After fourteen years of guiding the Star Wars galaxy through a series of increasingly turbulent hyperspace jumps, Kathleen Kennedy is finally stepping down as president of Lucasfilm.
For the critics who have spent a decade watching the most storied franchise in cinematic history trade timeless heroism for the dismal gray hues of modern identity politics, the news is a seismic, if long-overdue, development.
Kennedy, whose career began as Steven Spielberg’s secretary before she ascended to produce hits like E.T., was handpicked by George Lucas in 2012. However, under Disney’s $4 billion ownership, her tenure became a Rorschach test for the “woke” transformation of Hollywood. While early efforts like The Force Awakens capitalized on pure nostalgia to rake in billions, the subsequent years were defined by creative chaos and a widening chasm between the studio and its core audience.
Under Kennedy’s watch, the franchise famously “put a chick in it” — as South Park brutally parodied — often at the expense of established lore and beloved legacy characters. From the sidelining of Luke Skywalker to the “Mary Sue” critiques of the sequel trilogy, the brand struggled to maintain its gravity. Production was marred by the firing of directors, the rejection of projects from Game of Thrones creators, and the flat-out rejection of shows like The Acolyte by fans weary of diversity pandering.
One blogger wrote, “These days, the Star Wars franchise is a mess of live-action con jobs and Mary Sues, and we can all blame Kathleen Kennedy for her significant part in ruining the whole franchise. Kennedy was placed as the head of Lucasfilm by George Lucas to keep Star Wars from going off the rails. However, she wanted the Force to be ‘female’ and after taking control of Lucasfilm, she set about manufacturing the template. … Utterly humiliate the characters people love and replace them with generic, threadbare, overpowered self-inserts that the audience was supposed to love.”
Taking the reins is Dave Filoni, the Lucas-mentored creative mind behind the animation boom and The Mandalorian, who will serve as president alongside business lead Lynwen Brennan. This “creative versus suit” split is a classic Disney maneuver, designed to stabilize a ship that has been spinning its wheels in development hell.
Kennedy isn’t vanishing into the Outer Rim just yet; she remains a producer on upcoming projects like The Mandalorian and Grogu. Yet, her departure signals the end of an era defined by “The Force is Female” slogans and the beginning of a desperate attempt to recapture “a more civilized age.” Whether Filoni can bridge the gap between niche lore and universal appeal — or if the franchise is too far gone into the “lame and gay” abyss mocked by critics — remains the ultimate cliffhanger for Disney’s bottom line.
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