Kathleen Kennedy Finally Leaving Lucasfilm Later This Year

Millions of voices cried out in glee...

In a move that many a fan will say is happening far too late, Kathleen Kennedy is finally vacating her role as president of Lucasfilm. The exit is expected to happen by the end of this year according to various reports. For those of you who have heard this particular yarn many times before, there does seem to be a modicum of legitimacy to it in this case because outlets like The Hollywood Reporter and various other industry trades are reporting on the story, for what it's worth.

Kennedy's run as the head of Lucasfilm has largely been an enormous failure. Star Wars has never been at a lower point, with the series run into the ground starting with The Last Jedi and continuing to dissolve fan interest with each subsequent, terrible project like Solo, The Acolyte, and more besides. Even series that are considered halfway decent like Andor don't make a blip on the radar these days thanks to the overall mismanagement of the brand. Under Kennedy's guidance, even Disney's Galactic Starcruiser, a Star Wars-themed luxury resort, closed its doors not even a year after opening them, to the tune of a billion dollars in losses.

Beyond that, the larger Lucasfilm brand has also been significantly damaged by Kennedy's leadership. A TV sequel to the '80s cult classic Willow was so poorly received that Disney removed the series from its streaming service to recoup losses. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, meanwhile, further tarnished the character's legacy with a mediocre box office following multiple reshoots, as well as a mess of a story that failed to put the focus on its star, instead highlighting Phoebe Waller-Bridge's unlikable character.

It has been mistake after mistake, yes, but it has also been a period notable for attacking fans, as well. With virtually every failed project the studio has portrayed the majority of fans who have been vocal in their criticisms as terrible people, utilizing social media and legacy media outlets to broadly smear them as racists, homophobes, and worse. Lucasfilm under Kathleen Kennedy has been such a disaster that it spawned an entire special episode of South Park. The damage is so extensive to Lucasfilm that even Star Wars toys, which were once a veritable goldmine of revenue, have become regular fixtures at discount chains like Ollie's Bargain Outlet. At this point it's unclear when, if ever, Lucasfilm and its associated IPs will ever recover from Kennedy's disastrous leadership.

Sadly, it's unclear if the departure of Kennedy will mean anything in terms of righting the ship at Lucasfilm. It's also worth noting that while this story has hit some major mainstream news outlets, the Variety article we're referencing here states that Kennedy's fate is still "undecided," so as we learn more, we'll continue to update.

Source: Variety