| Editor's Note: No Morning Rush on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Day. |
| THE LUCASFILM LEADER DISCUSSES HER DECISION TO DEPART, WHAT SHE'S LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT AND HER ONE REGRET |
Kathleen Kennedy is handing the reins of Lucasfilm to her longtime lieutenants. The Disney division will be run by Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni and on the business side Lynwen Brennan, who has been Lucasfilm Executive Vice President and General Manager after 16 years at ILM.
Kennedy has been getting them ready for a couple of years, as she plotted a return to her first love, producing. She will be making a lot of, well, Star Wars films, far in the future as well as teaming on some projects with Frank Marshall. They’ve been married nearly 40 years and fell in love as they presided over Steven Spielberg’s Amblin in its heyday.
Here, in an exclusive interview, she explains to Deadline why now, and what’s ahead for her. >>>Q&A
Related:
Read Disney Studio Boss Alan Bergman's Memo Announcing Kennedy's Exit |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Anne Hathaway's Killer Project - Paramount+ has greenlighted Fear Not, a six-part limited series starring and executive produced by Oscar winner Anne Hathaway. The project, from writer Bash Doran (Boardwalk Empire), Steve Stark’s Toluca Pictures and MGM Television, is based on the 2023 Vanity Fair article “True Crime, True Faith: The Serial Killer and the Texas Mom Who Stopped Him.” >>> Among First Big Acquisitions Rendez-vous With Uncertainty - Unifrance’s 28th Rendez-vous in Paris, the biggest market devoted to French cinema outside of the Cannes Film Festival, is winding down today. About 400 buyers from 40 territories took part in the event, along with 50 audivisual sales companies and 100 TV buyers. While Deadline detected plenty of buzz on the ground, French cinema is in a complex state. Global receipts for minority and majority French productions rose 6% to $317 million in 2025, but admissions for French-language features fell to 17.1 million from 25.8M in the prior year. >>> "Wary About Rushing To Conclusions" Paul Mescal & The Bard - Paul Mescal discusses finding his version of William Shakespeare for Hamnet, how he approached grief in the role and what saved him from a cliched portrayal of The Bard.>>>Baz Bamigboye's Column
Dakota Fanning Goes Undercover- Apple TV has given a series order to a thriller starring and executive produced by Dakota Fanning. The untitled project, from creator by Alex Cary (Homeland) and Sony Pictures Television, was the subject of a competitive situation last year. Fanning will play an undercover Treasury agent infiltrating a multibillion dollar international conglomerate. >>>Romantic Entanglement
Daniel Stern Exits ABC Pilot - Daniel Stern is no longer part of ABC's comedy pilot Do You Want Kids?, starring Rachel Bloom and Rory Scovel. The network and 20th Television will be recasting the series-regular role. The dismissal comes after Stern on was charged with a single misdemeanor charge of engaging or agreeing to engage in prostitution. >>>Faces Six Months In Jail |
In last night’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and his wife, Catherine Cox (Debbie Allen), clash over the course of action following Richard’s prostate cancer diagnosis. Unhappy with his wait-and-see approach, Catherine flies in Dr. Laura Kaplan, played by guest star Jamie-Lynn Sigler, a top urologist who proposes a surgical intervention that comes with risks but could also cure him, at least for the foreseeable future.
Richard initially bristles at the idea because the potential complications could impact his work as a surgeon and his personal life. But after he learns that Laura has multiple sclerosis and after hearing her speak about adapting to the condition and remaining at the top of her profession, he has a change of heart and by the end of the episode, he agrees to the surgery.
In an interview with Deadline, Sigler revealed how the guest role, created for her, came about and why it was important to her that the character is not defined by their affliction and has a full life and a career. >>>Q&A |
exclusiveThe guest list continues to grow for the next season of HBO’s The White Lotus as sources tell Deadline that Chris Messina is in early talks to join the Emmy-winning drama series. While a deal hasn’t closed, insiders say Messina does have an offer.
exclusiveCliff “Method Man” Smith (Power Book II: Ghost) will star opposite Angelina Jolie and Charlie Plummer in Sunny, the dark thriller from Norwegian filmmaker Eva Sørhaug (Yellowjackets).
exclusiveKhandi Alexander (Scandal) is returning to ABC with a recurring role in the network’s acclaimed comedy series Abbott Elementary. |
BY THE NUMBERS $7B - Estimated value of Sony Pictures Entertainment's new Pay-1 licensing deal with Netflix |
MORE NEWS
🤬 The BBC has received more than 1,000 complaints about its output being biased in favor of Donald Trump, following a report about the president’s plans to use U.S. military might to “acquire” Greenland.
🎬 Former Paramount Global Co-CEO Brian Robbins is launching a new family production company dedicated to animated and live-action fare. CAA, a handful of financiers and Sony are backing it with about $100 million in funding.
👀 The Pitt returned to HBO Max last week with 5.4M U.S. viewers tuning in for the premiere episode in its first three days of availability, which Warner Bros. Discovery says is up nearly 200% from the Season 1 debut.
⚖️ EDO, an advertising technology firm co-founded by actor and filmmaker Edward Norton, has been found liable for breach of contract by a federal jury. The company must pay $18.3 million in damages to iSpot, a rival whose data was improperly obtained and then marketed to clients under EDO’s banner, the jury determined.
✈️ Paramount CEO David Ellison flew across the pond this week and met with UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy as well as prominent European creatives, as the studio took its fight for Warner Bros. Discovery overseas.
📉 On-location production in L.A. saw a slight uptick in the final few months of 2025 but overall the year marked another bleak one for the city, with 16.1% fewer total shoot days than 2024, according to the latest report from FilmLA.
🤝 Tokyo Broadcasting System and Legendary Entertainment have entered into a non-exclusive agreement to source and develop Japanese IP. As part of the agreement, TBS has acquired $150 million of equity from the company and existing shareholders of Legendary. |
ON THE RADAR
Fri - Oscar nomination voting ends
Sat - Finn Wolfhard hosts SNL; European Film Awards
Sun - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms series premiere
Mon - Martin Luther King Jr. Day; Davos begins; Ryan Coogler on Colbert
Tue - Netflix Q4 earnings; Bernie Sanders on Colbert
Thu - Oscar nominations announced; Sundance begins; TikTok deal closes |
Creative Destruction - Jason Momoa taking the movie's title literally at The Wrecking Crew New York special screening in Times Square. |
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