Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Kathleen Kennedy Quitting Lucasfilm? (Updated)

An unverified rumor reported by Puck News and The Hollywood Reporter indicates that Kathleen Kennedy may end her 13 year run as leader of Lucasfilm. This has not been confirmed by any official sources nor has Kennedy spoken about it one way or the other. However their reps were contacted and no denials were issued so its definitely possible. 

Kennedy started with the company in 2012 while it was still owned by George Lucas and remained on board when Disney bought the company. She led the charge to relaunch the franchise with the final trilogy based on mostly on the work of JJ Abrams and continued to lead the division through a series of movies and television shows. 

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew just completing its run and Andor season 2 on the horizon. What it could mean for the franchise is hard to judge until a replacement is announced but likely whatever projects that are currently in the pipeline like The Mandalorian movie would remain so while projects still in their writing phase like half a dozen movie concepts would get a revisit. 

Update: In an interview with Deadline, Kennedy confirmed stepping down from Lucasfilm is part of future plans but provided no timeline. My guess there were plans to do it soon but the leak is causing a bump to later date.
The truth is, and I want to just say loud and clear, I am not retiring. I will never retire from movies. I will die making movies. That is the first thing that’s important to say. I am not retiring. 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. 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. So I’m continuing to stay at Lucasfilm and looking very thoughtfully with Bob and Alan as to who’s stepping in. So that is all underway, and we have every right to make that announcement when we want to make it.

Monday, February 24, 2025

Andor Season 2 Trailer, Chapter Release Plan

Below is the first trailer for Andor's second and final season is coming to Disney+ starting April 22. The 12 episode season is getting a unique plan as it moves towards Star Wars: Rogue One. The story will have four chapters, each chapter being three episodes long with each chapter being released on Disney+ every Tuesday for four weeks in a row. This doesn't necessary mean that the story for that chapter will be three episodes long as some episodes are standalone.