Recently, there have been more and more leaks, insiders, rumors and full-fledged news that in Lucasfilm serious changes began, the final of which will be the resignation of the head of the studio Kathleen Kennedy. Let’s take a look at them.
Lucasfilm Top Hat
It became known this week that the head of Lucasfilm’s animation projects and the producer of the series “Star Wars: The Mandalorian“(Star Wars: The Mandalorian) Dave Filoni went up. He now serves as the studio’s executive creative director.
At the same time, Filoni was promoted back in 2023, but no official announcements were made – fans just now noticed the changes on the official Lucasfilm website. However, last year the portal LRM Online reportedthat the studio intends to change the approach to creating projects in the Star Wars universe.
According to an insider, all the series will be connected by a single storyline, and Dave Filoni will oversee them. The source also listed projects: new seasons of The Mandalorian, TV series about Ahsoku Tano, show about Bobu Fetta, a project about Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezru Bridger, as well as work about a new character.
Information from LRM Online was confirmed almost in full, including information about the creation of a single storyline, which fans call MandoVerse.
Filoni changes Star Wars canon
Filoni’s new position also helps explain the changes that are taking place in his animation projects. Allegedly the team of the showrunner “The Mandalorian” Jonah Favreau, which Dave Filoni is a member of, allegedly plans to “fix” the new canon of “Star Wars” aboutt Disney, making point changes in it. And this is already happening.
In 2023, the final season of the animated series “Clone wars“(The clone wars), which focuses on the Jedi Ahsoke Tano – student Luke Skywalker… However, the events in the project differ in detail from what was described in the book “Ahsoka“(Ahsoka), which was released in 2019 by the writer Emily Keith Johnston…
In 2023, the premiere of the animated series “Rejected batch“(The bad batch). And in it, the canon begins to change from the first episode. At the very beginning, the creators introduced a young Jedi Caleb Dume (he is Kanan Jarrus), who is one of the main characters of the animated series “Insurgents“(Rebels). But the events in the animated series are very different from the comics. I was not present in the latter “Unit 99“, at Master Kanan (Jedi Master Depa Billaba) the lightsaber color changed, and so on. Even the time of day is different!
A little later, the screenwriter of the animated series Jennifer Corbett stated that the changes were adopted following consultation with Dave Filoni. In the script group Lucasfilm, they began to talk about the fact that the canon of “Star Wars” should be perceived as a collection of stories that differ in different interpretations. However, what is happening looks like Filoni has decided to establish full control over everything related to MandoVerse.
MandoVerse falls apart without Gina Carano
Recently edition Variety became one of the main newsmakers thanks to an article on the problems in Disney and the conflict between the head of the company Bob Chapek and chairman of the board of directors Bob Iger… A little later, a similar insider was published by the portal Small Screen…
The Variety editors did not pass by Dave Filoni’s promotion. Portal sources said that the series “Rangers of the New Republic“(Rangers of the New Republic), which is part of MandoVerse, is “not in active development”. Rumors about freeze the project have been around for the last few months.
According to preliminary data, the key character in the “Rangers of the New Republic” was to be Marshal of the New Republic Kara Dune, the role of which was performed by Gina Carano… However, the actress was kicked out of The Mandalorian TV series with a scandal, and Disney never officially announced her dismissal.
Carano’s connection with the Rangers was reported by sources The hollywood reporter, podcast Kessel Run Transmissions, Bespin Bulletin, YouTube blog Midnight’s edge and insider WDW Pro… The latter wrote in back in February that Carano’s solo project was threatened with closure. LRM Online sources claimed that Karoo Dune want to replace on the General of the New Republic Geru Syndulla, which featured in “Rebels” and the game Star Wars: Squadrons…
Wind of change
The main question is – will Kathleen Kennedy leave the post of head of Lucasfilm this year? And there are more and more hints that the wait will not be long.
Many important events have happened in the past few months. In February, sources at The Hollywood Reporter reported that it was the top management of Lucasfilm who initiated the firing of Gina Carano. This decision can be called the main mistake of Kennedy, which turned into a large-scale PR disaster that shook the entire Mickey Mouse House…
This was followed by a chain of important events. In April, the community managers at the Lucasfilm head office, who, with their statements, provoked a series of racist scandals, fell silent. Now they do not allow themselves to act independently, which only provoked new scandals. So, the studio did not congratulate the creator of “Star Wars” on his birthday George Lucas, who turned 77 years old last week.
In addition, in the spring of 2023, the development of the film was drastically accelerated “Indiana Jones 5“(Indian jones) and the series “Willow“(Willow), which are personally supervised by Kathleen Kennedy. In particular, caste projects are gradually being revealed, approximate dates for the start of filming are announced.
Additional information was shared by blogger WDW Pro, who specializes in the theme of Disney amusement parks. According to him, the production of “Indiana Jones 5” is already behind schedule, because the shooting was originally planned to begin in the spring of 2023, but now they start somewhere in August. Every month the project becomes more and more risky, as the leading actor Harrison Ford does not get younger. The film is scheduled to premiere in 2023, when the actor turns 80.
Interestingly, Kathleen Kennedy plans to visit the Indiana Jones 5 set not alone, but with her husband. Frank Marshall… The latter is a Hollywood legend and has a lot to do with the franchise, except that executive producers usually don’t behave so uninhibited in production. Kennedy did not allow herself this either before – this harms the image of a successful businesswoman and is an indirect confirmation of the rumor about “indefinite leave”, in which the head of Lucasfilm is allegedly located.
The Variety article on Disney issues also hints at a change in the studio. The material said the unconditional leadership of the chapter Marvel Kevin Feige among the heads of internal studios. At the same time, the journalists stressed that the architect of the Marvel Cinematic Universe does not plan to occupy the post of the head of Lucasfilm, limiting himself to producing one film in the Star Wars universe.
We should also mention the festival Star Wars Celebration, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic. The event was scheduled to take place in Anaheim in August 2023. However, Lucasfilm recently announced that the Star Wars Celebration will take place in May 2023. Last year, there was a rumor that the date of the event was allegedly directly linked to the presentation of the new head of Lucasfilm. The main candidate for the post is called “The Mandalorian” showrunner and director “Iron man“(Iron man) Jon Favreau…
As noted by WDW Pro, Kennedy’s “quiet resignation” option should not be discounted when her contract is renewed for one year. YouTube blog Midnight’s Edge notes that before retiring, top managers should be inundated with awards and accolades, so that the public does not associate her retirement with the failures of the Star Wars brand.
It is possible that full-fledged contacts between Disney and Kathleen Kennedy will not be completely severed, because she is firmly connected with Indiana Jones and a number of other projects. A top manager may well follow the path of the ex-head of the film division Sony Amy Pascal, who opened a production company. Publicly, Disney President Bob Chapek recently expressed full support Kennedy.
See also: Variety: Kevin Feige refused to lead Lucasfilm, conflict is brewing in Disney leadership
Rumor: Jon Favreau fights Lucasfilm for control of MandoVerse
A very strange “cancellation”: Lucasfilm knocks out an Emmy for Gina Carano for the series “The Mandalorian”
“The Mandalorian” is waiting for “Heir to the Empire”? Insiders talk about the new concept of “Star Wars”
