Summary
- Rumors continue to circulate about Kathleen Kennedy's departure from Lucasfilm due to recent changes and cancellations in Star Wars projects.
- The blame for the criticism of the franchise has fallen on Kennedy, with fans speculating that her days as president are numbered.
- The potential change in leadership at Lucasfilm is believed to be the reason behind the rumored departure, with the new head wanting to distance themselves from the perceived mess created by Kennedy.
Rumors about Kathleen Kennedy's possible departure from Lucasfilm continue to swirl, as two more recent Star Wars projects are allegedly canceled.
Star Wars fans can be critical of their beloved franchise, especially since Disney took over. Most of this blame has fallen on Lucasfilm president Kennedy. After the way fans reacted to the sequel trilogy, some believed her days were numbered and she would leave her role. That has yet to happen, but rumors about her departure from Lucasfilm are again picking up steam.
In a post by MyTimeToShineHello, the user stated that Taika Waititi's Star Wars film is dead despite what he and the studio have said. CanWeGetSomeToast responded to that post, saying, “Don’t believe for a second that it’s due to 'the downfall of Taika Waititi.' It's just that once Kathleen Kennedy's tenure as the head of Lucasfilm is over (which is sooner than you think), the new head will want to stay as far as possible away from the mess that Kathy created. Disney knows this. Consider Patty Jenkins' #RogueSquadron to be dead as well.” It had already been reported that Rogue Squadron had been shelved along with an unnamed Star Wars project produced by Kevin Feige.
What was most interesting is that Toast says Waititi's Star Wars project is canceled due to a potential change in leadership at Lucasfilm and not Waititi's recent career slump. Kennedy's contract expires in late 2024, and according to another scooper, WDW Pro, there is a belief that she will not seek an extension. WDW Pro also believes that even when she leaves her position at Lucasfilm she may still have creative input in projects immediately following her exit.
No matter what fans think about the Star Wars projects released under Kennedy's leadership, the bigger problem has been that Lucasfilm struggles to finish a project they've announced. Even if the project is eventually completed and released, it usually gets significantly changed by finding a new director or writer. Sometimes projects, like Kenobi and Lando, go from movie to series or vice versa. This has reportedly caused Disney to ask Lucasfilm to stop announcing Star Wars projects so early.
There is no word on who the next president of Lucasfilm could be, but some fans speculate that it could be Dave Filoni or Jon Favreau. They could also go the DC Studios route and have two co-presidents to helm the Star Wars franchise's new era.
Source: CanWeGetSomeToast, MyTimeToShineHello, WDW Pro