Summary
- Reports of Kathleen Kennedy’s resignation from Lucasfilm were greatly exaggerated.
- Kennedy has faced backlash but is credited with successful Disney+ Star Wars content.
- Regardless of Kennedy’s future, the Star Wars franchise will continue with committed creatives.
The Star Wars fandom was recently confronted with some big news about a potentially game-changing shakeup at parent company Lucasfilm, but a new report from a strong source suggests that this won’t be happening anytime soon.
When Disney acquired the rights to Star Wars via a 2012 purchase of parent company Lucasfilm, franchise creator George Lucas wasn’t willing to stay on and oversee the company, instead electing Kathleen Kennedy to take on the role of President. Kennedy was well-known to Lucas, having co-founded Amblin Entertainment alongside husband Frank Marshall and Steven Spielberg and from that position worked with Lucas on the Indiana Jones franchise. Kennedy would oversee Disney Star Wars’ controversial sequel trilogy as her first major move as President, souring a sizable portion of the fanbase on her from the get-go. As a result, it’s been rumored that Kennedy’s Time With Star Wars was coming to an end several times over the last few years for a plethora of reasons ranging from a hostile removal to a disgraced resignation.
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While those murmurs weren’t too widely regarded at the time, a more recent report from Puck once again alleged that Kennedy was preparing for an exit from Lucasfilm to end her high-profile career, citing three unidentified sources with knowledge on Kennedy’s private affairs that included conversations with close friends and business dealings involving Kennedy’s Malibu properties. While this was seen as much more substantial and was widely reported, it now appears that things aren’t quite so settled. CNN reports that a source that it designates as familiar with the matter revealed that reports of Kennedy’s imminent resignation and subsequent retirement were greatly exaggerated, noting that “there’s nothing there right now,” and insisting that any concrete news will be made public once “actual decisions are made.” The report also confirmed that CNN was unable to get a statement from Lucasfilm and a request to a Disney representative was declined.
While there were valid points made in the Puck report that lent the news from the undisclosed sources more credence (for example, Kennedy’s age), the news likely wouldn’t have blown up so quickly if Kennedy wasn’t already a bit polarizing. Since taking on her current role as President, the executive has become the first stop for fan reservations about the divisive Star Wars sequels and its questionable spin-offs, as well as other problem projects like The Acolyte and myriad canned films and shows within the franchise. This was exacerbated by the recent lukewarm response to the latest from the Indiana Jones franchise at Lucasfilm, and even shortfalls for unrelated projects like the High Republic books. While Kennedy did oversee a lot of failure at Lucasfilm on the theatrical side of things, she was also in charge of the franchise’s first serious foray into TV and streaming via Disney+, starting off strong with The Mandalorian and also being fully in charge for the creation and renewal of Andor, which many now consider the shining hope for Star Wars content on Disney+.
This CNN report will likely stop the presses on the succession debate that’s sprung up online following the initial Puck piece, and that’s a good thing for fans because it barely matters in the first place. While Kennedy plays an important role in the franchise as is, she’s only an overseer for the real creatives, many of whom are still fully committed to delivering great stories. In fact, Star Wars recently got its most ambitious modern project confirmed, and there’s a lot more in the pipeline as well that won’t be going anywhere regardless of who happens to be in the President’s chair come year’s end. As such, fans can rest assured that the content will remain unaffected no matter what happens in this situation and the conflicting reports.
The Star Wars franchise is available to stream on Disney+.
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Source: CNN