NEWS FLASH!
I just got the below info. I can't say how I know it, but I can say that I didn't just "fall off the meiloorun cart" and that I believe the below information is true and being planned as part of a "Post Kennedy Era". I also believe that Jon Favreau wants this information leaked, so here we go (
with some of my own commentary added)!
- Jon Favreau has been talking openly around the Lucasfilm office, and Kathleen Kennedy has not been present there for months. He has said everything below for all to hear. He's using the term "Post-Kennedy Era" freely.
- I'm going to optimistically call it the "PKE". If Kennedy does not get a contract renewal this month or next, then we'll know the PKE is a thing!
- Ahsoka Season 2 is happening in mid-late 2026, right after the The Mandalorian and Grogu movie (May 2026).
- Cal Kestis from the two (soon to be three) "Star Wars: Jedi" games will be introduced in the second half of Ahsoka Season 2. His connection to the Nightsisters overlaps with Ahsoka's connection. So yes, we might see Merrin too. This is also timed to coincide with the third "Jedi" game.
- This solidifies those games into more firm canon than where the novels, comics, and games normally hang out.
- Characters from Star Wars: Rebels (Sabine, Ezra, Hera, Chopper), will be scaled back and only appearing in movies after this. Jon has told Dave Filoni it's time to let go of some of the characters from the Kennedy regime (even if personally important to Dave), and to move forward.
- Dave Filoni also needs some seasoning as a live-action storyteller. Ahsoka Season 1 was not awesome except in a few parts.
- After the The Mandalorian and Grogu, there will be a Thrawn film, in which characters from multiple generations will unite "Avengers-style" to kick off a new generation of Star Wars content.
- This leaves open the possibility for Luke, Leia, and Han to show up, and for Heir to the Empire elements to be incorporated.
- So Thrawn is Thanos now, eh? Well, Thanos wasn't scary at the beginning either, so there's still time to fix Thrawn.
- The Rogue Squadron movie is being talked about again, this time with an elder Wedge Antilles passing the torch.
- I really hope someone calls up Patty Jenkins and parks a truckload of money in front of her house!
- Other than Skeleton Crew's debut on December 3, 2024, we're going to have a quiet period for a year and a half.
- Quality over quantity!
Yes, plans can change, but you heard it here first!
Bill
None of this stuff sounds like a bad thing to me.
I don't tend to take the "Kathleen Kennedy is the worst thing to ever happen to Star Wars" stuff especially seriously. I think she's been an effective shepherd for Lucasfilm, and she's good -- most of the time, Solo notwithstanding -- at making money. She is not a creative, though, and I think she is utterly lacking in creative vision. She knows how to make money, not content.
But the thing is, her approach to making money is no longer enough to sustain the franchise going forward. Yes, she can do individual projects and, 9 times out of 10 (that 1 being a Solo-level ****up, which, again, I rest ENTIRELY on her shoulders), and they will usually make money, but the industry has changed in the last 10-15 years, and the
expense of making films that make money just...doesn't work anymore
unless you also have a creative vision. Kevin Feige has been successful because, I think, he has largely understood how to have Marvel function with a coherent vision that is both money-making AND provides generally good, coherent content. Certainly the Marvel run leading up to Endgame was that. After that point, I think things got a bit too muddled, and I would expect a bunch of that was driven by the launch of Disney+ with Marvel's TV shows being an anchor for that. Plus, they picked a guy to be the centerpiece of their next "big bad" -- who by the way COULD have been amazing if you know the comics source info -- and it turned out he was...not a good person and toxic to the brand. But I digress.
Anyway, Kennedy isn't a content person. She's a money person. And what she did, which mostly worked, ain't working anymore. For the budgets involved, you can no longer get by on "Yes, the story isn't great, but look at all the money it made!" That is, ultimately, what I refer to as "eating your seed corn." You're basically sacrificing the long-term future of the franchise for short-term profit. What is required is someone with
creative vision who can guide Star Wars through a larger overarching
story. Filioni and Favreau have been good at this. Kennedy was lousy at this.
Now, to be clear, I think some of Kennedy's impulses were good and smart ones long-term. It makes perfect sense from a business perspective to try to broaden the appeal of Star Wars via representation, and I think it's morally a good thing to do. Rey, for example, could be a really, really interesting character, and they've tapped an immensely talented actor to embody that role. Daisy Ridley's got acting chops. Give her a good script and I have no doubt that she will knock it into the stratosphere.
I think Star Wars also needs to evolve some. There has got to be a move beyond the Imperial era and into something new. You can still tell stories within that era. I think we likely always will. But the timeline's gotta move forward, and the universe itself has to be allowed to change and grow. Otherwise, Star Wars will stagnate and wither. I'm hoping that Favreau and Filioni can do that. I think they've been good stewards thus far, and I have hope that they can be in the future.