The Star Wars franchise is a mess. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy's time in charge of the studio has been chaotic, disorganised, and directionless. Meanwhile, a small section of the fanbase has become increasingly vocal and grotesquely toxic.
Over the years, a lot of hate has been directed at Kennedy because she's a woman. If that sort of misogynistic BS is what you're hoping to find here, move along now. The fact is, the executive has delivered a lot of hits for the Disney-owned studio, breaking box office records and helping put Disney+ on the map with The Mandalorian.
However, those achievements are quickly being overshadowed and this week's reports about a new Star Wars trilogy are the final straw. It's time for Kennedy to go before the damage done to this franchise becomes irreparable.
You can find our take on where it's all gone wrong for Star Wars on Kennedy's watch by clicking on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
6. Who The F*** Would Hire Simon Kinberg?
Let's take a look at Simon Kinberg's writing credits, shall we? X-Men: The Last Stand, Jumper, Fantastic Four, X-Men: Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix, The 355...his work ranges from mediocre to downright bad.
"Oh, but wait, he wrote X-Men: Days of Future Past!" He did indeed, and while that movie was well-directed and acted, if you think its take on Sentinels or the werewolf-like Beast were positives, then we don't know what to say to you.
Yes, Kinberg was involved with Star Wars Rebels, but it's clear that was Dave Filoni's brainchild. In fact, his role in shaping the series remains murky and that alone still doesn't qualify him take take charge of a new trilogy.
Kennedy's belief that Kinberg is a good choice to spearhead a new series of Star Wars movies is proof enough that she's no longer the right person to oversee this franchise. Imagine if Kevin Feige tapped Zack Snyder to take over the Avengers movies...
5. Creative Differences And Empty Promises
Kennedy's time in charge of Lucasfilm has been dominated by creative differences and announcements for movies and TV shows that have never materialised.
Josh Trank and James Mangold's respective Boba Fett movies, Rian Johnson's trilogy, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss' trilogy, J.D. Dillard's movie, Patty Jenkins' Rogue Squadron, Kevin Feige and Michael Waldron's movie, Disney+'s Rangers of the New Republic...and that's not even all of them.
Then, there are the creative clashes with filmmakers like Damon Lindelof, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Collin Trevorrow, and whichever writer that Rey movie is now on.
The executive appears to have strong ideas about where the Star Wars franchise should go, but can't seem to get anything across the finish line. How else do you explain the five-year gap since we last sat down to watch one of these movies in theaters?
4. The Acolyte's Cancellation
Love or hate The Acolyte, its cancellation earlier this year is another huge embarrassment for Lucasfilm. After launching a massive publishing initiative meant to introduce Star Wars fans to the High Republic Era, this series was meant to usher in a new wave of storytelling.
Instead, it was cancelled after a single season after ending on a massive cliffhanger. Now, it appears Lucasfilm is giving up on these stories altogether, making it a colossal failure on every level.
Whether Kennedy bowed down to the incels or wanted to move on from one of her failures as quickly as possible is something you can debate in the comments section below. However, between this and The Book of Boba Fett, Lucasfilm certainly hasn't delivered hit after hit on streaming.
Ultimately, there's a very noticeable disconnect between Kennedy's vision and what most fans seem to want from Star Wars.
3. It's Not Just Star Wars
You didn't think it was just Star Wars we'd be focusing on here, did you? The fact is, that Galaxy Far, Far Away isn't the only franchise ball that Kennedy has fumbled in recent years.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was meant to be a celebration of the franchise and a grand farewell for Harrison Ford's iconic adventurer. Instead, it was a critical and commercial disappointment and deemed worse than even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Then, there was the attempt to resurrect Willow as a TV series. The idea had been to launch multiple seasons of the sequel; instead, the show was so terrible that Disney pulled it from Disney+ and it's now impossible to watch. It was that bad.
So, yeah, this isn't just an angry Star Wars fanboy ranting about the state of the franchise. Kennedy's failings extend across the entirety of Lucasfilm's output and that should be cause for concern at Disney.
2. A Lack Of Clear Direction And Purpose
When George Lucas was making the original Star Wars movies (and his prequels, for that matter), he made it up as he went along.
That's all well and good, but Lucasfilm doing the same for the current Star Wars trilogy with the competing visions of three different directors (J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, and Colin Trevorrow) resulted in a messy, inconsistent conclusion to the Skywalker Saga.
Johnson undid many of Abrams' decisions and, following Trevorrow's departure, J.J. returned to deliver a fan-service-filled bomb of a movie. Solo: A Star Wars Story ended on a cliffhanger that's unlikely to be resolved...the Disney+ TV shows are leading to something...and now we're getting a mix of prequels, sequels, and standalone tales.
That's all well and good, but where's the overall direction? Star Wars has become a franchise made up of countless disparate elements, confusing to casuals and frustrating for hardcore fans.
1. It's Important To Acknowledge What Went Right As Well
As we mentioned at the start of this post, it's important not to overlook the good decisions Kennedy has made. While the creatives deserve the lion's share of praise, she's overseen the likes of Andor, The Mandalorian, Star Wars Rebels, and many other very popular and lucrative projects.
Kennedy is not some sort of clueless buffoon who has been handed the reins of a movie studio without any previous experience. Say what you will about the Star Wars sequels too but they all made an immense amount of money.
Still, even a broken clock is right twice a day and Kennedy's missteps are overshadowing her successes. The Star Wars franchise doesn't feel like it's in safe hands and despite that toxic element of the fanbase, even the level-headed fans aren't happy.
Hiring Dave Filoni as Chief Creative Officer was a smart movie, but Lucasfilm still needs steadier hands at the head to right the ship. It's not sinking quite yet but Kenndy has directed it into very rocky waters.