Next Club Meeting:October 17, 2026,at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Animatrix Network is an anime & manga fan club located in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We usually meet on the third Saturday of each month (except when holidays or conventions coincide). The meetings are free and open to the public. Join us for a day filled with anime.
This site provides news, reviews, commentaries, and previews of the world of anime and everything it inspires in today's pop culture, such as live-action films, comics, music, art, and other weird things to enjoy and contemplate.
Kathleen Kennedy is officially OUT as the head of Lucasfilm, but does that mean Star Wars will be saved? More telling according to her "exit interview" is that she regrets nothing... and, of course, blames the fans. Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan are replacing Kathleen Kennedy as Lucasfilm president.
Kathleen Kennedy HUMILIATED by Disney in SAD Exit
from Lucasfilm! No Celebrations, No Awards!
--------------
What Does the Future Hold for Star Wars?
This has been a week of massive change in pop culture. Yesterday Paramount released their latest Trek release for free on YouTube to disastrous results that may prove to be Secret Hideout's Waterloo, and it was announced that this is Kennedy's final week as President of Lucasfilm, which would mean today is her last day. What does all this mean for pop culture? Here are my thoughts on these staggering developments!
Lucasfilm employees are unable to keep their mouths shut about politics, with their director of cinematography deleting his account after making comments about Trump voters being disgusting. Disney's handling of Star Wars has been criticized for bias and polarization, with Kathleen Kennedy pushing a female narrative in a way that screams patriarchy. The sequel trilogy failed to deliver on the promise of Han, Luke, and Leia together, with The Force Awakens attracting fans for that reason alone. The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett are the only successful Star Wars projects under Disney, while other shows have been met with low viewership and disgust. The sequel trilogy's failure is attributed to Disney's interference and Kathleen Kennedy's decisions, which have damaged the franchise and alienated a significant portion of the audience. The Star Wars franchise has lost its soul since being sold to corporations, with Disney's handling being particularly damaging, according to creator George Lucas.
Kathleen Kennedy announces a new Star Wars trilogy...
On November 7th, word broke that another Star Wars trilogy is in the works from filmmaker Simon Kinberg and of course, Lucasfilm studio chief Kathleen Kennedy. But is this one going to happen, or will it too go the way of the previously announced Star Wars trilogies from Rian Johnson and the Game of Thrones guys, that never happened? Is this another attempt by Kathleen Kennedy to have her contract extended, while she finds a way to leave with a "win"?
Disney REBOOTING Star Wars?! Removing Sequels from CANON? What's Going ON Here? Is It Real or HYPE?
A trailer for a Star Wars series was unveiled at D23 that has a portion of former Star Wars fans uncharacteristically excited, believing this series is the first step towards rebooting Star Wars and removing the sequels from canon. I am skeptical about what this means, but it is an unexpected and intriguing development that could lead to big changes in Star Wars, or simply fizzle out as a blip on the radar. In this video, requested by a number of my viewers, I cast a fair but skeptical eye on what's coming, going over the pros and cons as I see them, but make no mistake - this is an interesting development in the train wreck that is Disney Star Wars.
The last things on her plate are Skeleton Crew and Andor Season 2. If neither garners any viewers, then Kennedy will wait until something does. If either or both are good and the viewership returns, Disney might end up extending her contract AGAIN, then she'll NEVER leave.
Disney's The Acolyte has turned the Jedi into Villains... A betrayal of GeorgE Lucas's Vision of Star Wars!
"Now
we have the truth about what this series has been about all along, trying to
tear down the Jedi and trying to make the Jedi look like the villains. This is
what they've wanted to do, and it's been obvious if you've watched the show or
even heard these people talk about it. Leslye Headland, from the get-go, wanted
to make a show where you want to be sympathetic towards the Sith’s
point-of-view, and the Jedi are actually evil. They Jedi are the problem. If
you've watched the prequels, it's not like the Jedi are perfect. It's not like
they're infallible, but certainly they are the good guys. George Lucas has made
that clear time after time, but of course, this is not George Lucas's Star Wars
anymore. This is DISNEY Star Wars! So, what do you get when you hire a bunch of
activists that don't know anything about Star Wars and are literally hired just
because of their gender or their sexuality or the color of their skin and even
the fact that they don't like Star Wars as a motivator to hire people on this writing
team? You end up getting a story where it's supposed to criticize the people in
power, because when people have power, things don’t go well for the
marginalized people. This entire lesbian witch cult, which is just a
self-insert for all the lesbians and gay people on the writing team, say we are
unnatural, and people don't like that, and people don't accept us. And that's
not okay. It's completely, totally pathetic, but this is what you get when you
start with an identity politics driven narrative, that is your focus, your
goal. That's who you hire on the writing team! That's who you cast when it is
the main purpose, instead of actually entertaining people with something that
fits within this universe. This is the end result. We get The Acolyte."
