Rumor: Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy “Will Not Be Seeking A Renewal Or Extension Of Her Contract”
John F. Trent
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A new rumor asserts that Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy will not seek “a renewal or extension of her contract” when it expires.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Kathleen Kennedy onstage during the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
This new rumor comes from scooper WDW Pro. He said, “From the source that I have regarding Lucasfilm and the situation over there. I am told that Kathleen Kennedy will not be seeking a renewal or extension of her contract which ends in 2024.”
The scooper continued, “Now, I am told, although I cannot verify this independently, I am told that Kathleen Kennedy has negotiations still in place for the third week of August, that’s this August, and her contract as it is constituted will run out late next year.”
Later in the video he detailed, “According to the source that I have they believe that Kathleen Kennedy’s side– And by the way folks, let me say this, Kathleen Kennedy is not going to be in these negotiations as far as we know. She’s not going to ride in on a black steed to Burbank. This is going to be handled through attorneys, through representatives on both sides. Take all of the craziness out of this. This works the way that business always does. ”
“But I am told that one of the things that she wants is she wants EPs and she wants Executive Producer credits on at least two theatrical releases going forward and she wants actual creative consultation rights. She wants to be on set for two future theatrical releases even after she potentially exits Lucasfilm,” WDW Pro relayed.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 15: Kathleen Kennedy arrives at the special 3-episode launch event for Lucasfilm’s original series Andor at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on September 15, 2022. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
“I don’t know that Disney is going to give that and that’s where this gets– You know when we talk about negotiations she’s got until third quarter of next year,” he reminded his viewers. “So we don’t know how long these negotiations will go. This might be her opening salvo.”
He reiterated, “But she wants to continue to be, you know, on sets. She wants her name to be in the marquee. She wants to go to the premieres and the dining and all of that. She’s going to try and stick around even if she’s transitioned out of her role.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: (L-R) Daisy Ridley, Kathleen Kennedy and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy attend the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
Along with this scoop about Kennedy not seeking a renewal of her contract to stay on as Lucasfilm President, WDW Pro also shared that Jon Favreau was offered the role of Creative Director at Lucasfilm to Jon Favreau.
He said, “I am told that the Creative Director position of Lucasfilm has been offered and that it has been offered to Jon Favreau. It’s a big deal. What I don’t know is I don’t think that he has agreed to it.”
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MAY 26: (L-R) Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm, Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni attend the studio showcase panel at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California on May 26, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Still later, WDW Pro went on to claim, “The other thing that I’m told is that Lucasfilm will not be led necessarily by Jon Favreau even if he is the Creative Director of the studio, but rather I am told that there will be a new head of the studio who may be on the same level as Jon Favreau, which would make this be a duality at the top.”
“However, I am not allowed to talk about who that might be. What I am allowed to say is that the person that they would like to get is outside the company period; to be brought in,” he shared.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 13: (L-R) Executive Producer Kathleen Kennedy and Executive Producer Jon Favreau arrive at the premiere of Lucasfilm’s first-ever, live-action series, “The Mandalorian,” at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on November 13, 2019. “The Mandalorian” streams exclusively on Disney+. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
WDW Pro then detailed that Kennedy might stay on longer while they try to get their new Lucasfilm team in place, “So the other part to this is that if they are unable to pull in the team that they need that they may actually default to having Kennedy a little bit longer in order to get the right team in place.”
“But I am told that if she stays a little bit longer in order to get the right team in place– So let’s say that Favreau says, ‘No I don’t want any part of this, you’ve created a hive of villainy.’ Let’s say that they can’t pull in this third party. If Kennedy stays I am told and I am told with — I mean this person is adamant — there will be no announcement period. There will be no announcement that she has been kept on that you can count on. Nothing. No public statement out of Disney until she moves on. That’s it. They don’t want any extra attention to brought to her if she stays for three months, six months extra while they get the team in place,” he asserted.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MAY 26: (L-R) Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm honors composer John Williams on his 90th birthday at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California on May 26, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Interestingly, the information about Favreau being offered the Creative Director position, which is currently held by Dave Filoni, and him not accepting the position at this time appears to line up with a recent rumor from Matt McGloin at Cosmic Book News who shared that his sources informed him that Kennedy would not be getting fired because “no one wants the job.”
He tweeted earlier this month, “Also asked about Kathleen Kennedy getting fired. Told no one wants the job so likely not happening.”
Matt McGloin Twitter
While rumors have swirled about Kennedy’s fate at Lucasfilm for years, none of them have come true. In fact, while rumors swirled and fans called for her firing, the opposite happened. Kennedy entrenched herself. She put her mark on Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Willow by driving away the franchise’s core audience in an attempt to replace them.
Not only has she driven many Star Wars and Indiana Jones fans away from the franchises, but she seemingly has no intention of putting a stop to it as she recently announced three new Star Wars films at Star Wars Celebration including one that appears to be reshaping the entire definition of the Force that will be helmed by Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold.
The second film comes from Dave Filoni and will spin out of The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. Finally, the third film sees the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey and will take place approximately 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker where Rey will take on the role of the Expanded Universe’s Luke Skywalker where she will reforge a new Jedi Order in her image.
Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy attend the U.S Premiere of Lucasfilms’ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, sponsored in part by Dolby, Swaine and Hamilton at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 (photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)
On top of these films, Kennedy ushered in The High Republic publishing initiative and plans to bring it to live-action in The Acolyte, which for all intents and purposes appears to be a rewriting of George Lucas’ prequel trilogy that will show how the Jedi fell and were supplanted by the Sith.
This series comes after the disastrous Obi-Wan Kenobi series that rewrote the entire history of Darth Vader and Kenobi. It forced them to fight each other multiple times before their eventual final conflict in the original Star Wars film.
(L-R): Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) in a scene from Lucasfilm’s OBI-WAN KENOBI, exclusively on Disney+. © 2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.
As for anyone getting their hopes up that Favreau might be able to clean up Lucasfilm by becoming Creative Director, his own commentary on what he did to The Mandalorian speaks for itself.
In Disney Gallery/Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 3’s Episode 1 “The Making of Season 3,” Favreau said, “It’s more about what you value, what you’re willing to sacrifice, what you hold dear, and the role that you fill in each other’s lives. I like that that’s where this landed. I don’t know if that was what we set out to do, but storytelling isn’t always about that, it’s what you discover and what comes out.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 08: John Favreau and Dave Filoni onstage during the Ahsoka panel at the Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 08, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
In the middle of The Mandalorian Season 3 being released on Disney+, Favreau also informed Esquire Middle East that the creative changes in the series came from him and the buck stops with him.
He said, “No, no, I take full responsibility for everything people like or don’t like in this show. There’s no outside pressure on me from the studio, Lucasfilm, Disney, anyone.”
“There’s pressure from within on whether or not something feels right. We challenge each other on whether something feels like it’s authentic to Star Wars, if it feels like it’s consistent with things that came before,” he explained.
Favreau then detailed, “A lot of what you’re seeing is us embracing the complications that come with the choices that we make in our storytelling.”
Jon Favreau attends the ‘London mural – inspired by the Star Wars series The Mandalorian’, to celebrate the launch of The Mandalorian S3, on February 23, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by StillMoving.net for Disney)
What do you make of this latest rumor about Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Favreau, and Lucasfilm?
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