After leading the epic Star Wars franchise for over a decade as president of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy is reportedly planning to step down. Fans, who have expressed their criticism over her creative direction for the franchise, are eager to where things might go under the new leadership.
There have been frequent discussions of who could potentially replace Kennedy, with Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau being the top contenders. However, some fear that the potential new leadership could lead to even more trouble for the franchise.
Kathleen Kennedy is reportedly planning to step down from Lucasfilm
Kathleen Kennedy, who took the position of president of Lucasfilm in 2012, is reportedly planning to step down by the end of 2025. As per Puck, Kennedy has reportedly discussed her plans to retire as Lucasfilm president with her friends and associates.
The Hollywood producer took over the leadership of the franchise after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and George Lucas stepped away from any active involvement in the epic soap opera.
After taking over its reins, Kennedy relaunched the Star Wars series with a sequel trilogy beginning with the box office hit The Force Awakens. It became the highest-grossing Star Wars film, earning over 2 billion. (Box Office Mojo)
However, beyond the box office success, the franchise expanded greatly with new shows. However, Kennedy’s tenure with the franchise has been highly divisive, especially due to the underwhelming reception of projects like The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker, and The Acolyte along with the behind-the-scenes drama of frequent director changes and reshoots.
While some fans praise Kathleen Kennedy for expanding the franchise, many others also argue that her creative decision alienated the core Star Wars fanbase, who continue to be concerned that her potential successor could further ruin the franchise.
Fans express concern over the potential new leader of Lucasfilm
While Kathleen Kennedy has not officially confirmed her plans for retirement, Star Wars fans have long been speculating about who could potentially take over the epic franchise after Kennedy.
While there have been no official updates, some of the names that have constantly been in discussions among fans have been Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau. The duo has delivered some of the most well-received Star Wars content in recent years.
Filoni, who is currently serving as Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm, has played a significant role in shaping the modern Star Wars saga, with fans’ favorite projects like The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Mandalorian. He is also working on the upcoming film, The Mandalorian & Grogu.
While he shares a deep love for the franchise and appears the strong contender to take on the leading roles after Kennedy, fans still have concerns about how they would handle expanding the series.
“Super unpopular opinion: Dave Filoni would be worse,” one fan argued in a Reddit discussion, suggesting that Filoni’s heavy reliance on “pure nostalgia” could become an issue if he takes over the leadership of the franchise.
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Fans argued that Star Wars needs to explore new avenues with compelling stories, characters, and elements in order to successfully move forward. While nostalgia is significant in all of this, many believe that Filoni might struggle to keep the balance, especially due to his deep connection with the series and its creator George Lucas.
While others expressed confidence that Filoni would likely be the final choice for Disney, they also expressed their concerns that it may not yield the results they hoped for, especially given he “doesn’t have the experience to be a studio head.”
“You thought she was bad? Oh boy, baby. You ain’t seen SH*T,” another fan argued. While some fans remain hopeful that the potential new president could likely ‘save’ Star Wars, many have already lost faith in the series ever returning to its former glory.
Star Wars is available to watch on Disney+.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
