Star Wars Last Jedi backlash: Kathleen Kennedy REMOVED from Episode 9?

Is everything Kathleen Kennedy’s fault?

As the boss of Lucasfilm, it was presumably her decision to hire and then fire the directors of Solo A Star Wars Story and Star Wars Episode 9.

She is also seen as the driving force between the biggest disturbance in the Force in the history of the franchise.

The Last Jedi split fans and inspired a backlash of unprecedented fury and vitriol which many see as a major contributing factor to the failure of the Solo spin-off.

Kennedy has always been seen more as a business than creative leader, but with attacks on both fronts, new reports indicate she has either stepped aside or been moved away from Episode 9.

After Colin Trevorrow was removed, JJ Abrams returned to helm the crucial final film in the nine-movie and five-decade arc.

A major new report from Beyond the Trailer has leaked some of the inner dramas consuming Lucasfilm and Disney following the disastrous last few months. 

It states that Kennedy has chosen to leave the future of the film, and the future of Star Wars, to its director. 

Grace Randolph at Beyond The Trailer said: “Kathleen Kennedy has decided to let this all fall on JJ Abrams and stepped back, giving him complete creative control.”

This is reported to be part of an even more drastic developmnt behind the scenes.

According to Randolph, Disney boss Iger called an emergency meeting with all the heads of Disney, Pixar and Marvel together with the Lucasfilm Star Wars “top brass” to discuss the current situation.

Randolph added: “The word is that he wants Kathleen Kennedy out.”

But there is another problem: “Nobody will take her (Kennedy’s) job. Several have been approached, but turned it down, including JJ Abrams, who turned it down flat and didn’t even hesitate.”

The new reports in influential Hollywood newsletter The Ankler also suggest that Kennedy may be tired of all the attacks and negativity, plus a punishing workload.

It says: “While Kathleen Kennedy worked wonders relaunching this property from the abyss of the Lucas prequel trilogy and turning it into a bigger than ever all-devouring cultural force, there has to be more than some thought that it’s time for new blood at the helm. The talk out there is of a September changing of the guards.”

FULL LINK TO BEYOND THE TRAILER STORY