Amy Pascal

NEW YORK — Over a weekend in 2010, Amy Pascal made one of the most audacious decisions of her tenure as Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chair, a nine-year run that has come to an end.

When “Spider-Man” director Sam Raimi voiced his unhappiness with plans for a fourth installment of the $2.5 billion franchise Pascal had shepherded, she abruptly changed course, ordering up one of the fastest reboots in blockbuster history.

The episode epitomized Pascal’s boldness, a trait that served her well as the most powerful female executive force in the industry, a studio head widely respected for championing women filmmakers and producing ambitious awards-winners.

But that same daring also contributed to her undoing. “The Interview,” the film that provoked the North Korean hacking attack that precipitate Pascal’s departure, was the kind of adventurous, star-driven film she loved to make, the kind other, less colorful executives would have surely balked at.

On Thursday, Sony announced that Pascal will step down in May, transitioning to a new production venture at the studio.

Pascal’s contract was due for renewal in March, and her ouster was possible, maybe even likely.

But the timing was obvious enough: Pascal’s exit is the final blow in the messy fallout of the “Interview” scandal.