Lucasfilm is underway on producing yet another live-action Star Wars series, The Acolyte, and much like how The Mandalorian came to fruition, the series is completely disconnected from the franchise's previously produced films and TV shows. However, despite the company looking for ways to progress through the galaxy far, far away to get back on their feet, former Star Wars: The Acolyte producer Kathryn McCarthy is suing Lucasfilm for "wrongfully terminating" her.
In an exclusive report from Deadline, McCarthy has filed a lawsuit against Lucasfilm for terminating the producer from the project despite their initial agreement. It is worth noting that at the time, McCarthy had also been offered to work on Apple's Sugar series starring Colin Farrell, but ultimately, McCarthy had trusted Lucasfilm's word on a long-term commitment to the Star Wars series in early April 2022, only to find herself fired without having received a single dime for her hard work.
According to the March 7 lawsuit filed by Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro LLP, due to McCarthy's "wrongful termination", Lucasfilm deprived The Acolyte producer from "millions of dollars over the life of the series".
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After McCarthy had signed and began working with Lucasfilm for Star Wars: The Acolyte on April 7, 2022, Lucasfilm VP Physical Productions Candice Campos sent an email on April 11, an email containing a "broad strokes" agreement wherein it was indicated that the former producer would be fairly compensated. Campos even stated in the email that they "really want to make this work!"
However, two weeks later, Lucasfilm contacted McCarthy to cut her out of the deal without exact reasoning or justification behind the abrupt decision. Despite her disappointment on the matter of having left with no deal on Star Wars or Apple, the least she expected was to be paid for her two weeks' worth of contribution on The Acolyte. This took a turn as Lucasfilm denied that they ever had an agreement on compensating for her time working on the series.
Lucasfilm initially offered to pay her $5000 for a day's work, which led to McCarthy denying the offer to opt for a lawsuit filing, instead, in order to "hold Lucasfilm accountable for its egregious breach of their agreement".
Meanwhile, Star Wars: The Acolyte is now in development, with its release date expected to premiere on Disney+ in 2024.
Stay tuned for more updates on this story here on EpicStream.
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