Kathleen Kennedy Reflects on Rian Johnson’s Star Wars Exit

Kathleen Kennedy, who recently wrapped up her long stint as president of Lucasfilm, has shared her thoughts on working with Rian Johnson and the fallout from his time directing The Last Jedi. Johnson’s entry in the saga split fans right down the middle, and Kennedy’s comments shed light on why he stepped away from the galaxy far, far away.

She explained that Johnson’s schedule became packed after he signed a deal with Netflix and dove into the Knives Out series.

“Once he made the Netflix deal and went off to start doing the Knives Out films, that has occupied a huge amount of his time,”

Kennedy said, pointing to director Shawn Levy as another example of someone whose other projects took over.

“That’s the other thing that happens here. After Shawn and I started talking about Star Wars, Stranger Things kicks in and he was completely consumed for a while by that. That's what happened with Rian.”

Online Backlash and Its Impact

But it wasn’t just a busy calendar that led Johnson to step back. Kennedy reckons the wave of online criticism he copped after The Last Jedi rattled him.

“And then I do believe he got spooked by the online negativity. I think Rian made one of the best Star Wars movies. He's a brilliant filmmaker and he got spooked. This is the rough part. When people come into this space, I have every filmmaker and actors say to me, 'What's going to happen?' They're a little scared.”

She’s upfront about the challenges newcomers face, especially women, when joining such a high-profile franchise.

“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 emphasise 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. And I think we're also in this weird world of where bots can affect things.”

Advice for Newcomers to the Franchise

Kennedy’s advice for those stepping into the Star Wars universe is to toughen up and focus on the work.

“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. And if somebody gets really nervous about it and doesn’t want to do it, I say, then don't do it because I can't tell you this won’t happen.”

After 14 years at the helm, Kennedy has handed over the reins to Dave Filoni and Lynwen Brennan, who are now steering the Star Wars ship. Fans can look forward to a fresh slate of films and series as the franchise moves into its next chapter.