Sources have discovered that the new Rey movie will be about Rey becoming the
grand-master of a New Jedi Order. Her school will be the bestest ever! She will
be better than Yoda. Better than Luke Skywalker. It is a reflection of Kathleen
Kennedy’s own desires. To be the best amongst her peers. All those years of
being Steven Spielberg’s assistant and coffee fetcher has made her bitter. They
used to laugh at her ideas and suggestions. Now she has the power.
It all fits in Kathleen Kennedy’s overall purpose for having changed Star Wars
so radically. In order to make Star Wars her own, she must remove all the good
that George Lucas has done in the original six movies. By turning George’s
heroic Jedi knights into murderous villains, she paves the way for Rey
(Kathleen Kennedy’s self-insert) to become the Master Jedi, where her moral
authority is good and unquestionable. No doubt that her new Jedi school will be
made up of all females, because all men BAD. Girl power is good. Kathleen
Kennedy is the best. That will be her legacy.
Star Wars X Plot LEAKED? Alleged Rey Movie Details
Disney has finally found the audience that they've been looking for with modern Star Wars and this Screen Rant article kind of ties into that, so it's got to be the silliest thing that I've ever seen because they're trying real hard to turn the Sith into the oppressed and the Jedi into oppressors...
In the trailer STAR WARS: The Acolyte, it was stated that this was about power and who is allowed to use it. That's meta, because that's exactly what is happening behind the scenes of Lucasfilm as well, where no one loyal to George Lucas's STAR WARS is allowed any power, not even George Lucas... So The Acolyte trailer is out and it might have been intriguing were it not for the fact that we already know what this series is namely Kathleen Kennedy's rewrite of all Star WarsIn-Her-Image. That is what Leslie Headland is doing here, as it was said in the trailer, it's about power and who is allowed to wield it, and that would be Kathleen Kennedy and her acolytes that have reshaped Star Wars into a female-centric brand by and for activists. John Favreau fought hard to make Star Wars for everyone with the Mandalorian, but Kathleen Kennedy made that a shadow of itself, when she got rid of the load-bearing pillar to his plans that was Gina Carano. The whole Mando-verse kind of crumbled after that. At this point I don't even know how much interest there is in that Mando and Grogu movie. That in whole, or in part, will be replacing season 4, but after what can only be described as a very peculiar development history, we will now be getting the series the fan base has been dreading and actively rooting against, namely The Acolyte.
To go with the trailer release, The Hollywood Reporter dropped a puff piece with showrunner Leslie Headland where it was stated Star Wars: The Acolyte Creator Leslie Headland is currently putting the finishing touches on a 4-year Journey that started with Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy buying her overall series pitch in the room. At the time her hook was Frozen meets Kill Bill and now the first trailer provides a few more of the puzzle pieces set a century before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Amandla Stenberg's mysterious character appears to be hunting Jedi during a time of Peace near the end of the High Republic era. Jumping forward a bit the show will be taking a page out of Rashomon’s Playbook exploring different perspectives on the same events. That could have been cool were it not for the fact that we already know what this series is and how it intends to shape Star Wars into something else. To wit, the puff piece continues with praising the destroyer of Star Wars, namely The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson and pushing the link between him and Leslie Headland.
The article reads Russian Doll co-creator Headland's first job as a writer was on FX short-lived cult classic series Terriers from 2010, and her first produced TV script Manifest Destiny happened to be directed by Star Wars: The Last Jedi filmmaker Rian Johnson. Headland was not only inspired by Johnson's work [uh oh, Red Alert right there], but also his demeanor on set.
“I love Rian. He was the first director I ever watched work. So getting to see him work on that show was, oh my God, it was just a dream!” Headland recalls. He was so kind and so quiet, and yet, he was so clear about what he wanted. He never seemed stressed out, and I wish I was more like him. He's like the patron saint of calm directors.”
Calm he may be, but he was still the one who buried the past, meaning George Lucas’s Star Wars and killed it. Since he had to, so Kathleen Kennedy could replace it with her Star Wars. And up to this, Kathleen Kennedy’s Star Wars in its purest form, has been the High Republic publishing initiative, which naturally. will be referenced and canonized on screen in The Acolyte.
