Kathleen Kennedy Reportedly Renews Contract With Lucasfilm For 3 More Years

Her Legacy Continues

By Culture SlatePublished 3 years ago • 3 min read

Months before the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm, George Lucas asked long-time friend Kathleen Kennedy if she would be interested in taking over for him once he retires. On the horizon was a slew of new Star Wars and Indiana Jones projects. After some trepidation, she accepted. Nine years later, we have gotten five Star Wars films, several animated shows, one highly successful live-action series, with a load more coming, and a fifth Indiana Jones film in production.

Mixed up in the successes, there have been some rocky times as well. There was the dismissal of Josh Trank's Boba Fett movie. Phil Lord and Chris Miller were ousted as co-directors of Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Colin Trevorrow was replaced by J.J. Abrams to direct The Rise of Skywalker. In addition to that, there was the recent news that Patty Jenkins's and Rian Johnson's Star Wars projects have both been shelved. Despite some divisiveness to Kennedy among fans for various reasons, she is not going anywhere for the time being as she has renewed her contract for three more years through 2024.

Kennedy's contract was last renewed back in 2018 for three years, so the decision regarding her contract renewal was coming up. Despite recent news of film delays, Disney appears to be satisfied with Kennedy's track record at Lucasfilm thus far. The sequel trilogy has received somewhat of a mixed reaction. Rogue One tops many fans' favorite Star Wars movies of the Disney era, and Solo is criminally undervalued. Right now, the small screen is where Star Wars' strengths lie with the award-winning series such as The Mandalorian, and a plethora of upcoming shows including The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and Ahsoka. The bar is set high for all of these. There is also wild card in Indiana Jones 5 directed by James Mangold (Logan).

Over her tenure, Kennedy has stated that one of her goals is to have more inclusion and representation in the films, and have the first woman directing a Star Wars feature. Overall, Kennedy has delivered on the representation aspect. However, Star Wars is sorely falling behind in the inclusion department and has yet to have a woman directing a feature other than Victoria Mahoney, the 2nd unit director for The Rise of Skywalker. We do have to give Kennedy props for hiring Bryce Dallas Howard and Deborah Chow as directors on The Mandalorian and tapping Chow as the director for the Kenobi series.

Kennedy's resume in the film industry is quite phenomenal. She has served as associate producer for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Poltergeist, Temple of Doom, and The Last Crusade. In addition, she was a producer for E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Color Purple, Hook, Jurassic Park 1 and 3, and countless other big-budget films. She was also the executive producer for Gremlins, the Back to the Future trilogy, Schindler's List, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and several others.

As much as Kennedy brings to Star Wars in professional experience, some could say she lacks George Lucas's relatability. Whereas Lucas would never rely on a script at live events, Kennedy's eyes are glued to the teleprompter. On the other hand, Kennedy does not have the luxury of owning her own film production company and perhaps is afraid to say the wrong thing, or be too honest, which is understandable.

Kennedy's term as the president of Lucasfilm has seen Star Wars blossom from a relatively small film production company, putting out three movies over a decade, to pumping out five films, three animated shows, and one live-action series in nine years. Kennedy’s long tenure also serves as a sign of stability. While the reception by the fans to these projects is hot and cold, the passion and the need to tell great stories will always be Kennedy's legacy, as it should be. It is an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan!

Written By Eric Onkenhout

Source(s): Screen Rant, IMDb

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