Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down

[Paul Andrew]

But Disney has already done this. They declared an entire generation of Star Wars content to be "Legends". It's going to be under new management, and a clean slate may be in order. Just slide that stuff one universe over and we're back to a clean slate. I suspect Ahsoka's return to the continuity at that particular spot was the first step in this.

But I respect your opinion.

That stuff was never on the same level of canon that the films are on. It just wasn't. I enjoyed a lot of it, and some of it was legitimately great, but there was never any chance that Lucas, or later on Disney, was going to just take all of that continuity and rubber stamp it as official. Lucas was even clear about it being secondary to the films when he owned it.

 

[Astyanax]

Anyone who thinks they're considering wiping established continuity for the sake of pleasing some whiny fanboys - who are typically continuity Nazis - is wildly mistaken imo.

I think I'd like to live a year or two as wildly mistaken. Having hope feels quite nice. And yes, ignorance is bliss.

 

[Joek3rr]

That stuff was never on the same level of canon that the films are on. It just wasn't. I enjoyed a lot of it, and some of it was legitimately great, but there was never any chance that Lucas, or later on Disney, was going to just take all of that continuity and rubber stamp it as official. Lucas was even clear about it being secondary to the films when he owned it.

What made the films "canon" was because George made them. There was His universe and Their (Lucasfilm's) universe. The new continuity they created post April 2014, is no different (in terms of "canonicity") then the old continuity.

 

[batguy]

I could see them going either way (about the Kennedy continuity).

Right now Star Wars is an anomaly for NOT having any major disruptions in the movie catalog's continuity (either abandoned branches or just reboots/remakes). Most big franchises already do. I'm sure the idea of abandoning the Kennedy era is on the table.

On the other hand, unless they are going to recast the iconic OT actors with new actors (or deepfakes) . . . what's the gain? If they don't have the OT characters then they cannot redo that chunk of the timeline anyway.

The ST does have fans. I think Disney would abandon it for a buck, but I don't think they would abandon it just on principle.

 

[ZeroSum]

They fired Kennedy for a reason, right? They'd have to be stupid to get rid of her and still let people continue to do the same stuff she did.

 

[Paul Andrew]

They fired Kennedy for a reason, right? They'd have to be stupid to get rid of her and still let people continue to do the same stuff she did.

They didn't fire her. She's 71 and stepping down at the end of the year after a lengthy and storied career as a producer on literally dozens of huge films.

 

[Paul Andrew]

What made the films "canon" was because George made them. There was His universe and Their (Lucasfilm's) universe. The new continuity they created post April 2014, is no different (in terms of "canonicity") then the old continuity.

They made a point of saying that after that point it was all canon, rather than leave the books and comics and games in the nebulous state they'd been in under George.

Whether that still holds true after ten years, I couldn't say as I don't have it in me to consume everything like I used to. But that was the purpose of the story group, to keep all the various creative teams from stepping on each other's toes.

 

[Joek3rr]

They made a point of saying that after that point it was all canon, rather than leave the books and comics and games in the nebulous state they'd been in under George.

Lucasfilm has been saying that since the late 90s. To them it was all "canon."*

Whether that still holds true after ten years, I couldn't say as I don't have it in me to consume everything like I used to. But that was the purpose of the story group, to keep all the various creative teams from stepping on each other's toes.

Which hasn't been all that successful. Since Dave, and JJ did what they want. Rian Johnson was really the only one to to give the Story Group the time of day. And prior to the Story Group, Lucas Licensing had content editors that played that role.



*Some quotes pertaining to "canon."

"To keep it all straight there is 'the Canon,' a time line of major events and the life span of characters prepared by the continuity editors at Lucasfilm and considered the in-house bible of the Star Wars universe. When further reference is needed, there are also stacks of binders listing everything from starship blueprints to the biographies of characters..."

- Sue Rostoni, Lucas Licensing publishing department, 1996 - Preface to "The Secrets of 'Shadows of the Empire'"

Remember it was Lucas Licensing that came up with the "canon" to begin with.

"Canon refers to an authoritative list of books that the Lucas Licensing editors consider an authentic part of the official Star Wars history. Our goal is to present a continuous and unified history of the Star Wars galaxy, insofar as that history does not conflict with, or undermine the meaning of Mr. Lucas's Star Wars saga of films and screenplays. Things that Lucas Licensing does not consider official parts of the continuous Star Wars history show an Infinities logo or are contained in Star Wars Tales. Everything else is considered canon."

- Sue Rostoni, LucasBooks/LL Managing Editor, October/November 2001 - Star Wars Gamer #6
I don't like quoting Pablo, but this one is good....

"Periodic reminder that all 'canon' means is: do other storytellers *need* to be beholden to it. That's it."

-Pablo Hidalgo, January 2017

 

[Cephus]

It won't matter. That company has brain rot down to its toes. Just enjoy the good SW, whether it's the OT/PT, books, games, or whatever.

That's what I do. It's why I say that Star Wars ended in 1983. With the possible exception of Rogue One, everything else has been crap. I am perfectly happy with the good Star Wars that I have. I don't need anything more.

