Operating Lucasfilm means coping with probably the most passionate and opinionated fanbases on the planet, and former studio president Kathleen Kennedy has some ideas about what that have was like.
Kennedy stepped down from Lucasfilm in January, closing the e-book on a prolonged run overseeing Star Wars by means of a significant enlargement that included a brand new film trilogy, spinoff movies, and a wave of Disney+ exhibits.
Her tenure delivered some large successes, however it additionally got here with loads of controversy, notably when it got here to artistic disagreements and filmmakers leaving initiatives.
In a brand new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kennedy mirrored on her relationship with Star Wars followers and the problem of making an attempt to fulfill an viewers that has spent a long time forming very particular concepts about what the franchise must be.
“Properly, I believe that that’s the problem that each one franchises [face], actually one thing that’s been round now for 50 years. You’ve acquired individuals the place this implies quite a bit to them. However on the similar time, the problem is to attempt to create one thing new, one thing authentic. So discovering that stability is basically the hardest factor.”
That stability turned one of many defining problems with Kennedy’s Lucasfilm period. The studio needed to hold longtime followers invested whereas increasing Star Wars for brand new audiences, and never each resolution landed.
The sheer quantity of Star Wars content material launched for Disney+ additionally ultimately raised questions on whether or not the franchise had been unfold too skinny.
Kennedy acknowledged that not every thing labored, whereas making it clear that she stays pleased with what Lucasfilm produced throughout her time operating the studio.
“I imply, I don’t suppose you are able to do something by way of the film enterprise the place each single factor goes to be an ideal hit,” Kennedy mentioned. “I believe you be taught issues, I at all times like studying issues… However I’m at all times pleased with the work that’s been performed.”
After all, one of many extra fascinating chapters of her tenure concerned the filmmakers who parted methods with Lucasfilm.
Gareth Edwards directed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which went by means of important further work earlier than launch. Then got here the rather more public cut up with Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who have been faraway from Solo: A Star Wars Story after manufacturing was already underway.
When Kennedy was requested about these conditions, she pushed again on the concept firing filmmakers was one thing she routinely did herself.
“Properly, that basically solely occurred as soon as, thank god… I wasn’t required to do this. There are various difficult conditions that develop that actually attain a degree the place it’s important to make a troublesome resolution like that.”
Kennedy additionally pointed to her lengthy profession producing films with an enormous vary of filmmakers as proof that the Lord and Miller state of affairs was an uncommon one.
“Definitely my observe document exhibits that I’ve labored with plenty of totally different administrators, I’ve made many varieties of films, and I’ve by no means been in a state of affairs like that.”
There’s extra context to the Solo story, although. Through the years, individuals linked to the manufacturing have mentioned the artistic variations that led to Lord and Miller leaving the movie, with Ron Howard ultimately stepping in to complete it.
Howard beforehand defined what he noticed when he got here aboard: “I checked out some edited footage, and I noticed what was bothering them. There was a studio that enjoyed the script the way in which it was and wished a Star Wars film, however there was a disconnect early on tonally, and so they weren’t satisfied that what Phil and Chris have been doing was working successfully.”
Howard’s feedback make it fairly clear that Lucasfilm had considerations in regards to the route Solo was taking. As Lucasfilm president, Kennedy was clearly a significant determine within the studio throughout that course of, even when the ultimate resolution concerned further layers of authority.
Wanting again at Kennedy’s Lucasfilm run is difficult as a result of there’s quite a bit to unpack. Her period gave followers films together with The Drive Awakens, Rogue One, The Final Jedi, Solo, and The Rise of Skywalker, whereas tv introduced initiatives resembling The Mandalorian, Andor, Ahsoka, The Acolyte, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Some turned main hits with followers, whereas others stay closely debated.
That in all probability will get to the center of Kennedy’s level about managing Star Wars. This franchise means very various things to totally different individuals, and getting thousands and thousands of followers to agree on the place it ought to go subsequent was by no means going to be simple.
Now that Kennedy’s time operating Lucasfilm has come to an finish, how do you look again on her Star Wars period? What do you suppose she acquired proper, what would you will have appreciated to see dealt with in another way, and what do you make of her feedback about Lord and Miller?
