Kathleen Kennedy Reflects on her Lucasfilm Tenure: "I’m Always Proud of the Work That’s Been Done.”
Kennedy's tenure as head of Lucasfilm was controversial to say the least.
Kathleen Kennedy spent 14 years at the head of Lucasfilm. In that time, she made some of the most successful films in history, but not without a significant amount of controversy. Recently, the executive sat down to reflect on her time leading the studio, looking back on her greatest successes and failures.
What's Happening:
- Kennedy appeared at Bloomberg's Screentime event (via THR), where she reflected on her tenure leading Lucasfilm.
- She says she initially asked George Lucas about his ideas for future Star Wars movies, but only received "a couple of paragraphs" of story ideas.
- Kennedy admitted the big challenge of working on Star Wars was balancing fan nostalgia or the IP with attempts to make new stories, saying: Well, I think that that’s the challenge that all franchises [face], certainly something that’s been around now for 50 years. You’ve got people where this means a lot to them. But at the same time, the challenge is to try to create something new, something original. So finding that balance is really the toughest thing."
- Kennedy said launching The Force Awakens, Andor, and The Mandalorian were among her proudest accomplishments.
- She avoided specifics when discussing regrets, focusing on what was learned from failures.
- She also briefly discussed the decision to remove Phil Lord and Chris Miller as directors of Solo: A Star Wars Story. While not adding any new information regarding why the decision was made, she said: “I wasn’t required to do that. There are many complicated situations that develop that certainly reach a point where you have to make a difficult decision like that. Certainly, my track record shows that I’ve worked with a lot of different directors, I’ve made many kinds of movies, and I’ve never been in a situation like that."
- Kennedy's time at Lucasfilm was filled with incredible success stories, some of the highest-grossing films ever, but she was frequently attacked by fans if they didn't like the direction Star Wars was going. She did admit it was "a bit of a relief" to not have to do that job anymore.
More Lucasfilm News:
- Lucasfilm is reportedly moving forward on Star Wars: Episode X.
- That said, there are reasons fans shouldn't get too worked up quite yet.
- The Force Awakens recently lost its top spot at the domestic box office.