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For other uses, see Kathleen.

"I racked my brain to figure out who do I trust and who do I know really well and is level-headed, who understands the business side of it but also understands the creative side of it. And finally I banged into it and said, 'Oh, my God, it's Kathy.'"
―George Lucas, on choosing someone to run Lucasfilm[2]

Kathleen Kennedy is the President of Lucasfilm and a film producer since the 1980s. She succeeded Lucasfilm's founder, George Lucas, in 2012, having been a President of the Producers Guild of America and an executive producer on many of director Steven Spielberg's films. Kennedy served as executive producer for all three films of the Star Wars sequel trilogy as well as other Star Wars standalone films and television series.

Biography

When Kathleen Kennedy became President of Lucasfilm Ltd.[3] in 2012, she aimed to rejuvenate Star Wars with a new era of films after fans felt underwhelmed from the prequel trilogy.[4] Her position has her overseeing Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound. Kennedy was the producer of Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, the first film in the new sequel trilogy. She also produced Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.[3]

By 2018, Lucasfilm Ltd. had begun developing a television series set before Rogue One which starred Cassian Andor and K-2SO.[5] Kennedy sent[6] the script[5] for one of the pilots to director Tony Gilroy and asked for his opinion.[6] Gilroy then wrote a forensic manifesto[5] for Kennedy[6] explaining why the idea would not work and what Lucasfilm should do instead.[5]

In early 2019, months before the release of The Rise of Skywalker, Kennedy announced that Lucasfilm would take a hiatus to regroup and rethink. Lucasfilm recognized that they needed to work together to create the architecture of the next chapter of the company. They learned that Star Wars needs filmmakers with a professional devotion. Disney wanted something as big as the films for the release of Disney+, so Kennedy first turned to filmmaker Jon Favreau who said he had an idea. After their meeting at Kennedy's office, Favreau started writing without a contract. His idea was about a Mandalorian, but Kennedy realized Dave Filoni's Star Wars: The Clone Wars series already focused on Mandalorians. She arranged a meeting between Favreau and Filoni in Los Angeles where they both combined their ideas for a Mandalorian show.[4] Kennedy was an executive producer for The Mandalorian.[3]

Kennedy worked as an executive producer for The Book of Boba Fett and the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series.[3] In January, 2020, she announced that an overhaul for the latter series was in order. She temporarily shut down production and hired writer Joby Harold to take over from Hossein Amini.[7] Moses Ingram, the actor who played the Third Sister, received her lightsaber as a gift from Kennedy.[8] Kennedy and the crew often talked about a possible extension because "everybody came together and had such an incredible time." She said they'd have to question why before making any extensions to the show.[7]

Kennedy, Gilroy, Sanne Wohlenberg, Diego Luna, and Michelle Rejwan served as executive producers for the Andor television series. Kennedy and the crew felt fortunate to have Luna reprise his role as Cassian Andor in the show. They all felt it was important to show how Andor's background defined his character.[3] Kennedy and Gilroy gave composer Nicholas Britell "total freedom" to imagine a unique soundscape for the series.[9] When Gilroy first heard Britell play his theme for the series, he called Kennedy and told her they had a theme. Kennedy was impressed by how production designer Luke Hull was able to make the Ferrix set look real and grounded as well as feel like Star Wars.[3] She was excited for the audience to discover how Star Wars can be different genres. In September, 2022, Kennedy attended the Andor launch event in Hollywood, California.[10]

