Star Wars Producer Kathleen Kennedy Will Stage L.A.'s 2028 Olympic Ceremonies

The former Lucasfilm chief takes over all four Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies as LA28 unveils its new slogan, "Stars Align."

By Herald Staff · Oct. 28, 2026, 2:30 PM ET

A grand stadium colonnade of tall arches glows gold at dusk beneath a flaming cauldron, flanked by palm trees under a deep blue sky full of stars. — The 2028 Olympic opening ceremony is set for July 14 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium.

The producer who helped steer Star Wars, Jurassic Park and E.T. to the screen now has a new blockbuster to deliver: the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles. LA28, the private committee organizing the Games, named Kathleen Kennedy its head of ceremonies and content on Wednesday, the same day it unveiled "Stars Align" as the official slogan for the Games.

Hollywood Takes the Stage

Kennedy will lead all four ceremonies, the Olympic and Paralympic openings and closings, and serve as executive producer of the Olympic opening and closing shows, LA28 said in its announcement. The Olympic opening ceremony is set for July 14, 2028, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Exposition Park and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Olympic closing ceremony follows on July 30. The Paralympics, the first ever held in Los Angeles, open Aug. 15 and close Aug. 27 at the Coliseum.

She takes over the role from Peter Rice, the former 20th Century Fox and 21st Century Fox executive who was recently named chief content officer at Netflix, according to the Times. LA28 said Rice will stay on as an executive producer. Kennedy joins Emmy-winning producer Ben Winston, the ceremonies' executive producer and creative director, and Scott Givens, a veteran Olympic ceremonies producer who is executive producer of production. A new company called FulFive, made up of Fulwell Entertainment and FiveCurrents, will support the production, the committee said.

"Kathleen is a legend. She is one of Hollywood's all-time greats, with a rare gift for storytelling," LA28 Chairperson and President Casey Wasserman said in the announcement. "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."

A Career Built on Blockbusters

Kennedy ran Lucasfilm from 2012 until January of this year, guiding Star Wars into a new generation with films including "The Force Awakens," "Rogue One" and "The Last Jedi." Before that, she co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and her husband, Frank Marshall. Amblin made hits such as "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and the "Back to the Future" trilogy. The Kennedy/Marshall Company, which she and Marshall founded in 1992, made "The Sixth Sense," "Seabiscuit" and "Lincoln," the Times noted.

LA28 said her films and franchises have earned 120 Academy Award nominations and 25 wins across more than 70 features. She is an eight-time Oscar nominee herself and shared the Academy's Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award with Marshall in 2018.

Kennedy said the Games are personal. "The Olympics have been a touchstone in my life. 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," she said. "These Games are rooted in Los Angeles, but with events from Oklahoma City to LA28's six incredible Soccer/Football cities, all of America gets to host the world's finest athletes."

'Stars Align' Sets the Tone

The appointment came alongside the Games' new slogan. "Stars Align" nods to the "stars in motion" emblem of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, the 50 stars on the U.S. flag and the city's Hollywood reputation, the Times reported.

"'Stars align' is when preparation meets opportunity," LA28 Chief Marketing Officer Alex Merchán told the paper. He said the phrase grew inside the committee over several years, and the team tested it in the 14 most widely used languages in the Olympic and Paralympic movement to make sure the message held up.

The 1984 Games in Los Angeles were the first to use an official slogan, "Play a Part in History," and finished with a $235 million profit that has funded youth sports in the city for decades, according to the Times. LA28 has already sold more than 6 million Olympic tickets and plans to open first-come, first-served Olympic sales next year. Paralympic tickets go on sale in 2027, and the torch relay begins in spring 2028.

What Comes Next

LA28 said the ceremonies are moving from early development into production. The committee has not yet said who will perform or what the shows will look like. With the 2028 Games, Los Angeles will become only the third city ever to host three Olympics, after hosting in 1932 and 1984, LA28 noted. For a city that calls itself the entertainment capital of the world, the people now in charge of the opening night are among the biggest names the industry has.

Original reporting by The Los Angeles Herald, drawing on LA28 and the news outlets linked above.