Daisy Ridley says Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy is involved in her Star Wars film after exit talk
Daisy Ridley insists that Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy is involved in the development of the movie 'Star Wars: New Jedi Order' despite rumours suggesting that the film chief was set to leave the studio by the end of the year.
Daisy Ridley has insisted Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is involved in ‘Star Wars: New Jedi Order’.
It had been reported that the film executive was set to leave her role with the studio by the end of the year but Ridley has insisted rumours of the Lucasfilm head’s departure were "not true" and that she was "very involved" in her upcoming ‘Star Wars’ film, in which the actress will reprise her role as Rey Skywalker.
Ridley, 32, told The Direct: "I believe that she's very involved. I think there was reporting that was not true. So yeah, very [involved]."
Last month, Puck reported Kennedy was looking to step down from her position at Lucasfilm by the end of the year and had initially planned to leave the studio in 2024 with an exit interview planned with an unnamed journalist.
However, Kennedy has since insisted she was "not retiring" from Lucasfilm and was still determined to work in the movie industry for years to come.
She told Deadline: "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."
Kennedy - who has served as Lucasfilm’s president since 2012 after ‘Star Wars’ creator George Lucas sold the company to Disney - explained she had been talking to Disney CEO Bob Iger and co-chairman Alan Bergman about what her future could look like and who her potential successor might be.
She said: "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 bunch of people here, and we have every intention of making an announcement months or a year down the road."
Kennedy added she was currently hard at work producing upcoming ‘Star Wars’ movies, such as ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’, and Shawn Levy’s film - which is rumoured to star Ryan Gosling.
She said: "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."
The ‘Indiana Jones’ producer hit back at the notion she was being pushed aside at Lucasfilm and insisted that "could not be further from the truth".
She said: "Everything that we do inside of Lucasfilm is in lockstep and in communication with Disney. We all know what’s going on. The communication has been completely collaborative as you would expect.
"This is a big piece of business for them, and they want to empower me to help them make that decision and that choice. I’m doing that."
