Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy reportedly expected to leave by the end of the year

Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy is expected to step down from the pop culture powerhouse later this year, according to reports.

The well-sourced US publication Puck broke the news that Kennedy has “informed Disney” she will leave before the end of the year. She will turn 72 later this year.

Kennedy has been a controversial figure in the Star Wars fandom, taking over the reigns of Lucasfilm as George Lucas’ handpicked successor when he sold the company to Disney in 2012.

Hard-core and sometimes toxic fans are no fans of Kennedy, who they have accused of ignoring or retconning Star Wars canon or being too “woke” by introducing stories centred on female and non-white characters.

Under Kennedy’s tenure, Star Wars launched a new Skywalker trilogy with J.J. Abrams directing two of the three films. The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker were commercially successful films, collectively grossing $US4.4 billion, but were critically divisive.

There were also two spin-offs, Rogue One and Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The Star Wars film slate has been non-existent since 2019 despite several high-profile, in-development and then later abandoned projects from big-name creatives including Guillermo del Toro, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Kevin Feige and Patty Jenkins.

On the streaming side, there has been a mix of hits and misses with The Mandalorian and Andor the most beloved and while the likes of The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, The Acolyte and Skeleton Crew have had more tempered responses.

Many of the series have huge production budgets and didn’t deliver on the cost. The Acolyte, which was axed after one season, cost $US230 million to make.

There is one movie currently in production, The Mandalorian and Grogu, which is slated for a May 2026 release. It is a sequel to The Mandalorian, from Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.

With Kennedy potentially standing down, Filoni and Favreau’s names have come up as potential replacements having already successfully overseen The Mandalorian since 2019.

Filoni is Lucasfilm’s chief creative officer and is also involved with streaming series Ahsoka, The Book of Boba Fett and Skeleton Crew and his history with the franchise stretches back to 2008 with The Clone Wars animated series.

The Lucasfilm chief executive role is a position that requires a background in producing, business, talent management and more, across both film and streaming.

Balancing the demands of both mediums without oversaturating the marketplace or diluting the brand has been challenging to even Marvel supremo Kevin Feige.

In addition to Star Wars, Lucasfilms also comprises of the Indiana Jones, American Graffiti and Willow franchises, as well as effects house Industrial Light & Magic.

Prior to Lucasfilm, Kennedy co-founded Amblin Entertainment in 1981 with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall and has produced some of Hollywood’s most successful films including E.T., the Indiana Jones franchise, Jurassic Park, the Back to the Future trilogy, The Sixth Sense and War of the Worlds.