McCallum joined Lucasfilm as a producer on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles before going on to produce Radioland Murders. He was then one of the key figures in the cinematic return of the Star Wars franchise, overseeing the Special Edition re-releases of the original series and producing the prequel trilogy.

Given the recent Lucasfilm news, it’s probably not that surprising that McCallum is moving on, leaving a clean slate for Kathleen Kennedy to usher in the next generation of Star Wars films. 

“There’s only person in the world who could do this, and that’s Kathleen Kennedy,” McCallum said in the announcement on StarWars.com. “There’s no one more suited who is able to bridge the worlds of elite filmmaking within a studio context. The Star Wars saga will always be taken care of under her leadership. She is truly one of the greatest producers in America as well as being a great friend.”

George Lucas added; “No matter how impossible I made the task, Rick was able to overcome the challenges. In addition to putting together great crews and working miracles with the budget, he was instrumental in helping push filmmaking into the 21st century. He has a larger-than-life personality and made this amazing 20-year journey with him a fun one.”

His last film in the producers chair at Lucasfilm was the World War II epic Red Tails, but his legacy will most likely always be his involvement with the Star Wars franchise.

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