Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, has announced that she will “step down” from her role at the head of the Disney-owned company later this year, much to the merriment of Star Wars fans.
It’s been a rough decade for fans of the epic space opera series. When Disney first announced its purchase of Lucasfilm many were ecstatic, more Star Wars could only be good right? But after the trainwreck that was the sequel trilogy, and numerous bad Disney Plus shows the IP is practically on life .
Fans are relieved to see her go
All that frustration and disappointment had to be directed somewhere and most pinned the blame on the woman at the top. Kennedy earned the ire of a lot of fans for the direction in which the franchise has gone as of late. As a result, it seems most are happy to see the back of her.
Finally! She should have honestly been removed from Lucasfilm years ago
— Bryan Hultgren (@bhultgren15) February 25, 2025
During her time as head of Lucasfilm Kennedy frequently received criticism from infuriated fans and even actors from the franchise itself who accused her of ruining Star Wars in many ways. The lack of planning for the sequel trilogy is a perfect example of a terrible creative decision that upset many. The lack of pay-off for certain characters and a poorly thought out last-minute return of an iconic villain for the final movie shows that Kennedy and the others in charge had no idea what to do with the franchise.
News of Kathleen Kennedy leaving Lucasfilm/#StarWars at the end of the year. I believe the term for this news is "We are so back". pic.twitter.com/GF6tP5yPPU
— Ken Murray (@murraymaker) February 25, 2025
Once the novelty of new Star Wars wore off all kinds of criticism began pouring in, from the over-reliance on fan service and an over-saturation of content in recent years has certainly turned the whole thing sour. Many online also took issue with the new movies and shows apparently being too “woke.”
Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down from being President of Lucasfilm at Disney this year and is expected to retire.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) February 25, 2025
She was responsible for many of the woke Star Wars and Indiana Jones sequel movies.
2025 is really taking out the trash! pic.twitter.com/HBWoawr9XN
Although that’s not exactly valid criticism and people who complain about wokeness aren’t to be trusted.
You should be able to say Kathleen Kennedy did a bad job without being connected to the worst people on the internet pic.twitter.com/EGnG2AEE9I
— Dalibor Bagaric (@jrkisbad) February 25, 2025
Are these criticisms completely fair?
Kennedy is a good producer, she knows a lot about the industry. She helped Steven Spielberg found Amblin Entertainment and produced countless classics including Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Jurassic Park. She has a good history with movies.
But she is the one running this circus right now, she’s a producer on all projects in the franchise so the overall state of Star Wars can definitely be attributed to her. However that does mean you have to give her some credit for the good stuff we’ve had in the last 12 years too, that includes Andor, The Mandalorian, and Rogue One. We also have to spread a bit of the blame on the directors and writers who had a hand in making some of the weaker entries.
Ultimately, Star Wars fans’ hopes may have been too high. That’s not to say that Kennedy and her crew didn’t fumble one of the greatest franchises of all time, but something tells me a very vocal minority will never be happy. Whoever fills in for Kennedy next had better have some thick skin because they’re likely to end up experiencing the same fate as her.
Published: Feb 25, 2025 08:34 am