Credit: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia CommonsAs the Walt Disney Company and its many subsidiaries continue to navigate rocky waters in the aftermath of the now-resolved WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, some industry analysts are predicting a major reshuffling behind the scenes regarding two of its top executives: Marvel boss Kevin Feige and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy.
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Times are tough for the once-mighty House of Mouse, which seems to be pumping out a nonstop sludge of less-than-impressive content these days. From the box office misfire of Disney Animation’s Strange World (2022) to Marvel Studios’ The Marvels (2023), there’s no denying that the brand, which, for a time, had a near-perfect batting average when it came to its theatrical releases, needs a big win — and soon.
It’s no secret that Disney’s handling of the Star Wars franchise, which the mega-conglomerate purchased from George Lucas back in 2012, has proven controversial. Although the highly divisive Sequel Trilogy irreversibly shattered the fanbase, Disney+ entries such as The Mandalorian, Andor, and Dave Filoni’s more recent Ahsoka have earned critical acclaim, on top of animated projects like Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the Tales of the Jedi anthology series.
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Still, not everything is peachy keen behind the scenes, with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy coming under fire for her so-called “woke” approach to the beloved IP. The longtime producer has been more than open about her plans to introduce more female-led stories to the galaxy far, far away, which has ruffled feathers in recent years, as Star Wars’ attempts to diversify the franchise often feel half-baked, at best.
And it doesn’t help that Disney and Lucasfilm keep falling back on legacy characters to “save” Star Wars’ foundering reputation, resulting in rushed, cheap-looking Disney+ originals like Obi-Wan Kenobi and The Book of Boba Fett. With the IP constantly returning the aptly named “Skywalker Saga,” despite their best efforts to explore new, unexplored points on the timeline, it increasingly seems that newly appointed Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni might be Lucasfilm’s only hope.
Plus, with not one but three new Star Wars movies on the not-so-distant horizon, things could finally be looking up for Kathleen Kennedy and Co. Meanwhile, however, its sister studio, Marvel, has been in hot water recently thanks to a string of box office flops, an increasingly dire financial situation, and a crumbling work environment detailed in a damning exposé published by Variety last month.
In short, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), The Marvels (2023), and Disney+ entries, including Secret Invasion and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, were pretty much universally rejected by audiences, despite not being egregiously bad, by any means. While it’s hard to pinpoint the root of what exactly went wrong behind the curtain at Marvel HQ, many point to the studios’s seemingly aimless direction post-Infinity Saga, releasing a slew of TV shows and movies back-to-back without ensuring much quality storytelling.
Even its most-watched Disney+ series, the Tom Hiddleston-fronted Loki, has found itself in the center of controversy after Jonathan Majors, who plays its primary antagonist and the MCU’s next Thanos-level threat, Kang the Conqueror, was arrested back in March on assault and harassment charges. With his standing at Marvel in jeopardy, the franchise might be forced to scrap their most exciting post-Avengers: Endgame (2019) yet, which could irreversibly harm the Multiverse Saga moving forward.
With overworked VFX artists working tirelessly on CGI-heavy MCU projects, a constant flip-flopping of writers and directors, strike-related delays, and a constantly expanding universe that has, perhaps, become too convoluted for its own good, many are predicting that the “downfall” of Marvel Studios is imminent.
While it’s doubtful that the MCU is going anywhere anytime soon, it sounds like there are some pressing issues the studio needs to address before it can kick its Multiverse Saga into full swing. Kevin Feige has, after all, already saved the brand from certain doom, starting with the Robert Downey Jr.-led Iron Man (2008). Since then, he’s spearheaded one of the most lucrative film franchises of all time, bringing niche comic book characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy to near-universal recognition.
Now, the heyday of Iron Man, Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) seems increasingly like a distant memory, with Marvel desperately trying — and mostly failing — to replicate some of the same magic as its Infinity Saga. Even with a great many MCU movies and shows still in the pipeline for future release, faith in the superhero franchise seems to be at a record low, as reflected by its abysmal box office numbers.
