Kathleen Kennedy Opens Up About Toxic STAR WARS Fandom After Lucasfilm Exit

Following her official exit from Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedyis reflecting on the more difficult realities of running one of the most scrutinized franchises in pop culture history.

While her tenure included massive successes and cultural milestones, she’s also addressing the darker side of Star Wars fandom that often dominated the conversation around her leadership.

Lucasfilm has now confirmed that Kennedy is stepping down as President, with Dave Filoni taking over the role and Lynwen Brennan serving as co-President. The transition marks the end of an era that began in 2012, when Kennedy took the reins shortly after Disney acquired Lucasfilm.

In an interview with Deadline, Kennedy revealed that her decision to leave was not abrupt. She explained that she approached Bob Iger and Alan Bergman nearly two years ago to discuss how a transition might work.

During that time, Brennan helped oversee the company’s business operations, while Filoni continued to emerge as a key creative voice.

“He’s very talented and immersed in Star Wars. He and Pablo Hidalgo are like the walking encyclopedias inside the company.”

Kennedy made it clear she has no intention of returning to Lucasfilm in the future.

“That is not happening here. I told everybody I would stick around a bit longer than I had intended, but I am so ready to go off and have the chance to make lots of movies.”

Her time at Lucasfilm produced a mixed but undeniably impactful legacy. The Mandalorian reshaped the franchise on Disney+, Andor earned critical acclaim, and the sequel trilogy delivered massive box office numbers. But alongside those wins came relentless backlash from a small yet extremely vocal segment of the fanbase.

When asked about the lowest moments of her presidency, Kennedy pointed directly at those pressures.

“The lows are that you’ve got a very, very small percentage of the fan base that has enormous expectations, and basically they want to continue to see pretty much the same thing. And if you’re not going to do that, then you know going in that you’re going to disappoint them.”

She emphasized that trying to satisfy everyone was never realistic.

“I’m not sure there’s anything you can do about that, because you can’t please everybody. All you can do is try to tell good stories and try to stick to the essence of what George created. I wouldn’t do that any differently and I wouldn’t change anything that we’ve done over the years.

“I understand why some people may like certain things more than others, but that’s not going to change why I decided to do certain things and why I decided to work with the people that we worked with.”

Beyond creative disagreements, Kennedy also addressed the personal attacks she’s endured, many of which crossed into sexist and misogynistic territory. She acknowledged that certain online personalities have built platforms by targeting her specifically.

“I’m honest, especially with the women that come into this space because they unfairly get targeted. I don’t try to sugarcoat it. And I emphasize that it’s a very small group of people, with loud megaphones. I truly do not believe that it’s the majority of the fans.”

She also pointed to how online ecosystems amplify negativity.

“And I think we’re also in this weird world of where bots can affect things. You have to develop a tough skin. That is exactly right. That’s what you have to do. You can’t make it go away. All we can do is put our heads down and do the work and believe that we’re doing the best we can, telling the best story we can.”

As Lucasfilm moves forward under new leadership, Kennedy’s comments serve as a blunt reminder of the realities that come with steering a global franchise in the modern internet age.