To elaborate on what BK said.
The latest scuttle from some insiders is that there was a BIG super secret conference call (one in which security guards stood outside the door so no one could eavesdrop) between Disney and Lucasfilm (with Pixar and Marvel Studios suits listening in...not sure why that would be...perhaps to give advice later on to Iger or Horn?) and KK's time is effectively up and she and her "loyalists" (not my word) would have been shown the door already if they could get someone who was willing to replace her. Apparently they've asked a few people so far, all of whom have said no (this included, to my surprise, JJ Abrams himself who gave a flat "no") as they don't feel like boarding a ship heading into (if not already in) dire straits and steering it out (I'l freely admit that's a HUGE job). The other thing that came out of this call was that JJ was hired for IX OVER KK's head by Iger. That she and JJ don't even speak (their relationship during TFA was apparently quite strained), and his hiring for IX by Iger is basically a middle finger to KK's decisions.
Also, was reading a young woman who is in PR and she's very clear that Lucasfilm has been running a PR game since TLJ came out to try to paint things not as they are to avoid the flames. Like the whole drive to show that only white man babies who don't like females or POC are the ones that didn't like TLJ and don't want it to succeed based on that. But she correctly points out that ROGUE ONE was a SUPER success, critically, monetarily, and with fans (apparently even moreso than LFL and Disney expected) and it features the most diverse cast in Star Wars history, and also features a female lead. And the movie that DIDN'T succeed, (SOLO), was lead by a white man. So she's pointing out that if the spin that they are trying to drive is "racist sexists" are the only people complaining, is tone deaf at best and blatantly incorrect at worst. The last thing she notes from a PR angle is that these are VERY relevant and time honoured PR tactics that companies constantly use to avert the gaze from the real issues (whatever those may be) so that they can save public face....but the thing they weren't counting on was that the fanbase that they are essentially alienating is SO large (if not the FIRST fandom, then one OF the first fandoms) that it doesn't work. It's not a cover-up-able thing with fans in the millions all trying to get down to why the IP is starting to flounder creatively.
Anyways, my hope is that they move Dave Filoni into the creative Kevin Feige-like role of top down oversight of the franchise. He lives and breathes Star Wars and is GL's protege, and his whole life till now has kinda been leading to this (what with Exec Oversight of TCW and REBELS). It SOUNDS like KK is out...and to be honest, I would imagine that means her closer advisors are probably going with her. The rumour from the above scuttle is that the division in Lucasfilm is palpable, and untenable.
I just want Star Wars to have a cohesive narrative path going forwards.
And Worry, "toxic fandom" is a strain of the same PR game. Highlighting the bad eggs and blowing them out of proportion to encompass more of fandom than they actually do. This is a proven studio tactic in fact. When the trailer for Ghostbusters 2016 came out, it was massively down voted and the various complaints about it ranged from the "toxic" subset to much more level dislike to complex takedowns...and Sony (who ONLY allowed their YouTube page to host the trailer, clever that) who knew they might have a bad film on their hands and a bad response by their potential audience...DELETED any and all negative comments that were in any ways reasonable, and only left up the positive comments and (and here is the insidious part) the sexist and racist ones. So that they could point at that and go "See! It's just racist sexist's who don't want this movie to exist!"....and they ran with that narrative directly to the mainstream media. who bought it hook, line, and sinker...and it wasn't till a few days later that it YouTubers showed up with the receipts of what really occurred. Screenshots of the YT Sony trailer page filled with much more reasoned negative comments that had been deleted over the course of two days...because they didn't play to the narrative Sony's PR department was running.
Do I think that a subset of SW fans are of the toxic variety? ABSOLUTELY. Every fandom has them. Do I think that the majority of Star wars fans who discuss SW online and elsewhere are of that variety? No, I don't. Even a little bit. Do I think that such a "toxic" portion of the fanbase is being taken into account by Hollywood heavy hitters who have been offered the job os Star Wars? No. I think that Star Wars was ALREADY a daunting franchise to "command" BEFORE the Disney buyout....and after 4 movies of behind the scenes strife and a riven fanbase...it's got to be even more daunting for anyone to take on.
This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 26 June 2018 - 01:49 PM
"When the last tree has fallen, and the rivers are poisoned, you cannot eat money, oh no." ~Aurora
"Someone will always try to sell you despair, just so they don't feel alone." ~Ursula Vernon