Kathleen Kennedy CBE 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. 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. Kennedy, , and Steven Spielberg also co-founded Amblin Entertainment, a film production company behind many of the over seventy films that were produced or executive produced by Kennedy. The producer is a recipient of numerous film production awards and has been nominated eight times for an Academy Award, and she also sits on numerous boards, including chairing the American Film Institute's board of trustees.
When Kathleen Kennedy became President of Lucasfilm Ltd. in 2012, she aimed to rejuvenate Star Wars with a new era of films after fans felt underwhelmed from the prequel trilogy. 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.
By 2018, Lucasfilm Ltd. had begun developing a television series set before Rogue One which starred Cassian Andor and K-2SO. Kennedy sent the script for one of the pilots to director Tony Gilroy and asked for his opinion. Gilroy then wrote a forensic manifesto for Kennedy explaining why the idea would not work and what Lucasfilm should do instead.
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. Kennedy was an executive producer for The Mandalorian.
In October, 2019, Kennedy was made an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to the United Kingdom's film industry. Kennedy worked as an executive producer for The Book of Boba Fett and the Obi-Wan Kenobi television series. 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. Moses Ingram, the actor who played the Third Sister, received her lightsaber as a gift from Kennedy. 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.
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. Kennedy and Gilroy gave composer Nicholas Britell "total freedom" to imagine a unique soundscape for the series. 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. 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.