Kathleen Kennedy Says Leaving Lucasfilm Was a “Bit of a Relief” After 14 Years Leading STAR WARS
Running Lucasfilm after George Lucas was always going to be a tough job and challenge. After 14 years overseeing one of the biggest franchises in entertainment, Kathleen Kennedy admits that handing over the reins came with something she might not have expected… relief.
Kennedy stepped down as president of Lucasfilm earlier this year, ending a run that began in 2012 just before Disney purchased the company for $4.05 billion. During Bloomberg’s annual Screentime event, she was asked whether leaving the studio felt bittersweet. Her answer was pretty straightforward.
"I suppose there's a bit of relief. These jobs are not easy and stepping into something like that that George [Lucas] had created was an incredible challenge."
It’s easy to understand why. George Lucas built a universe that generations of fans have developed intensely personal relationships with. Kennedy inherited that legacy while also being tasked with pushing the franchise forward under Disney and turning Star Wars back into a major force on the big screen.
Her tenure included the launch of the sequel trilogy with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, followed by a massive expansion into streaming. Shows including The Mandalorian, Andor, and Ahsoka helped establish Star Wars as a major part of Disney’s television strategy.
Not every project connected with audiences in the same way. Series such as The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew faced negative reactions from portions of the fanbase, illustrating the tricky position Lucasfilm has been in while trying to introduce new characters and ideas without losing what longtime fans love about the franchise.
Kennedy explained that balancing those expectations was one of the hardest parts of running Lucasfilm, saying: "You've got people where this means a lot to them. But at the same time, the challenge is to try to create something new, something original. So finding that balance is really the toughest thing."
When looking back at her accomplishments, Kennedy pointed to bringing Star Wars movies back to theaters with The Force Awakens and helping launch Andor and The Mandalorian as some of the work she’s proudest of.
Kennedy already had one of Hollywood’s most impressive producing careers before taking charge of Lucasfilm. She spent years collaborating with Steven Spielberg and worked on films including Jurassic Park and Lincoln, along with classics such as Back to the Future and Gremlins.
Still, producing Star Wars without Lucas steering the ship presented an entirely different problem. Kennedy recalled asking Lucas for some guidance when she took over the company. His response didn’t exactly give her an instruction manual.
"He said, 'No, no, it's all here,'" Kennedy explained, pointing to her head. "I said, 'Okay, well that's going to be interesting to try and mine that.'"
That left Kennedy and the filmmakers working with Lucasfilm to figure out how to continue something that had been driven for decades by its creator’s imagination.
Lucas had a plan in his head, and he gave them all of that stuff to help them move the franchise forward, but they ditched all of the ideas Lucas was initially planning for the sequel trilogy and went their own way.
Longtime Star Wars filmmaker Dave Filoni eventually took over as president of Lucasfilm earlier this year, putting one of Lucas’ own longtime collaborators in charge of the studio’s next chapter.
Kennedy hasn’t completely left the galaxy far, far away, either. She remains involved as a producer on Shawn Levy’s upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter, which is scheduled to hit theaters on May 28, 2027.
After 14 years of trying to manage movies, television shows, passionate fans, massive expectations, and the enormous shadow cast by the guy who created the whole thing, Kennedy feeling a little relieved to hand over the job seems pretty understandable.
Via: THR