"Kathleen Kennedy has reignited her lightsaber. The lead producer and architect of the
Star Wars franchise has renewed her contract to remain president of Lucasfilm for another three years, through 2021,
The Hollywood Reporter has learned."
"Kennedy’s position is one of the most visible, and her actions the most highly scrutinized, in Hollywood due to the immense popularity of Lucasfilm’s franchises, which also include
Indiana Jones. So it's notable that her renewal follows this summer's
Solo: A Star Wars Story, the first big-screen box office disappointment for the franchise, grossing "only" $392 million worldwide and leading analysts
to estimate a loss for the film at $50 million to $80 million or more. (In contrast, 2017's
The Last Jedi and 2016's
Rogue Onegrossed $1 billion globally, and 2015's
The Force Awakens topped $2 billion in receipts.)"
"Kennedy's deal extension also follows a polarizing reaction to
Last Jedi — which sits at 91 percent fresh on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes but was flooded with unusually angry fan complaints on social media about key plot choices. The reaction to
Last Jedi and
Solo is resulting in a shift in studio strategy, with Disney making plans to slow the output of movies. "You can expect some slowdown," Disney CEO Bob Iger told
THR in
an interviewpublished on Sept. 20, adding, "but that doesn't mean we're not going to make films.""