The Hollywood Reporter asked, or were instructed to ask, at any rate, “Fan service is always a complicated subject with Star Wars. Some people want to see as many familiar faces as possible. While others prefer Uncharted Territory by taking place a century before the Phanthom Menace. Does that inherently mean that the show won't be loaded with cameos?” To which Headland answered, “That's right, but for example you will see a little bit of Vestra Row, I guess that's how you pronounce it, from the High Republic novels. She ends up being live action for the first time. So that's definitely a cameo for that audience, I would say. That audience being the High Republic audience, amounts to what, I don't know 112 or so, but that's the audience for Kathleen Kennedy Star Wars, and Bob Iger signed off on that. And with George Lucas bending the knee to Iger, then you might be getting a lot more of that.
As we have covered extensively in past videos, there is a proxy fight going on with Nelson Peltz’s Trian group who demands two seats at Disney's board, or what presently passes for Disney's board at any rate, you see as a general thing the purpose of a board is to hold the CEO accountable to the shareholders, but Disney's board doesn't do that. As everyone on it has been handpicked from Iger’s friends and acquaintances, meaning that Disney doesn't actually have a board. As rather than holding Iger accountable to the shareholders, what passes for a board enables and signs off on everything he wants to do and protects him from the shareholders, when that goes to hell. If Peltz and the Trian group were to get those two seats at the board, Iger's reign of questionable fiduciary legality would be at an instant end. So team Iger will stop at nothing to prevent that from happening, and to this end George Lucas just sided with the likes of Black Rock and Vanguard and State Street, as he bent the knee and kissed the ring.
Our good friend Valiant Renegade speculated that one reason Lucas may have done that is because his wife sits on the board of JP Morgan Chase, and JP Morgan Chase are very much so in bed with Black Rock. In fact, it was only a few days ago that the CEO of JP Morgan Chase publicly endorsed Iger, because Iger runs Disney the way that they want Disney run, and they couldn't care less about the Disney Legacy or any of the other shareholders. None of which changes the fact that Lucas still signed off on this. The statement credited to him, which no doubt came straight from Disney marketing, reads, “Creating magic is not for amateurs.” (Which is a dig at Peltz and the Trian Group which are no Amateurs.) “When I sold Lucasfilm just over a decade ago I was delighted to become a Disney shareholder because of my longtime admiration for its iconic brand and Bob Iger’s leadership.”
Well that was grandiose, but I don't blame Lucas for feeling that way a decade ago. Though I do blame him if he still feels that way today, after both Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Willow have all been killed on Kennedy's watch, which Bob Iger Sat by and allowed to happen. George Lucas has in the past indicated how disappointed he's been with some of the choices made and backing Nelson Peltz was his chance to actually bring about meaningful change even if that might have annoyed his wife, but instead he blew it! The statement continues, “When Bob Iger recently returned to the company during a difficult time, I was relieved no one knows Disney better. I remain a significant shareholder because I have full faith and confidence in the power of Disney and Bob's track record of driving long-term value. I have voted all of my shares for Disney's 12 directors and urge other shareholders to do the same.”
We would love to know what motivated that because again voting for Disney's current board is voting against their being a board, as the only thing this board does is give Bob Iger personal Supremacy over all things Disney, which has not worked out very well this past decade. Although we've only really seen the effects of Iger’s mismanagement, this past half a decade it's true that creating magic may not be for amateurs but the supposed professionals working under Iger have positively killed it as The Acolyte will no doubt demonstrate once again Iger’s Disney is now the place where magic goes to die and that is what George Lucas just voted for…
Lucasfilm F’ed Around, EA Found Out; Cancelled Star Wars Game and Fired Staff!
Not only is Gina Carano suing Disney, not only is Amandla Stenberg promoting The Acolyte, which will damage Kathleen Kennedy's Star Wars even further, videogame company just cancelled a AAA Star Wars FPS game... EA has troubles of their own, of course, but this is indicative of the damage that has been done to the Star Wars brand as well...
Gina Carano says she never said anything with 'ill intent' on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.' Gina Carano is driving the Hollywood elites insane with her latest lawsuit. We'll tell you why and show you how Disney is facing an opponent they've never witnessed before.
Kathleen Kennedy's Plan to Replace the Force with MAGIC Revealed?!
The Acolyte is a mystery wrapped in a riddle disguised as a conundrum, perhaps the most bizarre and secretive Disney Star Wars project of all time! A source has contacted my Hollywood spies with a possible spoiler-heavy synopsis of ONE version of The Acolyte (there are allegedly THREE versions due to scrapbooking), and IF this source is correct, then the plot bears a striking similarity to a certain Netflix animated series! Here's what my Hollywood spies were told, but DO bear in mind that this is simply a rumor, and take it with several heaping tablespoons of salt (Though if it IS true, be warned: spoilers lie ahead)!
