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Lucasfilm desperately needs new leadership

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion back in 2012, with Kathleen Kennedy at the helm of Disney's Lucasfilm, these are our results:

Movies
The Force Awakens - inferior remake of Star Wars 1977, but good if one ignores the remainder of the trilogy
Rogue One - Excellent
The Last Jedi - Retroactively ruins Star Wars forever
Solo - Lando comes out as robosexual and robots demand human rights, and there's a train and sexy Emilia Clarke..?? I typically forget that this movie exists
The Rise of Skywalker - The trash we deserve for remaining Star Wars fans after TLJ
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - 330 million dollars of miserable CG wretchitude

TV
The Mandalorian - Decent-to-good first two seasons, big slide for the third
The Book of Boba Fett - Awful and character-ruining
Obi-Wan Kenobi - Haven't watched, appears to be awful and character-ruining
Andor - Excellent
Willow - Haven't watched, appears to be a joke

Animated (mostly kid stuff)
Lego Star Wars (various)
Star Wars Rebels
Star Wars Resistance
Star Wars The Bad Batch
Star Wars Visions
Tales of the Jedi
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures


TLJ performed well off the back of Force Awakens but permanently tarnished the franchise among fans, Solo subsequently bombed, The Rise of Skywalker underperformed heavily and was disliked by fans, and Dial of Destiny looks to be the biggest bomb yet. That's a hell of a winning streak for Disney Lucasfilm.

Does Kathleen Kennedy have unlimited juice at the top of Lucasfilm? Given the trajectory since TLJ, it should be past time for a leadership change, but it's unclear that this will happen any time soon. How would you fix Star Wars and Lucasfilm if given the reins tomorrow?
 
They should have made episode 7 thats starts with luke lost and alone and forgotten. Wasn’t that lucas’s original idea
 
If we're only counting the movies, Indiana Jones wiped out the RoS profits and is eating into TLJ :messenger_tears_of_joy:
Both franchises are salvageable but I'm afraid Indiana Jones will go into another very long hiatus. They can always make a Brody prequel or a new TV show.
 

Soodanim

Member
Obi-Wan Kenobi - Haven't watched, appears to be awful and character-ruining
More or less, yeah. Some half decent action but lots of bad tropes and "Genius child" moments made it tough to get through. I kept waiting for it to get better and it wasn't worth it. But it's okay because you learn the origin story of inconsequential accessories to Leia's look a decade later. I think this Pitch Meeting covers it pretty well:

Does Kathleen Kennedy have unlimited juice at the top of Lucasfilm? Given the trajectory since TLJ, it should be past time for a leadership change, but it's unclear that this will happen any time soon. How would you fix Star Wars and Lucasfilm if given the reins tomorrow?
Didn't she recently say she wants to move away from what George Lucas did? Which to me says it's going to get even worse.
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
You can't repair it. Striking the sequel Trilogy from canon doesn't change the fact that you can't, literally physically cannot get a do over. They had Disney budget, hype from TFA, all three of the OT leads in one place, they had the opportunity to make a cinematic event and on screen reunion with three fantastic personalities who have had thirty plus years for their character to marinade in their minds. With proper writing and editing, Episode VIII could have been THE Star Wars movie to rival ESB in terms of franchise and pop culture impact.

Carrie Fisher is gone. That opportunity was literally murdered in front of our eyes in real time because they decided to try and be super artistic and intellectual with a franchise about alien shooty bang bang. Like, you couldn't have saved this BOLD NEW DIRECTION for one of your smaller and safer projects? Like fucking Sebulba: A Star Wars Story or some shit? It HAD to be the reunion film of three almost archetypal-generating icons of film, who are all old as fuck?

Someone at Disney, be it the CEO, Kennedy, Johnson, Walt fucking Disney's Brain connected to a computer, fucking SOMEONE did this intentionally, knowing that the pieces would never align again. Literally ruined a catharsis that would be appreciated by millions. I don't care if Rian Johnson wrote episode 8 on par with The Illiad, dude is forever on my shit list for fucking his shot to get them all together up.

Fuck.
 

Days like these...

Have a Blessed Day
You can't repair it. Striking the sequel Trilogy from canon doesn't change the fact that you can't, literally physically cannot get a do over. They had Disney budget, hype from TFA, all three of the OT leads in one place, they had the opportunity to make a cinematic event and on screen reunion with three fantastic personalities who have had thirty plus years for their character to marinade in their minds. With proper writing and editing, Episode VIII could have been THE Star Wars movie to rival ESB in terms of franchise and pop culture impact.

Carrie Fisher is gone. That opportunity was literally murdered in front of our eyes in real time because they decided to try and be super artistic and intellectual with a franchise about alien shooty bang bang. Like, you couldn't have saved this BOLD NEW DIRECTION for one of your smaller and safer projects? Like fucking Sebulba: A Star Wars Story or some shit? It HAD to be the reunion film of three almost archetypal-generating icons of film, who are all old as fuck?

