Kathleen Kennedy, the producer behind decades of Hollywood blockbusters, has been tapped to replace Peter Rice as head of ceremonies and content for the 2028 LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She will help shape the opening and closing ceremonies across four separate events, working alongside a production team already building toward the Games in Los Angeles.
The appointment was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, which noted that Rice will not be bowing out completely and will stay on as an executive producer. Kennedy will work with a team that includes executive producer and creative director Ben Winston and veteran Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies producer Scott Givens, according to the same report. Production support comes from FulFive, a new entity composed of Fulwell Entertainment and FiveCurrents.
LA28 organizing committee chair Casey Wasserman called Kennedy a legend and one of Hollywood's all-time greats, and said she was the best person to conjure Hollywood's magic for the Games, according to the Los Angeles Times. Olympic organizers said the appointment reflects LA28's commitment to creativity, cultural influence and storytelling, and that the ceremonies are intended to be distinctly Los Angeles while leaving a lasting global impression, per the same report.
A Career Built on Spielberg Films and Star Wars
Kennedy co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall, a studio whose credits include E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and the Back to the Future trilogy, as detailed by The Walt Disney Company. She and Marshall also founded the production company behind The Sixth Sense, Seabiscuit and Lincoln, per the Los Angeles Times. Variety reports that Kennedy worked closely with Spielberg over the years on films including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park and Lincoln, and that she helped pick director J.J. Abrams to helm 2015's Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Kennedy also helped produce Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Hollywood Reporter puts her credits at more than 100.
Her departure from Lucasfilm is similarly described with varying timelines. The Los Angeles Times reports that Kennedy left Lucasfilm in January 2026 after serving as president for 14 years, while Yahoo Sports, citing The Associated Press, reports she stepped down as Lucasfilm president in January after a run that began in 2012. The Los Angeles Times reports that her 14-year tenure as Lucasfilm president ended in January.
Peter Rice's Path From Fox to LA28
Rice previously held the LA28 head of ceremonies and content post before Kennedy's appointment. He became president of 21st Century Fox in 2017 and was recently named chief content officer at Netflix, per the Los Angeles Times. Despite stepping back from the top ceremonies role, Rice will remain involved as an executive producer at LA28, according to the organization's announcement.
Two Stadiums, Four Ceremonies, One Slogan
The 2028 Olympic Opening Ceremony will be shared between the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Stadium in Inglewood on July 14, 2028, according to LA28. The Olympic Closing Ceremony follows on July 30, 2028, at the Coliseum, while the Paralympic Opening Ceremony is set to ignite at the Stadium in Inglewood on August 15, 2028, with the Paralympic Closing Ceremony on August 27, 2028. Kennedy will lead the team designing the Paralympics closing ceremony and both Paralympic ceremonies, the Los Angeles Times reports, with the Paralympics beginning about one month after the Summer Olympics.
No host city has staged an Opening Ceremony in two stadiums at the same time before, according to Olympics.com, which adds that both venues will feature artistic elements capturing the rich culture of Los Angeles. The Coliseum will also become the first venue in history to host events for three Olympic Games, per LA28, and Los Angeles will become just the third city ever to host three Olympic Games, following 1932 and 1984. LA28 has also unveiled a new official slogan for the Games: Stars Align.
Echoes of the 1984 Games
Kennedy said she and Marshall had attended almost every Olympics since the Games were last held in Los Angeles in 1984, according to the Los Angeles Times. That earlier Los Angeles Olympics was produced by David L. Wolper, whose closing ceremony famously featured what appeared to be an alien spaceship arriving at the Coliseum, a two-ton, 52-foot-diameter creation covered in fabric, as recounted by the Los Angeles Times in archival coverage. Four decades later, organizers are betting that Kennedy's blend of blockbuster storytelling and personal Olympic history can deliver a similarly memorable spectacle for a new generation of fans.