Coming off of a very rocky year for the MCU, many have started to wonder if Feige would ever consider stepping away from his role at Marvel, leaving the universe he built to the next generation of filmmakers. While this, once again, seems unlikely (at least for the time being), Joanna Robinson, co-author of the recent Marvel Studios tell-all book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, recently chimed in on the conversation during a recent episode of Matthew Belloni’s podcast, The Town.
During the interview, Robinson was asked how much longer she thought Feige would want to stay in his executive position at Marvel Studios, to which she responded that the place where Feige wants to be is “making movies.” Interestingly enough, the author also noted how Feige’s name is frequently mentioned when discussing Disney CEO Bob Iger’s hypothetical successor, though based on her remarks, it doesn’t seem like he wants to climb his way up the corporate ladder anytime soon:
I don’t know because, for a time, I was wondering if he would want to take over Disney In the ongoing Iger succession question. No, but absolutely not, right? Because he wants to make movies. Like, whatever he does, he wants to directly have his hand in making movies.
After reiterating that the Marvel boss would, in her opinion, rather stay on as a creative consultant, Belloni interjected, claiming that he “could see [Feige] taking over Lucasfilm” instead, to which Robinson agreed. The podcast host explained that, surprisingly, Feige is “more of a ‘Star Wars’ guy than he is a comic book guy,” so if a vacancy were to ever open up at Lucasfilm, the exec might consider jumping ship.
Although Feige is clearly passionate about the MCU and wants to see his company succeed, Belloni and Robinson’s comments do add up, considering Feige was, for a time, supposed to helm a Star Wars movie before Kennedy and Lucasfilm shelved it. Given that both Marvel and Lucasfilm are Disney-owned IPs, both studio heads have worked closely with each other in the past, meaning it would be an easy transition for Fiege to take over in the case that Kennedy — as was rumored earlier this year — were to leave.
Belloni made sure to clarify that he was not making any sort of suggestion that the current Lucasfilm head is quitting anytime soon; instead, sympathizing with the controversial executive, who’s been a particular target for disgruntled Star Wars fans and, oddly enough, Comedy Central’s South Park in recent months.
Robinson added that if “Kathy is tired” and wants to abandon her role at Lucasfilm, she believes Feige would “want to” replace her, though ultimately, she feels it’s far more probable that he stays at “the empire that he built,” proving that a good captain will indeed go down with his ship:
If Kathy is tired and they can blame her for that, then that is something that I think Kevin would want to do, but other than that, I think he sticks with the empire that he built.
The timing of this interview doesn’t seem to be a coincidence, as it comes amid speculation that Feige has been spread quite thin across the MCU’s many entries in recent years, even though he hasn’t been involved as heavily as he used to be in day-to-day operations. As for Kennedy, many contradicting reports have surfaced about her role at Lucasfilm, with some media outlets claiming that Disney, at one point, even threatened her job. “Kathleen Kennedy fired” seems to be a constantly trending headline in the Star Wars community, though time and time again, nothing has come from these baseless internet rumors.
At the end of the day, the general consensus is that Marvel’s best bet to counter audiences’ growing sense of “superhero fatigue” is to slow down considerably after a string of particularly uneven releases and focus on quality over quantity.
Thankfully, Feige and Co. seem to be well aware of the fact that significant changes need to take place to ensure the franchise’s survival, with the new “Marvel Spotlight” banner promising grounded, isolated superhero stories that exist outside of the Multiverse Saga, such as the upcoming Disney+ Echo miniseries. As for its theatrical entries, only one MCU movie is slated to premiere in 2024: Deadpool 3 (2024), which the company is supposedly very confident about. Although plenty of TV shows will be released throughout the year, viewers won’t be drowning in content, meaning this could be the much-needed break fans need.
Ultimately, it’s important to note that this is simply speculation amongst two Hollywood insiders — nothing more. Kathleen Kennedy and Kevin Feige are likely in it for the long run, especially the latter, considering that he’s the architect of the MCU and is generally well-liked among fans. However, there’s always the off-chance that Feige has a personal grudge against the Lucasfilm boss for shutting down his Star Wars movie pitch. Who knows? Maybe he really is gunning for Kennedy’s job, after all.
Should Kevin Feige remain at Marvel Studios, or should he jump ship to Lucasfilm and replace Kathleen Kennedy if he gets the chance? Share your thoughts in the comments below!