Kathleen Kennedy is (NOT) retiring

 

That's right folks. You just read that right. Today (Feb 28, 2025) she addressed the week long rumor that she will be retiring. So........ COMPLETELY sidestepping the hot-button issue of her helming the STAR WARS franchise and the division that it has directly/in-directly created over the last decade, here is the scoop in case you missed it (continue reading for more!)

I would like to say that I'm not at all surprised by the unfolding series of events, or at the very least I think it could've been a calculated KAYFABE. I am of the perspective that the corporate world is a culture and a grand stage of illusion all its own and, much like prison, the key to survival in that environment in entails 'playing the game'. "Why do I say this" you may ask (YOU BETTER!!??!! jk jk), well I personally think Disney and Her have been having a less than good relationship lately with all the flak Star Wars has been getting. I think the notion of “you can quit or we fire you” is more on the table than ever (that’s opinion of course). I think “leaks” or rumors and hit pieces like this are a way of the corporate world testing/gauging public perception and reaction as well. Can't be doing things in the house of mouse that is bad for business when business is already bad yanno? People have wanted K.K's head for a couple of years now.....Well a very vocal group of internet folks at least (don't even know if its a loud majority or just butthurt internet superfans/keyboard warriors at this point, but that doesn't matter), basically since THE LAST JEDI, people have been unhappy with the direction STAR WARS is heading....Now,  unfortunately, reputation precedes us all and if you’re losing yours in the corporate world you got nothing..... You're only as good as your name in this day and age and if you're helming a failing franchise well, a sacrifice is owed on the alter of it at some point. Which brings us to the ENTIRE point of this piece that I write...... just WTF is going on, so here we go:

How it started:

At the beginning of the week the rumor mill started churning..... The internet was abuzz with whispers of Kathleen Kennedy soon to be announcing her retirement at the end of 2025 as her contract is set to renew or expire with Disney. The rumors report that due to Disney tightening down hard on the MARVEL and STAR WARS franchises (what with canceling and restructuring many projects in various stages of production) and that with recent Star Wars projects failing to meet expectation it appeared to be both a welcomed change and a chance for new life in a galaxy far far away.

Here is an example of one such article. Full disclosure I got my news about it from a different source but all the articles regurgitate the same 'details':  HOLLYWOODREPORTER- Kathleen Kennedy expected to retire

 Once the rumor mill got churning the echo chambers began to regurgitate this rumor as fact and the reactions started coming out of the woodword, even the CRITICALDRINKER made a video in response to it:

 

The current “sitch”:

Welp, here's the thing with internet journalism and why I hate it-- People jump at the first chance to report news (or as I call it these days ....just 'information') as much as possible even if it hasn't been verified and they do it for one main reason -----> $$ Let me explain: 

A news website gets ad revenue for every click a page gets.....Every news story they post gets read and distributed, shared and tagged. Say you write an article and it gets $10,000 of ad revenue (I don't know how accurate or possible it is but for the sake of my point just humor me) that's considered a great thing because you just made your company 10 grand and I'm sure you get a cut of that. Now, let's say that the article in question turns out to not be fully accurate or factually true, well you put yourself in the hotseat for a LIBEL case as far as lawsuits go and they don't want that (But they still wants those clicks to keep happening). So to cover their butts and still come out on top, websites will typically put and EDIT on the bottom of the page (essentially a lazy retraction with the correct facts listed to avoid liability) of the original article. NOW, on top of that a completely new article will be written to 'set the record straight' even though a retraction has TECHNICALLY already happened on the first article. BUT the reason they do this isn't because of journalistic integrity it is because NOW you have TWO articles about ONE topic generating TWICE the amount of ad revenue. ESSESNTIALLY that indirectly incentivizes these sites to not print half truths on the off chance they can make double money off the same 'scoop' and it is lazy and often times intentionally misleading.

Now ALL OF THAT is to say this: Kathleen Kennedy responded to the rumors and they don't NEXESSARILY confirm or deny anything. HOWEVER the way her response is phrased now, it seems she is at least preparing for a strategic withdrawal of some kind at some point.

Here is the follow-up where she responds to the rumors :Kathleen Kennedy sets record straight on retirement rumors 

“I am not retiring. I will never retire from movies. I will die making movies.” She explained that she has been working with Disney CEO Bob Iger and co-chairman Alan Bergman on a long-term succession plan but emphasized, “We have every intention of making an announcement months or a year down the road. We are in lockstep as to what that’s going to be, and I am continuing.” -Source: COMINGSOON.NET

 Naturally, this development caused yet another round of reactions and a whole lot of butthurt and yet again The CRITICADRINKER made a response video (at least his takes are entertaining):