A wild rumor claims that The Mandalorian creator and Executive Producer Jon Favreau threatened to quit Lucasfilm and Star Wars after allegedly incessant meddling from Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kenendy.
This rumor comes from YouTuber Overlord DVD, who first laid out a number of times when Kennedy and her allies reportedly meddled with Favreau’s vision for The Mandalorian and its spinoffs.
Overlord DVD claims that Kennedy interfered by orchestrating the firing of Gina Carano, cancelling the previously announced Rangers of the New Republic series that would have starred Carano, mandating the space Vespas be included in The Book of Boba Fett, and changing scripts in The Book of Boba Fett to ensure that Grogu reunited with Din Djarin despite Djarin handing Grogu off to Luke Skywalker at the end of The Mandalorian Season 2.
Specifically on Kennedy’s interference on The Book of Boba Fett, Overlord DVD noted, “Kennedy’s alleged next move against Favreau was corrupting The Book of Boba Fett. She couldn’t directly interfere with his production, but Kennedy is clever, devilishly clever. When she saw that Robert Rodriguez wanted to introduce the idiotic Vespas into Book of Boba Fett and Favreau hated the idea, Kennedy approached the marketing department and got them to say, “Oh yes, we can sell those. Let’s make it happen.'”
“As a result, Favreau was so disgusted he said, ‘F*** it. Let them do whatever the hell they want. I’m going to go off and work on Ahsoka in peace,” Overlord DVD added.
Favreau allegedly walking away from the show resulted in a disastrous story and product so much so that “upper management allegedly had to beg Favreau to come back and fix it, but it was too late to do much except insert some Mandalorian episodes, to cut a few Book of Boba Fett scripts, and hold his nose.”
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Next, Overlord DVD detailed the reunification of Din Djarin and Grogu in The Book of Boba Fett.
He explained, “Clearly, Favreau planned to have Grogu go train with Luke and become a Jedi. It was a heartbreaking and final episode of Mandalorian Season 2 and it proved that Favreau had a master plan for all his series and it was a damn good plan.”
“But then Kennedy or someone in her camp or maybe just an idiot in upper management said, ‘Oh no! Baby Yoda is the only Star Wars toy that’s selling right now. We can’t lose Baby Yoda. We need to put Baby Yoda back with Din Djarin.’ This was the height of stupidity. A spectacularly awful decision that truly f***ed up everything Jon Favreau was planning,” Overlord DVD asserted.
After detailing the pointless nature of having Grogu reunited with Din Djarin in The Book of Boba Fett after being taken by Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian Season 2 finale, Overlord DVD asserts, “This it seems was the last straw for Jon Favreau. He had f***ing had it according to reports.”
Overlord DVD then noted Favreau went directly to Chapek with his problem. An anonymous source informed the YouTuber, “Well to be honest, at this point, Jon Favreau was beyond frustrated and was ready to quit. He was sick of being told he had freedom to do what he wanted just to get it ripped out from underneath him.”
He continued, “So Favreau walked into Bob Chapek’s office the next Monday and told Chapek, ‘I’m done. I don’t care about my contract. You can give it to Kathy and let her hang it on her wall and watch a billion dollar franchise burn.'”
According to this source, Chapek asked what he could do to make Favreau stay. Favreau responded to this inquiry saying, “I get to make Mando Season 3 the way I want, no outside influences especially Kathy.”
RELATED: Jon Favreau Touts Kathleen Kennedy, Praises Her Work On The Mandalorian
Who knows how accurate this rumor actually is. However, back in 2021 as part of the second episode of Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian titled “Making of Season 2 Finale,” Favreau gushed praises for Kathleen Kennedy.
He opened the episode stating, “I think there’s an interplay with storytellers and the people you’re telling the story to. You find that the emotions run very deep with Star Wars. And peoples’ relationship, especially people who grew up with it from a young age, feel a lot of connection to it.”
He continued, “I think the one consistent thing I’m feeling is that people care deeply that it’s being handled correctly and that it’s being handled respectfully. It meant so much to them and they want to see it continue into the future and feel like it’s all connected with consistency.”
Favreau then went on to praise Kennedy, “And we’re very lucky that between Lucasfilm and Kathy, the whole group that we have are incredibly supportive and encouraging.”
He didn’t stop there. Later in the episode while discussing bringing back Mark Hamill to play Luke Skywalker he offered more praise for the Lucasfilm President saying, “Kathy Kennedy, we brought in very early on this conversation. And Kathy, first and foremost, is a great producer. And producers figure out ways to make things happen that are creatively exciting to the storytellers.”
He continued, “Not only does she understand how to create an environment where we can have all the tools that we need to explore and experiment and be creative, but also knows what it takes to incubate ideas and understands the significance of when you do it right, what that can represent.”
The first episode of The Mandalorian Season 3 airs on Disney+ on March 1, 2023. The official synopsis reads, “The journeys of the Mandalorian through the Star Wars galaxy continue. Once a lone bounty hunter, Din Djarin has reunited with Grogu. Meanwhile, the New Republic struggles to lead the galaxy away from its dark history. The Mandalorian will cross paths with old allies and make new enemies as he and Grogu continue their journey together.”
What do you make of this rumor about Favreau walking away from The Book of Boba Fett and threatening to quit Lucasfilm and Star Wars?