Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t read the room

Kathleen Kennedy, head of Walt Disney’s Lucasfilm unit.

Kathleen Kennedy, 69, the chief of Walt Disney Co.’s Lucasfilm subsidiary, says she’s looking for guidance from the James Bond film franchise.

“I’ve often brought up Bond,” Kennedy told Empire magazine. “That’s every three or four years and there wasn’t this pressure to feel like you had to have a movie every year. I feel that was very important to Star Wars. We have to eventize this.”

Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 for more than $4 billion. Disney wanted to revive the Star Wars film franchise. The plan that emerged: Do a Star Wars film every other year (beginning in 2015), with other Star Wars-related projects coming out in-between.

Since then, there hasn’t been a Star Wars movie since 2019, while various shows have shown up on the Disney + streaming channel.

“It’s much better to tell the truth,” Kennedy told Empire, “that we’re going to make these movies when they’re ready to be made, and release them when they’re ready to be released.”

That is, more or less, the same message that Barbara Broccoli, the boss of Eon Productions, has given out regarding future James Bond films. Eon will come out with a new Bond film when it’s ready and not before.

The problem is, many Bond fans are getting impatient with such long stretches between 007 movies.The gaps are closer now to five years to six years.

The last Bond film, 2021’s No Time to Die, saw the Daniel Craig version of Bond die with a vague promise the character will return sometime, someday. Meanwhile, the early generation of Bond film fans is reaching the end, with no certainty the cinematic 007 will actually return before those fans shed their mortal coil.

In Star Wars fandom, Kathleen Kennedy is a divisive figure. In Bond fandom, so is Barbara Broccoli.

We’ll see what happens.

Robert Iger steps down as CEO of Disney

Walt Disney Co. logo

Robert Iger, who expanded Walt Disney Co. by acquiring Marvel, Star Wars and 20th Century Fox, has stepped down as CEO, effective immediately, the company said in a statement.

Iger’s successor as CEO is Bob Chapnek, Disney announced. He has been head of the company’s theme parks unit.

Iger will remain as chairman until the end of 2021, according to the announcement.

Under Iger, Disney became a major force among entertainment companies. The company’s acquisition of Marvel has been a major driver of profit. Disney’s purchase of the Star Wars franchise has been bumpy, with more ups and downs.

Iger’s biggest bet was buying the bulk of 21st Century Fox (including the 20th Century Fox studio) for more than $71 billion. Properties such as Fox News, Fox Sports and Fox Business remain with Rupert Murdoch. Under Disney ownership, the film studio is now known as the 20th Century brand for Disney.

In December, Iger said he was a big James Bond fan while saying the company wasn’t looking to do another big acquisition. Whether or not that happens, it won’t take place under Iger’s watch.

When universes collide: Marvel and Star Wars?

Marvel’s Dr. Doom (created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962) and Darth Vader of Star Wars, originally created for the first Star Wars movie in 1977.

Kevin Feige, the head of Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Studios unit, is developing a new Star Wars movie, The Hollywood Reporter said.

The move comes as Disney faces where to take Star Wars next. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, is due out late this year. That will end the entire Skywalker saga encompassing nine films from 1977 to 2019.

Since Disney acquired Star Wars from George Lucas for $4 billion ($2 billion in cash, $2 billion in Disney stock), it attempted to kick start the franchise, which had been dormant since 2005.

Some movies were big successes, but some (such as a film showing Han Solo’s back story) not as much.

Star Wars has been supervised by producer Kathleen Kennedy under Disney ownership while Marvel Studios (a separate Disney acquisition) has operated under Feige.

“With the close of the Skywalker Saga, Kathy is pursuing a new era in Star Wars storytelling, and knowing what a die-hard fan Kevin is, it made sense for these two extraordinary producers to work on a Star Wars film together.”Disney said in a statement to THR.

There have been connections between Star Wars and Marvel going back to the early days of Star Wars.

In the 1970s, many fans commented on the similarities between artist Jack Kirby’s design for Dr. Doom, the arch villain of the Fantastic Four, and Darth Vader in Star Wars.

What’s more, Marvel published comic books based on Star Wars beginning when the first film came out in 1977. The move proved to be a major boost for Marvel during a comic industry slump at the time. That helped keep Marvel alive for better days many years later.

Disney ends work week with The Last Jedi trailer

Walt Disney Co. began the work week by releasing a Thor: Ragnarok trailer. It concluded the work week by putting out the teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Neither bears the Disney name. Thor is from the company’s Marvel Studios unit while The Last Jedi is from Lucasfilm. Disney acquired both and set them up as almost separate operations within the company. Releases of these teaser trailers have become semi events unto themselves.

Anyway, The Last Jedi already is causing a stir. It ends with an ominous line of dialogue. Take a look for yourself.

How the Disney-Lucas deal could affect 007

The big entertainment industry news on Oct. 30 was that Walt Disney Co. agreed to buy George Lucas’s Lucasfilm Ltd. for about $4 billion. Mickey Mouse meets Luke Skywalker. But it couldn’t affect 007, could it?

What’s your next move, 007? Bond 24 in 2014 or 2015?

Don’t count on it.

Disney already planned to release The Avengers 2 in 2015. Now, the studio wants to jump start the Star Wars franchise with a new movie that same year.

The question for Eon Productions and its business partners Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (which controls 50 percent of the Bond franchise) and Sony Pictures (which is releasing Skyfall and the next two 007 movies) is when Bond 24 comes out. MGM and Sony want that to happen in 2014. Eon says 2014 or 2015.

Michael G. Wilson, in an interview with the Den of Geek Web site said Bond 24’s schedule depends. “If we’re rapid it’ll be two years, if we’re not it’ll be three,” the veteran Eon co-boss said in the interview.

Here’s what Eon has to consider: Is 2014 sufficient time for the next movie after Skyfall. If not, do you run a risk waiting for 2015, when The Avengers 2 and Star Wars 7 may suck up a lot of the box-office oxygen? If the answer is 2015, can MGM and Sony find the right place in the schedule where Bond 24 won’t get squeezed by two potential Disney blockbusters?

The Ian Fleming character Kronsteen (in his screen incarnation) once claimed to have considered all the possibilities of move and counter move. For that character in the 1963 movie From Russia With Love, things didn’t work out so well. Eon, Sony and MGM have more time on their hands. But they also may want to ponder move and counter move.