Works

Filmography

Year Title Series Contribution(s)
2015 Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens Executive Producer
2016 Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey Herself
2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Executive Producer
2017 Star Wars: Episode VIII The Last Jedi Executive Producer
2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story Executive Producer
2019 "Chapter 1: The Mandalorian" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2019 "Chapter 2: The Child" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2019 "Chapter 3: The Sin" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2019 "Chapter 4: Sanctuary" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2019 "Chapter 5: The Gunslinger" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2019 "Chapter 6: The Prisoner" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2019 "Chapter 7: The Reckoning" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2019 Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker Executive Producer
2019 "Chapter 8: Redemption The Mandalorian Executive Producer
Cancelled, set for release in 2020 Untitled Boba Fett film Producer
2020 "Directing" Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Legacy" Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Cast" Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Technology" Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Practical" Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Process" Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Score" Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Connections" Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Chapter 9: The Marshal" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Chapter 10: The Passenger" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Chapter 11: The Heiress" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Chapter 12: The Siege" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Chapter 13: The Jedi" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Chapter 14: The Tragedy" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Chapter 15: The Believer" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2020 "Chapter 16: The Rescue" The Mandalorian Executive Producer
2021 "The Duel" Star Wars: Visions Lucasfilm Ltd. President
2021 "Tatooine Rhapsody" Star Wars: Visions Lucasfilm Ltd. President
2021 "THE TWINS" Star Wars: Visions Lucasfilm Ltd. President
2021 "The Village Bride" Star Wars: Visions Lucasfilm Ltd. President
2021 "The Ninth Jedi" Star Wars: Visions Lucasfilm Ltd. President
2021 "T0-B1" Star Wars: Visions Lucasfilm Ltd. President
2021 "The Elder" Star Wars: Visions Lucasfilm Ltd. President
2021 "Lop & Ochō" Star Wars: Visions Lucasfilm Ltd. President
2021 "Akakiri" Star Wars: Visions Lucasfilm Ltd. President
2021 "Chapter 1: Stranger in a Strange Land" The Book of Boba Fett Executive Producer
2022 "Chapter 2: The Tribes of Tatooine" The Book of Boba Fett Executive Producer
2022 "Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa" The Book of Boba Fett Executive Producer
2022 "Chapter 4: The Gathering Storm" The Book of Boba Fett Executive Producer
2022 "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian" The Book of Boba Fett Executive Producer
2022 "Chapter 6: From the Desert Comes a Stranger" The Book of Boba Fett Executive Producer
2022 "Chapter 7: In the Name of Honor" The Book of Boba Fett Executive Producer
2022 Obi-Wan Kenobi Executive Producer

Bibliography

Year Title Contribution(s)
Cancelled, set for release in 2016 The Making of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Wrote the foreword
2018 Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy Wrote the foreword

Sources

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 StarWars Kathleen Kennedy to become Co-Chair of Lucasfilm Ltd. on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  2. How the Star Wars producer went from secretary to studio boss by Lev-ram, Michal on Fortune (September 10, 2015) (archived from the original on August 2, 2022)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 ANDOR Production Brief V3 FINAL 8-04-22 by McIntyre, Gina on Getty Images (August 4, 2022) (archived from the original)
  4. 4.0 4.1 Star Wars: The Rebellion Will Be Televised by Breznican, Anthony on Vanity Fair (May 17, 2022) (archived from the original on May 17, 2022)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 How ‘Andor' Became the First ‘Star Wars' TV Series for Grown-Ups: ‘I Wanted to Do It About Real People' by Vary, Adam B on Variety (archived from the original on August 24, 2022)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 ‘Andor' Creator Tony Gilroy Urged His Team to Put Aside Their ‘Star Wars' Reverence by Davids, Brian on The Hollywood Reporter (September 23, 2022) (archived from the original on September 23, 2022)
  7. 7.0 7.1 Inside the 17-year journey to reunite Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen for Obi-Wan Kenobi by Ross, Dalton on Entertainment Weekly (March 10, 2022) (archived from the original on March 10, 2022)
  8. How Moses Ingram made a Star Wars Halloween character for Black girls on Obi-Wan Kenobi by Ross, Dalton on Entertainment Weekly (April 6, 2022) (archived from the original on April 6, 2022)
  9. ‘Andor' Composer Nicholas Britell Breaks Down His Score and Why He Incorporated Rustling Leaves by Burlingame, Jon on Variety (September 26, 2022) (archived from the original on September 26, 2022)
  10. SWYTlogo Diego Luna and the Cast and Crew of Andor on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Micheline Chau - Executive Bio, Compensation History, and Contacts - Equilar Atlas on Equilar (December 23, 2013) (archived from the original)
  12. Disney to Acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. by The Walt Disney Company on Yahoo! (October 30, 2012) (archived from the original on November 18, 2012)

External links

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