Marcia Lucas says Kennedy & Abrams 'don't have a clue'

[Mr Wiggins]

Original ‘Star Wars’ Editor Marcia Lucas Says Kathleen Kennedy and JJ Abrams ‘Don’t Have a Clue’ About the Franchise

TheWrap
September 20, 2021

Marcia Lucas is no fan of the direction the “Star Wars” franchise has taken in recent years. Lucas, who won an Oscar for editing her ex-husband George’s original “Star Wars: A New Hope,” made her feelings known in a new interview in a just published book by late author and “Star Wars” historian J.W. Rinzler, “Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life.”

“I like Kathleen,” Lucas begins in a book excerpt making the rounds on Twitter about Kennedy, a longtime producer who became president of Lucasfilm in 2012. “I always liked her. She was really smart and really bright. Really wonderful woman.” But Lucas, who was married to George Lucas from 1969 to 1983, said she is less positive about Kennedy’s stewardship of the “Star Wars” franchise. “Now that she’s running Lucasfilm and making movies, it seems to me that Kathy Kennedy and J.J. Abrams don’t have a clue about ‘Star Wars.’ They don’t get it.”

Marcia Lucas’ displeasure with the most recent installments of the “Star Wars” franchise extends specifically to the decision to kill Han Solo in 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” “When I saw that movie where they kill Han Solo, I was furious. I was furious that they killed Han Solo,” she said, adding that there was “no rhyme or reason” to the story development, in which Harrison Ford’s beloved character is murdered by his son Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver.

Lucas also took aim at Luke Skywalker’s demise in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and the decision to have the character “disintegrate,” while also taking particular offense to the character choices surrounding Daisy Ridley’s sequel trilogy protagonist Rey. “And they think it’s important to appeal to a woman’s audience, so now their main character is this female, who’s supposed to have Jedi powers, but we don’t know how she got Jedi powers, or who she is.” It should be noted the interview was conducted before the release of 2017’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skwalker,” which reveals that Rey’s powers stem from being related to Emperor Palpatine.

According to the book, Lucas is blunt about the plot of the new films: “It sucks. The storylines are terrible. Just terrible. Awful. You can quote me – ‘J.J. Abrams, Kathy Kennedy—talk to me.”...

[Spongeocto4]

One quote I found amusing:

(Episode VII Spolier!!)

Marcia Lucas’ displeasure with the most recent installments of the “Star Wars” franchise extends specifically to the decision to kill Han Solo in 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” “When I saw that movie where they kill Han Solo, I was furious. I was furious that they killed Han Solo,” she said, adding that there was “no rhyme or reason” to the story development, in which Harrison Ford’s beloved character is murdered by his son Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver.

1. First off, Star Wars has been described by George, as 'a poem that rhymes'. In the beginning of each Trilogy, a mentor figure dies. Qui-Gon in Episode I, Obi Wan in Episode IV, & Han in Episode VII. So someone had to go in VII for the narrative parallel.

2. The other reason Han was killed off, was likely because Harrison Ford demanded it. Ford has asked repeatedly throughout the years for Solo to be killed off. I wouldn't be surprised if Ford agreed to VII, with the condition that Solo had to die.