim they want: mature, politically complex, personal, thrilling. It’s the kind of series that doesn’t just expand the universe—it deepens it. If that’s the last thing she oversees before walking out the door? Damn. Not a bad curtain call.
But let’s also talk about what comes after her, because Lucasfilm is more than just Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Or it should be. There’s an entire treasure trove of LucasArts IP just gathering dust. Monkey Island. Grim Fandango. Maniac Mansion. Loom. You’re telling me none of these could be prestige shows or animated series on Disney+? With Minecraft on track to make a billion dollars, why aren’t we already mining the goldmine of weird, witty, deeply story-driven classics that Lucasfilm used to specialize in?
Let the games become the games. Let the new Star Wars titles thrive under Respawn and Ubisoft. Turn Indiana Jones into an Uncharted-style franchise on consoles. But on the film and TV side? Get weird. Get ambitious. Let’s see Lucasfilm as more than just a license farm.
Because Kathleen Kennedy deserves more than just an exit headline. She deserves recognition for the career she’s had, the industry she helped shape, and the fact that her legacy will still be felt long after she’s gone. She doesn’t need your Reddit karma. She already has an Oscar on her shelf, a filmography that could crush most studio slates, and a seat at the table where the most important creative decisions of the past forty years were made.
She’s earned a retirement. She’s earned the crown. And if she wants to go out on Andor, that’s one hell of a mic drop.
Hollywood After Dark 