Its worth pointing out, however, that the mass-politicization of online fandom in general in a post-Twitter, post-Joe Rogan world has been trending in the direction of performative outrage for years-i.e. it is perhaps inevitable these days that Marvel fans who grew up loving Anthony Mackie in Captain America: The Winter Soldier 11 years ago are now helping shape opinions with 45 minutes about him starring in Brave New World is outrageous, actually.Kennedy walked into this arena with eyes wide open to run a factory in an era where franchises were not meant to be nurtured and protected, but exploited and strip-mined. Still, even within those confines, she produced a few good Star Wars movies and at least one terrific television series in Andor, which took more risks with its IP than almost anything else being produced under the Marvel umbrella, or among competitors who have similarly tried to make superhero movies or Lord of the Rings shared universe expansions.And, again, Kennedy has enjoyed a remarkable career well before that contentious galaxy far, far away.A California lifer, Kennedy wasnt even 25 when she got her foot in the door as an assistant for John Milius, the director of films like The Wind and the Lion (1975), the guy who thought of giving Quint that iconic speech in Jaws, and also the executive producer of Steven Spielbergs 1941. That epic comedy would be one of Spielbergs few missteps, but on the production he noticed Kennedys ability to pitch great ideas despite nominally being a secretary. He quickly would make her his associate on Raiders of the Lost Ark. By the time the sequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom came around three years later, she was a junior producer on the movie.In the interim, she helped co-found Spielbergs production company Amblin Entertainment, which led to her executive producing 1980s favorites like The Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and the Back to the Future trilogy. She also would become one of Spielbergs most trusted personal producers on films that include Empire of the Sun, Jurassic Park, and Munich. She likewise worked outside of Spielbergs orbit in the 1990s and 2000s as a producer on films that run the gamut from Twister and The Sixth Sense to Seabiscuit and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.The reason Kennedy got the Lucasfilm gig after the Disney purchase is she had a history of coming up in the same Hollywood where filmmakers like Lucas and Spielberg made those cultural touchstones Disney so eagerly builds on. She was there at the laying of the foundations in the case of producing two-thirds of the original Indiana Jones flicks. She earned her place in film history for being a smart, resourceful filmmaker who contributed to movies that werent only commercially viable, but in many instances built to last as classics through the decades that followed.