Star Wars boss Kathleen Kennedy stepping down after 13 years

It’s been quite the 24 hours for the Star Wars franchise.

Yesterday, the first trailer arrived for Andor’s second and final season - and yes, it looks incredible.

Dare I say it looks even better than the first, which is quite the statement to make.

It's set to debut on 22 April where it’ll air its first three episodes.

You see, the season is being split into four chapters, each consisting of three episodes; these chapters will span four years with one year passing between each chapter.

That means you’ll be getting three episodes on 22 April, three more on 29 April, with 6 May and 13 May marking the airing of the final two batches.

That’s not exactly what has rocked the boat in the world of Star Wars though.

It’s been reported that Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy will be stepping down from the role at the end of 2025 after a whopping 13 years in the position.

You can watch the new trailer for Andor below.

Lucasfilm is yet to comment on the situation, with this report coming from Puck News which has cited three sources familiar with the departure.

I must admit, I feel some trepidation about the idea of new leadership.

I’m very much against excellent original projects being canned - The Acolyte being the perfect example - in favour of fan-service driven drivel.

With that in mind, I’m really hoping whoever steps into Kennedy’s position next shares my line of thinking because a project like Skeleton Crew deserves a future.

Star Wars will lose its charm if we simply rely on the same small batch of characters to keep us entertained.

If Kennedy does exit by the end of 2025, that means that 2026’s The Mandalorian & Grogu film will seemingly be the last major project released developed under her leadership.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the direction of the in-development Rey film could be altered under new leadership.

Puck added that Kennedy originally wished to depart in 2024 but decided to stay for one additional year.

We have a lot to thank Kennedy for.

The sequel trilogy was produced during her leadership reign, and Star Wars expanded its TV output following the launch of Disney Plus.

But, fair to say, Star Wars fans have been a tad more critical of the franchise in recent years, so it’ll certainly be interesting to see what happens next.