By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 59 seconds ago

After 13 years in charge of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy is stepping aside as creative director. The former producer was in charge of the company since Disney bought it in 2012, overseeing an era of Star Wars media that has not always resonated with fans.

Kennedy was already a Hollywood legend by the time she was put in charge of Lucasfilm, being the producer of such cultural touchstones as E.T., The Goonies, the Back to the Future and early Jurassic Park franchises, the Gremlins films, and the Indiana Jones movies, all before taking over Lucasfilm. She has won eight Oscars and worked with both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg for decades.

Kathleen Kennedy file photo.

However, her tenure as head of Lucasfilm brought about both hits like The Mandalorian and Andor and misses like The Rise of Skywalker and The Acolyte. She is credited with bringing “wokeness” to the franchise, alienating longtime fans with preachy messaging and gratuitous inclusion. This earned her criticism from many corners, summed up by the South Park special “Joining the Panderverse,” in which she was cast as the villain.

The Acolyte managed to further alienate fans with an activist director who admitted herself that she was trying to anger the fandom and a plot that spat in the face of decades of established Star Wars lore. Meanwhile, a cancelled Ben Solo movie with Adam Driver and continuous holdups on the movie that would bring Daisy Ridley’s return as Rey are also being blamed on the renowned producer.

Kathleen Kennedy’s Replacement Has Been Chosen

Dave Filoni, yes he always wears that hat.

Kennedy is being replaced at Lucasfilm by Dave Filoni and Lywen Brennan. Brennan is coming into the position in an administrative and executive capacity, but Filoni is well-known to Star Wars fans already. He is the director of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which came out in 2008, making him a Lucasfilm veteran.

He also wrote and directed on The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. He was supervising director on Clone Wars, Rebels, and Bad Batch, all popular and successful Star Wars IPs.

Scene from Dave Filoni’s acclaimed series Star Wars: Rebels

Critics of Filoni’s appointment as creative head of Lucasfilm are concerned that he will only concentrate on IPs he already had a hand in, particularly the Ahsoka character. However, numerous fans are delighted that he will be in charge, especially given Kathleen Kennedy’s reputation with the fandom. Since Filoni was mentored by George Lucas himself, it is fair to say that his promotion could be a good thing for the franchise and the studio.

However, the same was said of Kennedy for the same reasons, and there’s also the power of the House of Mouse guiding the direction of future Star Wars projects. Will Filoni be able to revive the franchise and overcome the shadow of the recent failed projects? Only if The Force is with him.