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Lucasfilm Renews Kathleen Kennedy's Contract Through 2024
Kathleen Kennedy reportedly renews her contract with Lucasfilm through 2024. When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, George Lucas handpicked Kennedy to be the studio's new president, entrusting his old colleague to oversee a new wave of Star Wars and Indiana Jones projects. Nearly a decade later, a slate of five Star Wars movies have been released, a plethora of Star Wars TV shows are coming through the pipeline, and Indiana Jones 5 is currently filming ahead of its 2023 release date. While there is a lot for viewers to look forward to, Kennedy's tenure has proven to be divisive amongst audiences for a variety of reasons.
Outside of creative decisions made for the Star Wars sequel trilogy splitting audiences, Lucasfilm has become rather infamous for behind-the-scenes turmoil resulting in several filmmakers leaving the studio. Phil Lord & Chris Miller's shocking firing from Solo: A Star Wars Story is the most notable example, but Lucasfilm has also parted ways with Josh Trank, Colin Trevorrow, and others. More recently, Patty Jenkins' Star Wars spinoff Rogue Squadron was delayed due to creative differences. This has caused some to believe Lucasfilm would be better off without Kennedy, but she's staying around.
In Matthew Beloni's newsletter for Puck (hat tip Star Wars News Net), it's mentioned Kennedy's deal with Lucasfilm has been extended, keeping her in place as president until at least 2024. Read the relevant section in the space below:
Quote:
"Kennedy has a lot of good things happening at Lucasfilm, and I’m told she recently re-upped her deal for another three years.”
Kennedy previously had her contract extended for three years back in 2018, so a decision on her future had to be made soon. Even with the news about the Rogue Squadron delay, it would appear Disney is pleased with the way Kennedy is running Lucasfilm. Despite the sequel trilogy earning a mixed reception, Star Wars seems to be in a strong place on the small screen. The Mandalorian is the crown jewel of Disney+'s lineup, and Lucasfilm also has The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, Andor, and more on the way. It remains to be seen how successful each of these series are, but anticipation for all are high, and the Disney higher-ups must be impressed by what they've seen so far. Indiana Jones 5 is also shaping up to be intriguing, with Logan director James Mangold calling the shots on Harrison Ford's (probable) swan song as the archeologist.
There is plenty of excitement surrounding these projects, though it will still be interesting to see what happens over the next few years. Disney, of course, wants to bring Star Wars back to movie theaters at some point. Should creative differences with directors persist, the company may decide to go in a different direction after 2024. Those types of issues pop up in the industry (even at Marvel), but they've been quite prevalent at Lucasfilm since Kennedy took over. Lucasfilm brass needs to work on ironing out any creative issues early in the process. By the time a new Star Wars movie is announced, everyone involved should be on the same page.
Rogue Squadron (2023)
Release Date: Dec 22, 2023