Someone at Disney, be it the CEO, Kennedy, Johnson, Walt fucking Disney's Brain connected to a computer, fucking SOMEONE did this intentionally, knowing that the pieces would never align again. Literally ruined a catharsis that would be appreciated by millions. I don't care if Rian Johnson wrote episode 8 on par with The Illiad, dude is forever on my shit list for fucking his shot to get them all together up.

Fuck.
Replace the actors make a sequel to Return of The Jedi. Is this ideal? No, but it's better than what we've gotten.
 

Salz01

Member
Kathleen has done irreparable damage to Lucasfilm. It’s kind of odd, because she has been around so long in the industry, but it’s almost as if she has purposefully done damage to beloved IP’s just to fuck with Lucas and Spielberg. I get trying to modernize old IPs , I just don’t know how they could fuck up so bad. Why she is still there is beyond me, I can only think she has some big dirt on people. If somebody offered me the job, I wouldn’t want it. I kind of wish that Apple just buys Disney all together and cleans out the mouse house.
 

Komatsu

Member
Does Kathleen Kennedy have unlimited juice at the top of Lucasfilm? Given the trajectory since TLJ, it should be past time for a leadership change, but it's unclear that this will happen any time soon. How would you fix Star Wars and Lucasfilm if given the reins tomorrow?

Kennedy had her start as Spielberg's PA and progressively rose through the ranks - she produced many of the quintessential Spielberg hits of the 80s and 90s, but Lucasfilm required someone who understood the franchise at a deeper level. Some of the business decisions she took were also headscratchers - why hire 3 different directors for the trilogy, then fire 1 of them for sticking to his vision? She has a thing for firing directors mid-production, she fired Edwards after Rogue One's primary photography was done and brought Gilroy to do extensive reshoots, etc. And to say nothing of the disbanding of LucasArts, possibly one of the most cherished video game studios in the industry.

The sequel trilogy was such a clusterfuck though, that I'm not entirely sure SW is salvageable without Lucas and according to most reports Disney does not want him anywhere near his own creations.
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
Replace the actors make a sequel to Return of The Jedi. Is this ideal? No, but it's better than what we've gotten.

My honest vote, after I got the rage out temporarily anyway, is honestly just reboot. Hard reboot. Set in the Old Republic. Or so far after OT/ST that those events are ACTUAL legends, not TFA JJ Abrams "I've heard the tales!" ...Of an event that happened less than half a century ago? I dunno, JJ, I've heard tales of 9/11 but I'm not sure it actually fucking happened. Fucking asscocks at Disney. Nevermind. The rage has returned.

But yeah, easiest way to do it would be to go so far in either physical space or time that none of Rey Skywalker's super inclusive for checklists sake, assembly line pseudo intellectual, Marvel one line zinger wacky adventures can have even a passing influence on a side character's background dialogue.
 
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EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Kennedy had her start as Spielberg's PA and progressively rose through the ranks - she produced many of the quintessential Spielberg hits of the 80s and 90s, but Lucasfilm required someone who understood the franchise at a deeper level. Some of the business decisions she took were also headscratchers - why hire 3 different directors for the trilogy, then fire 1 of them for sticking to his vision? She has a thing for firing directors mid-production, she fired Edwards after Rogue One's primary photography was done and brought Gilroy to do extensive reshoots, etc. And to say nothing of the disbanding of LucasArts, possibly one of the most cherished video game studios in the industry.
Yep, production interference is her apparent specialty. Reportedly there were no issues between her and Mangold for Dial of Destiny, which probably has something to do with why it's so bad and unlike Mangold's other films.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
we'll see if these Indy toys sell, we all know that's where the real cheddar is...
uRwrMKL.jpg
 

Mistake

Member
I think the original charm and feeling of star wars is completely broken. Arguably was during episode 1, but bounced back with 2 and 3. The mandalorian looked promising, but fell off like I thought it would. Older generations are getting tired of constant cash grabs and remakes from their childhood, so it's probably best just to end it already
 
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new leadership wont' save lucasfilmas. It needs new IPs. KK has ruined every franchise into the ground. There's nothing else to destroy. It's complete scorched earth.
 

Pejo

Member
If I were George Lucas, I'd request to have my name removed from Lucasfilm. The IPs they inherited on a silver spoon have become decayed rotten filth. One thing they've done is made a perfect example of how to ruin a classic series of likeable, inspirational characters. They followed the distinct pattern of having them all become shitlords off-screen 20 years later and then replacing them with unlikable, unrelatable girlboss characters. Like it just keeps happening, the same story, over and over.

Kathleen Kennedy is gonna live out a nice happy fat lifestyle no matter what, but I wish they'd fire her before she further ruins the franchises she's in charge of. What am I saying, how can it get worse?
 

Hayabusa83

Banned
Don't kid yourself, Andor was terrible as well. I personally don't care for characters whose fate has already been established.

Disney Star Wars died the day they killed the Expanded Universe. Say what you want about the EU, but it carried the franchise from 83 until 99. Disney has no respect for the legacy fans.
 

