As the current President of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy obviously wields a massive amount of power over Star Wars, and judging by all the writers and directors that the franchise has gone through over the last few years, it appears that at least from a creative standpoint, it’s either her way or the highway.
Of course, Kennedy has often said that she loves hearing criticism when it comes to the studio’s recent output, but the huge level of filmmaker turnover and backlash from the fanbase can’t be going unnoticed at Disney and most have figured it’s only a matter of time before she’s given the boot. And it seems as if they were right to assume that, as we’re now hearing that Kennedy may indeed be on her way out.
Sources close to WGTC – the same ones who said [SPOILERS] would die in The Rise of Skywalker and that [SPOILERS] would be revealed as a traitor, both of which were true – have told us that Disney wants Kathleen Kennedy gone from Lucasfilm and while it’s not set in stone just yet that she’s on her way out the door, from what we’ve been told, there’s a “95% chance” she won’t be with the company for much longer.
As for who would replace her, that remains unclear, but from what we’ve heard, it could be another woman so that the studio isn’t accused of mistreating women in power. But again, we weren’t given any names in regards to who may be stepping in once Kennedy is gone. Seeing as this intel comes to us from the same sources who also told us Rey is Palpatine’s [SPOILERS] though, which also turned out to be true, we have no reason to doubt it.
And while there’s obviously still a small chance that the current Lucasfilm President will remain on board, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see her depart in the new year. After all, her time with the company hasn’t been without troubles.
Sure, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi became the highest grossing entries in the franchise’s history, but the, shall we say, mixed response to the latter has proven to be something of a thorn in her side for years now. Not to mention that the Star Wars Anthology movies she’s overseen have also been a rough enterprise, with both Solo and Rogue One arriving in theaters off the back of many production issues.
In short, the writing has been on the wall for a while now and with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker receiving such a mixed response from critics and fans and likely on course to underperform at the box office, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Kennedy is replaced.