 

[Kroenen77]

Kathleen Kennedy has done so much damage to SW.And also to lots of other brands from Disney with her "woke"stuff agenda.
Its good that she will go but I´m afraid its too late.My only future interest that I still have for SW is the Mandalorian movie.

 

[batguy]

Meh. I think most of the bigger fans will be quick to forgive if the franchise starts making good stuff.

The harder challenge will be earning back the old casual fans. They will take much longer before giving SW a try again, and they will stay harder to win over.

 

[cboath]

The proof is in the pudding as they say. They can fire people, restructure, give interviews, etc. It all comes down to the product they put out. Favreau and filoni are both capable of doing that. Doesn't mean they will or wont or that either even gets the job. Whoever gets it should implement a couple rules...no putting out every person cast as a pr for free advertising. No press releases saying a flick is greenlit. Keep your mouth shut til the cameras roll, and then just say cameras have started rolling. Dont give people **** the rip until you are ready for them to see it. Honestly, the way the acolyte was portrayed before it started shooting guaranteed it could never rate more than a 'meh' at best. No, it was not good. Still, even if it was the bad pr from people taking pot shots at the cast and director had a lot of people turned off from just that. That was not a small crwd and they likely wouldnt give it a chance if it got race reviews. So learn from the mistakes. Dont cheap out and take freebies by putting out each casting decision as a pr for free advertising. Build what you want and release it when done.

 

[Joek3rr]

Meh. I think most of the bigger fans will be quick to forgive if the franchise starts making good stuff.

The harder challenge will be earning back the old casual fans. They will take much longer before giving SW a try again, and they will stay harder to win over.

I wonder if they will. I for one have no intention of coming back. Ever. (Outside of watching Andor, because a friend wants to show me. And wanting to give Jedi Survivor a play through.)

I'm very happy with the films and the old EU.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I think the only thing they could do is do content that takes place in the Prequel, OT eras or before and people *might* come back (doubt it). To me, everything post ROTJ is bad. I tried with the Mandalorian, but the rest of the crap from that era is lurking in the background. Overall, New Republic/Imperial Remnant-wise, the EU did it much better.

 

[dascoyne]

Too little. Too late. The patient is already dead.
Leslye Headland will probably replace her anyway.

 

[Riceball]

As I understood it, under Lucas the EU was canon but Lucas reserved the right to usurp any of the EU any time he wanted. So if Lucas had wanted to make a film featuring Thrawn but wanted him to 4' tall with bright red skin, all white eyes, and hated art then that would be the new canon and the Thrawn we've known would no longer be canon.

As far as KK goes, while I'm glad that she's finally leaving, I'm not entirely convinced that she was behind everything that fans disliked about Star Wars since Disney took over. While she was in charge of Lucas Films, it was still a part of the greater Disney company which meant that she had to answer to Eiger and later Chapek. So that means the DEI mandate might not have come from her, she might have embraced it, but the original directive might have come from above.

 

[Astyanax]

As I understood it, under Lucas the EU was canon but Lucas reserved the right to usurp any of the EU any time he wanted. So if Lucas had wanted to make a film featuring Thrawn but wanted him to 4' tall with bright red skin, all white eyes, and hated art then that would be the new canon and the Thrawn we've known would no longer be canon.

As far as KK goes, while I'm glad that she's finally leaving, I'm not entirely convinced that she was behind everything that fans disliked about Star Wars since Disney took over. While she was in charge of Lucas Films, it was still a part of the greater Disney company which meant that she had to answer to Eiger and later Chapek. So that means the DEI mandate might not have come from her, she might have embraced it, but the original directive might have come from above.

I hear you, but there's a lot of evidence to suggest that it really was her. She has been a thorn in Chapek's and Iger's sides the entire time. And she has done a great deal without their approval, putting certain things in motion so that it's too late for the CEOs to stop them. Her deep connections with several journalism organizations caused announcements to get published before they were approved, and one thing Disney does NOT like to do is retract something. They DO NOT admit mistakes.

And I also have it on good authority that she had a clause in her contract that she could not be fired for cause, so they had to wait her out.

And then of course there's the rumor that she knows about half of Hollywood's skeletons-in-closets, and has wielded that leverage. I have never been able to substantiate that rumor, but it seems reasonable.

 

[Astyanax]

Too little. Too late. The patient is already dead.
Leslye Headland will probably replace her anyway.

Not happening. When the smoke clears, I suspect Headland may be lucky to stay out of jail. There was allegedly some highly questionable overseas funding secured for The Acolyte, and it's possible that discovery from Gina Carano's lawsuit might cause that to be made public. Which is why Disney is likely to settle with Gina.

 

[The Terminator]

Mike Zeroh is reporting that she's still in charge.

Zeroh credibility.

About frakking time. Only 11 years late.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

Blatant click-bait and pure fiction, some may say…

As for me…the man posseses gifted insight.

I now fully expect Mike’s other predictions to come to pass, including:

Keanu in Star Wars? Yes, please.

Or, Keanu and John Snow in the 4th Trilogy? I demand that it be so.

Meghan Markle and Pam Anderson engaged in mortal combat? It just makes sense.