Aside from Rian Johnson, no one person associated with Star Wars has had a target painted on them as big as the one on Kathleen Kennedy. The beleaguered Lucasfilm president’s run has been nothing if not tempestuous. Under her watch, Star Wars relaunched with the blockbuster first installment of the sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens. Then, the following year, Lucasfilm delivered Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Rogue One is arguably considered one of the best films of the entire franchise. But things went, to some degree, off the rails from there.
(Image: David James/Lucasfilm ltd.)
Granted, The Last Jedi was a success at the box office, but at what cost? The film’s divisiveness split the fan base. And the subject of how the studio bungled Solo: A Star Wars Story is one we’ve addressed multiple times, as well. With so much riding on Star Wars: Episode IX, Kathleen Kennedy recently spoke to Rolling Stone about The Rise of Skywalker, Star Wars in general, and what the future holds from there. Based on Kennedy’s own words, her tenure at Lucasfilm appears to be in limbo.
Kathleen Kennedy: Disconnected from Star Wars
When it comes to The Last Jedi, Kennedy still doesn’t seem to understand just how the film affected the franchise. In describing the film and Rian Johnson’s treatment of Star Wars, Kathleen Kennedy had this to say:
I mean, I love what Rian did …. And I really appreciated the bold moves that he did make. I think people forget that, especially when you’re doing a trilogy structure, the first movie is setting things up, the second is usually the conflict, and the third is the resolution.”
There’s a condescending air to her words here. “I think people forget that …” screams of a defensive excuse for the film, as if she’s blaming the fans for their feelings. She is, however, correct to some extent; the second film of a trilogy usually is the conflict. What she seems to forget is that the conflict is supposed to be part of the plot, not the film itself.
Sourcing Star Wars
Kathleen Kennedy’s disconnect from Star Wars and its fans doesn’t end there, however. Look no further than her comments regarding The Rise of Skywalker to illustrate that fact. Of making the film, she remarked:
“[t]here’s no source material. We don’t have comic books… don’t have 800-page novels. We don’t have anything other than passionate storytellers who get together and talk about what the next iteration might be.”
The first thing Disney did when it acquired Lucasfilm was to declare the Expanded Universe no longer canon, relegating it to “Legends” status. Admittedly much of the material no longer fits within the new, post-Disney Star Wars canon. But to say that there’s no source material for this or future Star Wars stories? There are literally millions of pages of material from which Lucasfilm can draw for inspiration and basis. Obviously it doesn’t have to copy EU material in-fact. Frankly, it shouldn’t. But to say there’s no source material shows that Kathleen Kennedy truly doesn’t understand the Star Wars universe, or its fans.
The future
Perhaps she’s beginning to realize her own shortcomings, too. Fans, critics, and even the show’s stars have heaped lavish praise upon Jon Favreau for The Mandalorian. Kevin Feige, the mastermind behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now has his spoon in the Star Wars pot, too. So are Kathleen Kennedy’s days as president of Lucasfilm numbered? Kennedy herself doesn’t even seem confident of her future:
What happens in the future, and how long and how much longer I do this? I don’t know yet. I’m looking at all of that.”
For now, Star Wars appears to be stable. The Rise of Skywalker has fans waiting with eager anticipation. Many are calling The Mandalorian, after just two, short episodes, the best thing in Star Wars in decades. Even the new video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order appears to be a roaring success. Beyond that? Well, as Kathleen Kennedy says:
…. what the future holds, who knows.”
Source: Rolling Stone
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I love this site, and this is the first time I’ve read and article and thought: wait a minute…
No offense but I think you’re reading too much into what are fairly safe, bland, typical statements.
I hated TLJ. I really did. Hated it for so many reasons. But I don’t hate Kathleen. I think she does a good job and her job can be a pain in the ass when you have to please such a large, vocal fanbase like SW’s.
If there’s someone to blame for TLJ is Rian. That’s it. That smarmy fake woke douche should be booted out of Hollywood.
Kathleen hasn’t read every single comic and book about SW? Big deal. Who cares? Neither have I. And I doubt Kevin Feige has. Or that he has read every single Marvel comic.
Again, let’s not divide ourselves further as a fanbase. Rian Johnson is the idiot here. Not the actors, not the frozen head of Walt Disney, not Kathleen Kennedy.
Kathleen Kennedy is a terrible producer. Just look at what happened to Rogue One, Solo and the Boba Fett movie. Complete incompetent. And she let Rian Johnson do whatever the hell he wanted. That is on her not him. He was given carte blanche to do what he wanted. Which isn’t smart when you are following up a film in a trilogy.
Rogue One is great, and we’re getting a Boba Fett show instead of a movie, if you don’t like Star Wars, then stop watching, it’s that easy.
Kathleen Kennedy and rian johnson share the blame. The ROS was a box office success in spite of them. But it under performed expectations. I love that she still blames the fans. Like we just don’t get it from a production stand point. I understand perfectly the 2nd film should be the characters low point. However that shouldn’t mean destroying a beloved character and killing him off to build up your new diverse, lady chosen one. Their obsession with feminism bled all over the screen. They couldn’t have characters teach Rey anything because she’s already flawless. “Come watch a woman do amazing things” that’s the plot to the new trilogy. For a fraction of the cost, I could write a respectful story. One that respects the original fans and creates depth for the new characters. But nope. We get obvious disdain for the original fans. Kathleen Kennedy is a blood sucking diversity leech. Just virtue signaling to the rest of Hollywood about how woke they are. The crazy thing is I enjoy all the new characters. They are just written so poorly that it’s unreal in a way. How can a room of adults green light such massive plot holes? The new movies look amazing but the story only exists to demonstrate how awesome Rey is. Having Rey lose to kylo in the first saber battle would have gone along way. Have Luke be training his own army of Jedi on the island. Since he was the main plot device of the first film. You could still have Rey be the best, just have her learn her new force powers from Luke. And have Han, Luke and Leia in a scene together. That’s so damn obvious it hurts my brain. Boom, your new movies are better.
Star Wars Expanded Universe will be Continue as Canon because I love the Characters Of EU Like Mara Jade Skywalker Darth Malgus and More