Should Kathleen Kennedy be Fired from the Star Wars Side of Disney?
Davis Smedley
Davis Smedley
This past December, Star Wars: The Last Jedi released to one of the most divisive reactions that I have ever seen for movie. People either seemed to love the film for taking the risks that it did (this was mostly with critics), while many fans of the franchise absolutely HATED it and declared it the worst film in the history of Star Wars. Even Hillgrove teacher Coach Rogers stated that “they totally missed the point." For me personally, while I thought that it did have some amazing aspects, I do agree with the people who hate the film in that it had a lot of problems. While these issues may be attributed to the director, Rian Johnson, they can also be traced back to the head of LucasFilms herself, Kathleen Kennedy. With that said, because of the many issues that Star Wars now faces because of this film and other factors, I am here to ask….should Kennedy be fired from Star Wars?
The problems associated with The Last Jedi mainly had to do with two aspects, its story and it's needless feminist aspects. Without giving away too much, the story often went in directions that many fans (including myself) felt should not have been taken (specifically with the characters of Luke Skywalker and Snoke, as well as a few needless subplots). However, fans also criticized how the film went out of its way to please feminists rather than focus on what was best for the film itself, resulting in an even more cluttered plot. Kathleen Kennedy has made it no secret that she cares more about her beliefs than the needs of the fans, as she has continuously ignored criticism that The Last Jedi has received and even claimed that “girls can't identify with characters like Luke” (taken from disney.trendolizer.com).
Combine her letting Rian Johnson ruin the series for many fans with the complete disaster that the video game side of the brand has become (Kennedy had put EA in charge of the Star Wars license, resulting in nothing but corporate greed), and there is definitely a problem. Because of this, should Kennedy be fired? The answer to this, to put it plainly, is ABSOLUTELY. However, if I am being more realistic, the best decision would not be to fire her, but instead have her on the business side of the equation. Make no mistake, she should definitely not be allowed to make any more decisions in terms of where the story goes, but if someone else (like Dave Filoni) was to be put in charge of that aspect while she stays focused on the business side, there could be good things to come from this scenario after all. As of right now though, Kennedy is still in power, which will hopefully change soon due to her continuous loss of support.
The problems associated with The Last Jedi mainly had to do with two aspects, its story and it's needless feminist aspects. Without giving away too much, the story often went in directions that many fans (including myself) felt should not have been taken (specifically with the characters of Luke Skywalker and Snoke, as well as a few needless subplots). However, fans also criticized how the film went out of its way to please feminists rather than focus on what was best for the film itself, resulting in an even more cluttered plot. Kathleen Kennedy has made it no secret that she cares more about her beliefs than the needs of the fans, as she has continuously ignored criticism that The Last Jedi has received and even claimed that “girls can't identify with characters like Luke” (taken from disney.trendolizer.com).
Combine her letting Rian Johnson ruin the series for many fans with the complete disaster that the video game side of the brand has become (Kennedy had put EA in charge of the Star Wars license, resulting in nothing but corporate greed), and there is definitely a problem. Because of this, should Kennedy be fired? The answer to this, to put it plainly, is ABSOLUTELY. However, if I am being more realistic, the best decision would not be to fire her, but instead have her on the business side of the equation. Make no mistake, she should definitely not be allowed to make any more decisions in terms of where the story goes, but if someone else (like Dave Filoni) was to be put in charge of that aspect while she stays focused on the business side, there could be good things to come from this scenario after all. As of right now though, Kennedy is still in power, which will hopefully change soon due to her continuous loss of support.