Disney boss Bob Chapek offers glowing public support for the head of Lucasfilm to counter rumours that her position is under threat.
Rumours have flown around for some time now that Kathleen Kennedy’s time in the Lucasfilm hot seat may be up. With Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau both earning plaudits for their work on The Mandalorian, their success has only added to the speculation that one of them may be replacing Kennedy, the head of Lucasfilm who was handpicked by George Lucas himself as his successor.
Since The Last Jedi's release in 2017, a very vocal minority of the Star Wars fanbase have been baying for Kennedy’s exit, a movement that gained traction with the limp response to the saga-ending The Rise Of Skywalker in 2019 (although a brief exploration of the story behind that production reveals choices being made beyond Kennedy’s position).
Asked at an investor’s conference call whether Kennedy was being replaced, Bob Chapek flatly dismissed the rumours, stating “we’ve been absolutely thrilled that we can have the kind of talent like Kathy Kennedy to direct Lucasfilm… We look forward to having Kathleen Kennedy running the Lucasfilm organisation for many years to come.”
It’s a heartening display of public support from Chapek, as Kennedy has had to endure some torrid online vitriol for her role in the the franchise’s perceived failures, whilst her successes have often tended to be overlooked.
Maybe that will put an end to the rumours regarding Kennedy’s future, but most likely not. Still, with several interesting Star Wars film projects in the pipeline and a growing, highly-acclaimed small-screen blueprint, it seems that Kennedy will have the opportunity to silence those negative voices herself.
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