Star Wars Solo FLOP and Last Jedi backlash: Kathleen Kennedy's husband hits back

The Skywalkers should get some perspective.

They only have evil emperors and the hint of incest to worry about. They don’t have to face a rising tide of angry film fans and social media campaigns.

Kennedy is facing an uprecedented public trial after the box office failure of Solo A Star Wars Story fuelled the fan resistance and started rumours and reports that Disney boss Bob Iger was seeking to remove her from Lucasfilm.

Her husband producer Frank Marshall has now found himself in the spotlight after an inflammatory public social media comment was picked up. 

A supporter directly tweeted Marshall (who uses the Twitter handle LeDoctor).

The message said: “Your wife is getting an unfair shake by Star Wars fans. True fans know that Bob Iger is protecting his own very bad decisions by allowing her to take the heat for it. Let her know, for morale.”

Marshall immediately liked the post, which is being seen as a public declaration that he agreed with it.

The fact that a major Hollywood figure acknowledged and liked a public statement accusing the Disney boss of settting up the head of Lucasfilm to take a fall shows just how serious the whole situation is becoming.

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Previously, Kennedy and Disney have made little acknowledgement of the fan unhappiness, let alone any implication that it would affect decision-making regarding the Star Wars movies and Lucasfilm management.

A large and vocal section of the dedicated Star Wars fan base has remained extremely critical of The Last Jedi and every Star Wars announcement related to Kathleen Kennedy or Rian Johnson.

The critics had been previously dismissed in the media as bigoted extremists out of step with modern liberal values. Except it is becoming clear that a broad cross-section of Star Wars fans who are not alt-right misogynists shares many of their views.

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The Last Jedi performed well at the box office, but did not have the “legs” of The Force Awakens, and this could be seen as the first indication that an alienated dedicated section of the fandom was not going back for repeat viewings.

The failure of Solo can be attributed to bad scheduling, too many production dramas provoking poor public perception and a miscalculation that there would be a hunger for a movie about a beloved character who has already been extensively shown as a younger and older man.

However, it seems unavoidable now that the much-touted fan backlash and ongoing public boycot of Star Wars movies has also played a significant part. 

What will Disney do to fix this before Episode 9 hits cinemas next Christmas?