Kathleen Kennedy has confirmed she isn't retiring from Lucasfilm anytime soon, despite reports of the contrary. That said, she has "every intention of making an announcement months or a year down the road" as to her role within the company.
Earlier this week, Puck claimed that Kennedy was stepping down as the studio's president after 13 years, having overseen the latest era of Star Wars projects from The Force Awakens to The Acolyte – and it didn't take long for other publications like The Hollywood Reporter and IGN to seemingly corroborate the story.
Now, however, the prolific producer, whose credits also include Jurassic Park and the Indiana Jones franchise, has set the record straight in an interview with Deadline, stating: "The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring. I will never retire from movies."
Kennedy went on to candidly claim that she intends to "die making movies", though that doesn't mean her job title won't change in the not-so-distant future or that she hasn't had conversations with Disney bosses Bob Iger and Alan Bergman about who could take over if and when it does...
"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," she explained. "We are in lockstep as to what that's going to be, and I am continuing. I'm producing the Mandalorian movie right now, and I'm also producing Shawn Levy's movie, which is after that.
"I'm continuing to stay at Lucasfilm and looking very thoughtfully with Bob and Alan as to who's stepping in," Kennedy concluded. "So that is all underway, and we have every right to make that announcement when we want to make it."
For more, check out our breakdown of all the upcoming Star Wars movies headed our way.
