The Star Wars franchise has been on shaky ground these past few months, especially following the box office disappointment of Solo: A Star Wars Story, but Disney apparently remains confident in Kathleen Kennedy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney has renewed Kennedy's contract to remain Lucasfilm president for three more years, through 2021.
Despite strong box office results (save for Solo), the latest entries in the beloved Star Wars franchise have been met with mixed criticism from fans. While it was once believed that the Star Wars name would sell itself at the box office, Solo proved that's not necessarily the case. The film grossed $392 million worldwide, but analysts estimate it as a loss of $50 million to $80 million, or possibly more. Still, it's hard to justify a change in leadership with one flop, especially when Disney's four new Star Wars films have raked in nearly $4.5 billion at the worldwide box office.
It's possible that the reaction to Solo was one of franchise fatigue. This prompted Disney CEO Bob Iger to acknowledge that the company may have been too aggressive with the Star Wars franchise. He has since stated that they intend to slow things down in terms of how frequently new Star Wars films are released. The only Star Wars film currently underway is J.J. Abrams' Episode IX. But, there are numerous projects in the pipeline including one from Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, as well as a potential trilogy from Rian Johnson, the polarizing writer and director of The Last Jedi.
According to THR sources, the near future of Star Wars will lean on television and Disney's streaming service. Jon Favreau's live-action series and the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars will air on Disney's streaming service, which is set to launch in the second half of 2019. Meanwhile, Star Wars Resistance, another animated series, will premiere on The Disney Channel this month.
What do you think of Disney extending Kathleen Kennedy's contract as Lucasfilm president?