It looks like a big change, some would say long overdue, is coming to Lucasfilm as Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy is set to stand down later this year.
Kennedy took the reins on Lucasfilm in 2012 when George Lucas sold it, along with some of the most successful franchises in the world to Disney for $4bn and it’s been a bumpy path ever since.
Bringing back Star Wars in a big way in 2015 with JJ Abrams’ directed The Force Awakens, it seemed that we were in Star Wars heaven, with the new movie and character being warmly embraced by the fans and going on to be one of the most successful movies of all time, however, with The Last Jedi in 2017, the Star Wars brand started down a road that lead to ruination with Solo later that year and The Rise of Skywalker in 2019 both failing to set Star Wars back on the right track.
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In more recent years Kennedy has overseen Indiana Jones and the Sphere of Destiny which has pretty much seen the franchise die and then the Williow sequel series that was removed from Disney+ and can now not be seen by anyone, anywhere.
And yes, of course, we had the Mandalorian TV series in Kennedy’s time but it was the outlier in a series more more and more disappointing series in recent years and, in fairness, the success of the series lies with creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, both of whom are among the favourites to take over Kennedy’s role when she leaves towards the end of 2025.
Kennedy may not have dazzled with her recent productions but there’s no denying that her work over the years with husband Frank Marshall and Steven Spielberg (Spielberg once commented that she was terrible at her job but made great coffee, make of that what you will), a career that saw her connected to such iconic movies as Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Gremlins, Who Framed Roger Rabbit as well as the Back to the Future and Indiana Jones franchises.
So yes, a storied career to say the least but, for better or worse, she’s leaving a legacy behind at Lucasfilm, let’s hope Favreau (or whoever comes next) can rectify the course.
Thoughts? I know you have them…
UPDATE:
Kathleen Kennedy now says she is not retiring but is looking at an eventual succession plan for a new leader of Lucasfilm, she said: “We’ll probably make an announcement months or a year out, and I have every intention of sticking around to help that person be successful.”
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