STAR WARS: Even Disney FREAKING OUT over GUARANTEED FLOP Activist REY movie?!
As more and more older interview clips of Star Wars Rey’s activist director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy of the World Economic Forum (WEF) fame comes to light, the more the built in-audience freaks out. In an interesting twist though, there is now evidence to suggest Disney’s higher ups are freaking out and having second thoughts as well!
Did Favreau Turn Down Kathleen Kennedy and Bob Iger?
Kathleen Kennedy is no longer in creative control of STAR WARS. That now goes to Dave Filoni, who takes a position that we announced on this channel months ago would be created. But the original target of said position, Jon Favreau, appears to have turned down the offer. Today, we're reporting the news, then getting into a huge amount of analysis about why Dave Filoni leads Star Wars, what it means, and why Kathleen Kennedy is still there.
While Disney has yet to make any kind of official comment on the South Park episode lambasting Kathleen Kennedy, rumors about what the reaction was behind closed doors have begun surfacing, and we’re going to relay what we heard in this video! We’ll also go through Gina Carano doubling down, and why what she said should have Lucasfilm far more worried than anything in this South Park episode!
AHSOKA Set to DESTROY STAR WARS Sources say Filoni & Kennedy Out to
REMAKE Star Wars in HER Image
"My Hollywood spies have communicated with sources with an absolutely stunning claim that, with Dave Filoni's help, Kathleen Kennedy has turned Ahsoka into a bait and switch that will forever change Star Wars as we know it, destroying George Lucas' universe and remaking it in her own image. I want to stress that this IS only a rumor, and there are reasons to believe that even if it IS true, Disney may change course in Ahsoka Season 2 for reasons I give at the end of this video, but make no mistake - IF this rumor is true, it will mean the death of Star Wars as George Lucas conceived it. I hope this rumor is false, that it's disinformation from KK's camp to rain on Ahsoka's parade, but just in case it's true, I wanted to warn you all ahead of time to lessen the blow. Here is what I've been told..."
"People are asking a few questions that I thought I'd try to address
here: why would Filoni go along with this plan if KK is either out or
neutralized at Lucasfilm? The answer to this is fairly obvious, which
is why I didn't think to address it in the video... remember that Ahsoka
had to be written and planned out at least a year ago, probably more.
All the sets, costumes, ships and so on need to be developed, shooting
planning, effects and so on. At that time, Kennedy was definitely still
there. We saw her go nuts at Star Wars Celebration 2023, right?
Announcing this and that, and an Ahsoka clip was shown, so we know that
while Filoni was planning and writing Ahsoka, KK was there. Now, the
hopeful thing about this is, IF this rumor is true, then this plan is
only partly realized in Season 1 of Ahsoka. Season TWO is when the
poodoo would really hit the fan, and so the hope is, for reasons I list
in the video, AND for the reason that KK's star seemingly has fallen
from the Lucasfilm heavens, Dave will hopefully declare whatever deal he
had with KK null and void, veer off of this course, and not throw
George Lucas under the bus. That's my hope, but difficult to
see...always in motion is the future. So don't despair, this is not a
fait accompli yet, and indeed this rumor could be from KK's camp... she
does try to rain on the parades of others, as we all well know..."
KK's Home is Up For SALE Does This Mean She's OUT at LUCASFILM?
Amid swirling rumors of chaos at Lucasfilm and speculation that Bob Iger may finally have found a way to contain, and possibly even fire Kathleen Kennedy after the failure of Indiana Jones 5, some interesting proof has emerged publicly in the mainstream media that Kennedy may be finished not only at Lucasfilm, but in Hollywood itself! Kennedy is pulling up stakes and selling her Hollywood home - this is not a rumor, this is publicly reported FACT! But what does it mean? In this video we discuss the implications of this development!
After making a paltry $60 million at the box office domestically, Indy 5 appears to have dialed up a destiny of losing money, and Disney is extremely unhappy with the opening weekend grosses. My Hollywood spies, along with a walk-in source, claim that an emergency executive meeting was called, and that exchanges between Kathleen Kennedy and Bob Iger got very heated, with factions inside Disney and Lucasfilm trying to assign blame for this box office catastrophe. Here are details from a walk-in source, relaying to me the rumor that's spreading through the halls of Lucasfilm about what allegedly happened at that meeting, but of course as with all walk-in sources, take this with an extra teaspoonful of salt!
