Kathleen Kennedy’s days at Lucasfilm are numbered. Or so says Grace Randolph of Beyond the Trailer.
Though her track record is sketchy at best, Randolph (h/t Screen Rant) is alleging that the current Star Wars chief is on her way out of Lucasfilm, as Disney CEO Bob Iger has made it his mission to welcome some new blood into a franchise that has arguably fallen on hard times of late – well, hard times for Star Wars in that Solo, its most recent installment, struggled to light up the box office charts in the way Disney would’ve hoped.
All of this has prompted a seismic shift behind the scenes, with rumblings that Lucasfilm has since halted production on all standalone Star Wars movies, beginning with Obi-Wan Kenobi and the James Mangold-directed Boba Fett spinoff. The latter pic wasn’t expected to enter production until 2020 regardless, but it now seems that Kathleen Kennedy won’t be around to see everyone’s favorite bounty hunter headline his own solo adventure.
The Force Awakens helmer J.J. Abrams is one such candidate to come into contention, though Randolph notes that Abrams ultimately turned down the chance to succeed Kathleen Kennedy as Lucasfilm’s big boss – as have others – leaving the franchise’s immediate future in a state of mystery.
We should stress that Beyond the Trailer’s report is total conjecture and should be treated as such, but it presents some interesting food for thought nonetheless.
Next up for the Star Wars franchise is the release of Episode IX in December of 2019, and if recent rumors are to be believed – rumors that Lucasfilm has categorically denied, mind you – then all other standalone films have been placed on hold for the foreseeable future.
