Kathleen Kennedy to Lead LA28 Olympic Ceremonies After Lucasfilm Exit

Kathleen Kennedy, the former Lucasfilm president, will run the ceremonies and content for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. She replaces Peter Rice, who left the role after Netflix hired him as chief content officer earlier this week, taking over from Bela Bajaria. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the move.

Rice isn't disappearing from the project. He stays on as executive producer of the LA28 Games, so Kennedy inherits a foundation he built rather than a blank page.

What exactly does Kennedy control?

Her brief covers all four ceremonies:

• Olympic opening ceremony: July 14, 2028
• Olympic closing ceremony: July 30, 2028
• Paralympic opening ceremony: August 15, 2028
• Paralympic closing ceremony: August 27, 2028

That's the full arc of the Games' televised spectacle — the moments that typically draw the largest global audiences of the entire event.

LA28 chairperson and president Casey Wasserman called Kennedy a "legend" and "one of Hollywood's all-time greats." In a statement, he made the logic of the hire explicit: "When the stars align to focus the world's attention on Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, I can't think of anyone better to conjure the magic of Hollywood than Kathleen."

Why Kennedy, and why now?

The appointment lands weeks after Kennedy left Lucasfilm at the end of 2025, closing a 14-year run as president. She hasn't fully cut ties with the studio behind "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" — her recent credits include last summer's "The Mandalorian and Grogu" and the upcoming "Star Wars: Starfighter," which stars Ryan Gosling.

Her track record is the argument here. Kennedy worked closely with Steven Spielberg across decades, producing "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Jurassic Park" and "Lincoln." At Lucasfilm, she chose J.J. Abrams to direct 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," a revival that grossed more than $2 billion worldwide.

The tenure had misses too: 2018's "Solo: A Star Wars Story" and 2023's "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" both underperformed. LA28 is effectively betting that a producer with five decades of blockbuster experience — and a few instructive failures — is the right person to stage the biggest live event Los Angeles will host this decade.

What does this change for the ceremonies?

In her first comments on the job, Kennedy framed it as personal. She described the Olympics as "a touchstone in my life" and called sport "one of the great unifying experiences we share."

"Casey Wasserman has a bold vision for what these Games can mean for Los Angeles and the world, and I'm thrilled he's asked me to help bring it to life," Kennedy said. "My husband, Frank Marshall, and I have attended virtually every games since Los Angeles in 1984, and sport remains one of the great unifying experiences we share. Peter Rice has laid a terrific foundation, and I can't wait to get to work with Ben Winston, our creative director, and the whole LA28 team."

The mention of creative director Ben Winston signals continuity: the creative architecture Rice assembled stays in place, with Kennedy taking the top delivery role. Her stated priority is building on that foundation rather than restarting it.

With just over two years until the July 14, 2028 opening ceremony, the hire gives LA28 a producer who has managed franchise-scale productions and knows Los Angeles from the inside — and a clear chain of command as the Games' most-watched hours take shape.