A New Hope: Kennedy’s Lucasfilm Reign Finally Coming to an End

The day millions of true Star Wars fans have been waiting for may finally be on the horizon. According to recent reports, Kathleen Kennedy, the controversial president of Lucasfilm who has presided over the wokeification of one of America’s most beloved sci-fi franchises, is planning to step down by the end of 2025.

Puck News broke the story that Kennedy, who turns 72 this June, has already informed Disney executives and her inner circle about her decision to retire. While neither Disney, Lucasfilm, nor Kennedy herself have publicly confirmed this news, there are plenty of signs suggesting that this isn’t just wishful thinking from disgruntled fans.

Kennedy originally joined Lucasfilm in 2012 as co-chair alongside George Lucas himself. When Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 billion shortly thereafter, Kennedy was elevated to president, and the overall decline of Star Wars began in earnest.

Interestingly, Kennedy had reportedly planned to step down in 2024 and even scheduled an exit interview with a journalist before deciding to stick around for one more year. She’s been dropping other hints too – selling her Malibu home and some of her art collection while expressing interest in working more closely with her husband, film producer Frank Marshall.

Whatever she wants to do is fine with me as long as she’s not messing around with Star Wars anymore. Under Kennedy’s leadership, Star Wars experienced a few dizzying highs, but mostly some catastrophic lows. 

Star Wars is obviously a bankable property, but not respecting the source material or the fans has consequences. While “The Force Awakens” — the first of the Star Wars sequel trilogy of the Skywalker saga — raked in an impressive $2 billion globally, each subsequent sequel film made less and less as fans grew increasingly disgusted with the franchise’s direction. 

However, in the hands of true fans, there has been some success. “The Mandalorian,” led by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, initially seemed like a return to form with two fantastic seasons before stumbling in its third outing. The show became a pop culture phenomenon and rightfully so. Unfortunately, the rush to replicate that success with other shows didn’t work out so well. “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” failed to capture the same magic, even with the benefit of relying on established characters.

And let’s not forget the abomination that was “The Acolyte” – a show so absurdly woke that Disney mercifully canceled it after just one season. I never bothered to watch it.

Since “The Rise of Skywalker” limped into theaters in 2019, Star Wars has struggled to return to the big screen, with numerous announced projects being shelved or indefinitely delayed. The next theatrical offering, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” isn’t set to arrive until 2026, and I don’t have high hopes for it.

No official successor has been announced, but Filoni (recently named Chief Creative Officer) and Favreau are considered the frontrunners. If Star Wars is left in their capable hands, there might be reason for optimism about the future of the galaxy far, far away.

Here’s hoping the Force will finally be with us again once Kennedy departs. The rebellion against woke Star Wars might finally succeed where Lucasfilm has failed – by giving fans what they actually want.