Lucasfilm President and Star Wars Producer Kathleen Kennedy Gets Contract Extension

After turning out three hugely successful Star Wars movies since Disney purchased the franchise years ago, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy is receiving a contract extension to continue shepherding the galaxy far, far away.

The Hollywood Reporter recently revealed Kennedy's new deal, which puts her in control Lucasfilm at least until 2021. After purchasing Lucasfilm from George Lucas for $4 billion in 2012, Kennedy has overseen four films that have one on to gross over $4.5 billion at the box office in less than four years.

Of course, this could be a shock for some who thought Kennedy might be on the outs after the poor performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story. That film grossed $392 million worldwide, and though that's good by the standards of other blockbusters, it fell well short of Disney's goals for the Star Wars franchise.

And although Star Wars: The Last Jedi received a mixed reception from fans, the film generated over $1 billion at the box office and was the top selling home video release of 2018 before being supplanted by Black Panther a few weeks ago.

Regardless, the poor reception to Solo has caused Disney execs to rethink their initial plan to release Star Wars movies every year. The only project currently on the docket is Star Wars: Episode IX, which is currently in production. THR's report indicates that Lucasfilm will promote the film as the last chapter in the Skywalker saga, which should drum up excitement for fans eager to see how the story ends.

While there's no word about all of the rumored character spinoffs, featuring Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Last Jedi director Rian Johnson is still working on his proposed trilogy of Star Wars movies, though he's getting ready to shoot Knives Out with Daniel Craig first.

The Game of Thrones show runners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff are also still working on their own Star Wars films, which will likely kick into high gear when the final season of HBO's hit fantasy series is completed.

Other than animated series like Star Wars Resistance and the return of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the next Lucasfilm project is Jon Favreau's live-action series set to debut on Disney's streaming service. THR's report indicates that the series is currently casting.

Kennedy is also developing a fifth film in the Indiana Jones franchise, with Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg set to return. Script issues reportedly pushed that film's release date back from 2020 to 2021.

Kennedy will be overseeing the future of Lucasfilm for the foreseeable future, so we'll see what she has planned for the Star Wars galaxy after Episode IX.

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