Lucasfilms VP of Post-Production, Mike Blanchard, Retires After 30 Years

Mike Blanchard, vice president of post-production at Lucasfilm, is retiring this month after 30 years at the company.



Blanchard joined Lucasfilm in the 90s and was brought on to the post-production department in 1995 to help with the completion of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, as described in the post announcing his retirement on Lucasfilm.com. “It’s the most beautiful place on Earth, and now I’m working there?,' he said about his first day at Lucasfilm. The opportunity came to him after meeting a well-known producer at a time when he was considering the graduate cinema program at USC after attending Film School at the San Francisco State University. He said:

His work on Star Wars began with the release of the Special Editions in 1997, and then he moved on to The Phantom Menace and the rest of the prequels. Working on Attack of the Clones, the first all-digital movie, was a highlight. He described the dynamics of Lucasfilm back then as trying their best to live up to George Lucas' standards: 'We had a clarity of purpose that came straight from George. We didn’t want to let him down. For me that was it. Once we knew what he wanted, we had to do everything we could to get it done.'







Blanchard would eventually reunite with Kennedy after George Lucas sold the company to Disney. Two of the highlights of the Disney era are working with Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman on The Last Jedi, and then with Ron Howard on Solo:

He's the latest from the old George Lucas guard to leave the company, and though he'll obviously miss his home for 30 years, he looks forward to a much-deserved retirement:

Pippa Anderson continues to serve as senior VP of post-production.



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