Spyxos

Member
They should leave Star Wars alone for the next 10+ years. I know it will never happen but that's what I would do. After that I would completely ignore the whole Skywalker saga and look to Old Republic for movies and series. And a movie just about Siths would also be a musthave.
 
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Agree with all except rogue one.

The last 30 minutes was a fun visual spectacle but the movie was just Disney trying to churn anything out because they just bought star wars.

Thought it was pretty boring up until the end. And why did we need some farfetched plot to explain the first ten minutes of a new hope. Just a lazy cash in.

Speaking of lazy.. the force awakens has got to be the laziest movie I have ever seen..it's literally scene for scene copy pasta from a new.hope. made zero sense that the galaxy went into some weird dark age that didn't communicate and some empire wannabes had free reign while the galaxy didn't care.

All that cash and this is the best they could come up with. Also set the tone for the rest of the trilogy.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
If I were George Lucas, I'd request to have my name removed from Lucasfilm. The IPs they inherited on a silver spoon have become decayed rotten filth. One thing they've done is made a perfect example of how to ruin a classic series of likeable, inspirational characters. They followed the distinct pattern of having them all become shitlords off-screen 20 years later and then replacing them with unlikable, unrelatable girlboss characters. Like it just keeps happening, the same story, over and over.

Kathleen Kennedy is gonna live out a nice happy fat lifestyle no matter what, but I wish they'd fire her before she further ruins the franchises she's in charge of. What am I saying, how can it get worse?
Let's see...

Han Solo: now a deadbeat dad, loser, upstaged by Girl Boss who knows everything and does everything better, killed off

Luke Skywalker: now a failed Jedi master who attempted to murder his nephew in his sleep, loser nihilist, upstaged by Girl Boss who knows everything and does everything better, killed off

Obi-Wan Kenobi: now a failed Jedi master who loses his powers from depression and is inexplicably a scaredy cat who is terrified of Vader...after defeating the much more powerful Anakin Skywalker 10 years prior in an epic clash of the titans...???

Boba Fett: now an obese old man, Girl Boss is in charge of everything he's supposed to be in charge of on his own show, does absolutely nothing, character is so lame that no one cares about Boba Fett anymore and he may as well be dead

Indiana Jones: retiring professor no one cares about, loser nihilist and grumpy old man, upstaged by Girl Boss who knows everything and does everything better, not allowed to end his own life with dignity, punched in the face by Girl Boss for "rescue" instead


DRBbneF.gif
 

Goalus

Member
I am looking forward to the future works getting made under the "the force is female" motto.
I see a lot of potential in them.
 

kunonabi

Member
we'll see if these Indy toys sell, we all know that's where the real cheddar is...
uRwrMKL.jpg
To be fair indy toys not selling is par for the course so i wouldn't necessarily lump it in with all the other marvel and star wars toy sales woes if they end up languishing on store shelves too.
 

Nydius

Gold Member
Maybe an unpopular opinion with some, especially hardcore Star Wars fans and fans of the animated shows but... I think Dave Filoni is a one trick pony and isn't doing the Star Wars universe any favors. Every single one of his live action projects is turning into give popular character X from Clone Wars (or Rebels) their own series. He isn't even trying to be all that creative, just rehashing characters and plot lines from his animated series in live action.

That's my biggest disappointment. In a universe that's got thousands of years of history, we're still stuck meandering about in the Skywalker era with the same old stories. Except in the High Republic book series.
 
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1. Doubt KK can turn things around. Don’t think she can separate her personal politics from Star Wars.
2. Star Wars should not represent our current day politics and movements. We watch movies for escapism, not reminder of all of life’s problems.
3. Move far away from the Skywalker timeline by 500 years in the past or future. No more plot armor, member berries, & rehashing same handful of characters.
4. And last but not least….”The Force Will Be with You, Always!”
 

BlackTron

Member
TLJ is my favorite Star Wars movie of all of them.

I tried to grapple with how this could be possible so I tried to think about the movie from different angles to find some redeeming qualities, such as Luke and Yoda talking together. But that made me think about the movie, which plunged me into depression.

-Space horses galloping on ISDs as an attack force
-Magic glowing Disney animals that lead the path to safety
-The whole casino sequence
-Mary Poppins Leia survives being in space, even though Carrie Fisher even died IRL
-Luke dies from concentrating too hard on the Force
-Adam Driver's villain is such a lame idiot I forget what his name even is
-Rebellion female leader is purple-haired because that's rebellious
-Space bombers that use gravity to drop bombs like B-52s

No matter what happens to this franchise, it will forever be tarnished with the embarrassment that this movie is in it.
 
I don't know what Star Wars needs, but neither does Kathleen Kennedy, and only one of us is getting paid millions for our lack of knowledgeable direction.

What they SHOULD be doing is trying to make a new Star Wars. And not by painting-by-numbers. Take a promising young filmmaker who's hungry (like George Lucas was) and give them an irresponsible amount of money to make something unique. They'll throw away hundreds of millions for a "sure thing" like Star Wars only for it to bomb, so why not try something new?
 
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