Kathleen Kennedy was recently rehired by The Walt Disney Company to continue her tenure as head of Lucasfilm, and thus Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and other properties. WDW Pro, one of our writers here at That Park Place, has been reporting on the likelihood of Kennedy being rehired since September. Given that you can see the September article is trending again on the site’s main page, more than a few people have seen the accuracy of reporting here at That Park Place. But how is the rest of the media covering Kathleen Kennedy? Let’s do a rundown:
IMDb has been featuring Slash Film’s Jeremy Mathai taking the opportunity to mock unnamed YouTube commentators:
You’re not going to believe it, but sometimes — read: most of the time — the angry YouTubers are wrong. Despite a cottage industry of sorts springing up and revolving around YouTube accounts who have eagerly anticipated Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy‘s supposedly imminent firing for several years now, reports have come in that her contract has actually been renewed for another three years. — Slash Film via IMDb
Kristin Myers of Blast says Star Wars is heading for disaster:
Although George Lucas himself picked Kennedy to helm Lucasfilm when his studio was bought by Disney in the 2012 acquisition, many of the decisions that Kennedy has made has proved controversial and might spell disaster for the “Star Wars” franchise at large. — Blast
Collider highlights the odd nature of Star Wars being bereft of upcoming content like Marvel has:
The lack of Star Wars news at this past week’s Disney+ Day makes Kennedy’s extension all the more interesting. Aside from The Book of Boba Fett and some behind-the-scenes stills and art for the upcoming Obi-Wan series, announcements, and recognition about other series such as Andor, Ahsoka, and The Acolyte were absent. Marvel gave a clear spotlight to their content with MoonKnight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk, whereas Star Wars lacked that prominent presence. — Collider
Eric Vespe — writer at Slashfilm, Collider, Syfy Wire, and Fangoria — takes aim at fans, and then Kathleen Kennedy’s husband (Frank Marshall) retweets it. Just in case you wonder how they feel about critics of Kathleen Kennedy:
But how could this be? A bunch of sputtering mad YouTube randos with walls of Funkos behind them said their uncle’s cousin’s roommate works at Lucasfilm and heard Kennedy was on the way out! https://t.co/PC6eLeEQ9J
— Eric Vespe (@EricVespe) November 15, 2021
We’ve Got This Covered, on the other hand, compares Kathleen Kennedy to the worst villains of the Star Wars universe:
If there’s one figure in the Star Warsuniverse that fans view as more dangerous, scheming, and downright nefarious than Darth Vader and Palpatine combined, it’s Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. — We’ve Got This Covered
ScreenRant offers a balanced take, noting excitement for upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series, but reminding readers that without Star Wars movies the studio may go in a new direction in 2024:
There is plenty of excitement surrounding these projects, though it will still be interesting to see what happens over the next few years. Disney, of course, wants to bring Star Wars back to movie theaters at some point. Should creative differences with directors persist, the company may decide to go in a different direction after 2024. — ScreenRant
Given the already-established track record here at That Park Place and with WDW Pro, you know where to go for your accurate Star Wars and Lucasfilm news going forward. But for those of you venturing to those “other” websites (many of which we really enjoy), now you know how they’re covering what we broke months ago.
Let us know in the comments below how you feel about Kennedy and her contract extension. And what do you think about her husband stepping into the foray, taking on critics of her performance?
