Legendary producer Kathleen Kennedy introduced at this time that she is stepping down as the head of Lucasfilm and passing the reins to Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan. The information comes after a year of speculation about Kennedy’s future in a galaxy far, far away.
“After we acquired Lucasfilm greater than a decade in the past, we knew we had been bringing into the Disney household not solely one in every of the most beloved and enduring storytelling universes ever created, but in addition a group of extraordinary expertise led by a visionary filmmaker – somebody who had been handpicked by George Lucas himself, no much less,” Disney CEO Bob Iger stated in a press launch. “We’re deeply grateful for Kathleen Kennedy’s management, her imaginative and prescient, and her stewardship of such an iconic studio and model.”
With Kennedy stepping down from Lucasfilm to focus on more general film production, her earlier duties will now be break up between the two Lucasfilm mainstays. Filoni, as President and Chief Inventive Officer, will deal with the extra artistic aspect, whereas Brennan, the longtime head of enterprise at the firm, will deal with logistics. Her title is Co-President. Consider it type of like issues are being dealt with at DC Studios, with James Gunn dealing with artistic and Peter Safran dealing with the extra day-to-day issues.
“When George Lucas requested me to take over Lucasfilm upon his retirement, I couldn’t have imagined what lay forward,” Kennedy stated. “It has been a real privilege to spend greater than a decade working alongside the extraordinary expertise at Lucasfilm. Their creativity and dedication have been an inspiration, and I’m deeply happy with what we’ve completed collectively. I’m excited to proceed creating movies and tv with each longtime collaborators and contemporary voices who symbolize the way forward for storytelling.”
Kennedy received her begin as an assistant to Steven Spielberg and rapidly established herself as a formidable artistic pressure. Over the final 50 years or so, she produced many of the best and top-grossing movies of all time, equivalent to Gremlins, The Goonies, Poltergeist, Again to the Future, E.T., and the Indiana Jones sequence.
Lucasfilm founder and Star Wars creator George Lucas thought so extremely of Kennedy that he hand-picked her to run Lucasfilm as he offered it to the Walt Disney Firm in 2013. Since then, she’s been accountable for the profitable relaunch of the franchise, each on the massive display screen and its new renaissance on streaming, too.
And although Kennedy will stay on board for a bit, overseeing The Mandalorian & Grogu, Star Wars: Starfighter, and extra, all eyes now transfer to Filoni. Additionally a disciple of Lucas himself, Filoni made a reputation for himself with contemporary, thrilling storytelling in Star Wars animation before making the shift to stay motion. His success there hasn’t been fairly as spectacular, with many feeling he’s a bit too reliant on previous tales and nostalgia somewhat than daring, ahead selections. However few folks on the planet know or perceive Star Wars as he does.
“My love of storytelling was formed by the movies of Kathleen Kennedy and George Lucas,” Filoni stated. “I by no means dreamed I’d be privileged to study the craft of filmmaking from each of them. From Rey to Grogu, Kathy has overseen the biggest growth in Star Wars storytelling onscreen that now we have ever seen. I’m extremely grateful to Kathy, George, Bob Iger, and Alan Bergman for his or her belief and the alternative to lead Lucasfilm on this new position, doing a job I actually love. Could the Power be with you.”
Filoni is at present working on the second season of his present, Ahsoka, so don’t count on him to absolutely make the pivot for some time. As soon as he does, although, the films and reveals he places into manufacturing will say lots about how he views the way forward for Star Wars. There are certainly plenty of options on the table.
What do you consider Kennedy stepping down and placing in Filoni and Brennan? Tell us under.
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