Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t think the future of Star Wars lies in honoring its past.
Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy is once again under fire from longtime Star Wars fans—this time for new comments she made while promoting a rare theatrical screening of the original 1977 Star Wars at the BFI Film on Film Festival in London. The showing featured the original cut of the film, famously unavailable on modern home media. Ironically, the screening appears to have gone ahead against the wishes of George Lucas, who has long resisted releasing the unaltered versions of his films.
But Kennedy wasn’t just there to introduce the film. She also made some eyebrow-raising statements about where Star Wars is heading next and, perhaps more tellingly, what Lucasfilm is ready to leave behind in the future.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MAY 23: (L-R) Leslye Headland, Dave Filoni, Chief Creative Officer, Lucasfilm and Kathleen Kennedy, President, Lucasfilm attend the launch event for Lucasfilm’s new Star Wars series The Acolyte at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California on May 23, 2024. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
“I really think that now we’re in a position where it’s broadened the possibility of stories and filmmakers we can bring in to tell stories that mean something to them,” she said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to connect to every little thing that’s been done in Star Wars; it can actually be a standalone story that then builds into many many other stories.”
That statement echoes recent remarks from Mark Hamill, the once iconic actor turned political activist behind Luke Skywalker.
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens (2015), Lucasfilm
“I just don’t see any reason to [return],” he said. “Let me put it that way: I mean, they have so many stories to tell, they don’t need Luke anymore.”
When speaking on the TODAY Show, he expanded on this.
“It felt like a conclusion,” he said of his character’s fate in the sequel trilogy. “My character was given complete closure.” He also encouraged a focus on new stories, and noted, “They can do Westerns, mysteries, comedies… I just think it’s time.”
It should be noted that Hamill was famously critical of the treatment of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars sequels, going as far as to say the only way he could actually get through the portrayal was to imagine that he was playing a separate character named Jake Skywalker.
Luke Skywalker Drinks Green Milk in Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi – Disney+
Taken together, the comments by Kennedy and Hamill paint a clear picture of the direction Lucasfilm is charting. A direction that leaves behind the Skywalker legacy and the interconnected storytelling that once defined the franchise.
Of course, that approach has already been tested—and failed.
Kennedy’s biggest gamble with creative freedom came in the sequel trilogy itself. Rather than map out a clear, cohesive arc for the new saga, she famously handed the reins to two directors with vastly different visions. J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson each made the story meaningful to them with no firm narrative plan. The result was a trilogy at odds with itself. The Force Awakens retread familiar ground, The Last Jedi burned it all down, and The Rise of Skywalker tried desperately to glue it all back together.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
Audiences were left bewildered. Characters changed motivations from film to film, plot threads were abandoned, and the legacy of Luke Skywalker was turned into a cautionary tale of failure and bitterness. Rather than crafting a saga that meant something to Star Wars fans, Lucasfilm created a trilogy that reflected personal artistic ambitions more than franchise integrity.
Now Kennedy’s recent comments suggest she hasn’t learned from those mistakes—doubling down on the idea that Star Wars should be a blank canvas for storytellers, rather than a living mythology grounded in themes, tone, and characters that resonate with fans across generations.
Critics have pointed out that Kennedy’s language about “stories that mean something to [the filmmakers]” may explain the increasingly disjointed tone of recent Star Wars media. Instead of focusing on what resonates with audiences, many feel the franchise has become a sandbox for directors to express personal ideologies, sometimes at the expense of continuity or fan goodwill.
George Lucas via AMC+ YouTube
It’s also worth noting the symbolism of Kennedy presenting the 1977 original cut of Star Wars—a film created by the very man whose vision she now seems eager to distance from. Lucas did not personally endorse this specific presentation and has remained famously opposed to releasing the original, unaltered trilogy in any official capacity.
Kathleen Kennedy via Producer’s Guild of America YouTube
For fans hoping for a return to form (a renewed respect for the lore, the characters, and the moral clarity of Lucas’s galaxy) it seems less and less likely that Lucasfilm under Kathleen Kennedy will deliver. Instead, Star Wars isn’t about Luke Skywalker anymore. It’s about whatever story the next filmmaker wants to tell.
Whether that vision resonates with the audience… remains to be seen.
How do you feel about Kathleen Kennedy and her comments on the future of Star Wars. Sound off in the comments and let us know!
“It doesn’t necessarily have to connect to every little thing that’s been done in Star Wars”
So then don’t put the Star Wars name on it.
“Ironically, the screening appears to have gone ahead against the wishes of George Lucas, who has long resisted releasing the unaltered versions of his films.”
How is this “ironic”? This is a deliberate girl-power move to enrage what she sees as a “toxic male”: George Lucas.
The more KK is in charge, the more I think George is laughing at Disney. in 5 years he’ll buy the franchise back for a fraction what Disney paid and, unless we can expect a dramatic shift in storyline quality in the Mandolorian and Grogu, Disney will be happy to offload it.
That must be why he made the Lucasfilm deal contingent on KK being the head honcho for SW at Disney. He knew she had no more talent than the average 12th grade summer hire Intern, good only for fetching coffee.