Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy is saying there’s a gendered bias surrounding ‘Star Wars’ fans. During an interview with the New York Times for upcoming Disney+ series “The Acolyte,” Kennedy claims that female filmmakers “struggle” with fan backlash to their respective films and TV shows — Leslye Headland is the showrunner for “The Acolyte” and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is directing the upcoming ‘Rey’ movie.
“Operating within these giant franchises now, with social media and the level of expectation — it’s terrifying,” Kennedy tells NYT. “I think Leslye has struggled a little bit with it. I think a lot of the women who step into ‘Star Wars’struggle with this a bit more. Because of the fan base being so male-dominated, they sometimes get attacked in ways that can be quite personal.”
The last thing the mostly-male Star Wars fanbase wants to hear is, for example, Obaid-Chinoy saying that her goal is to “make men uncomfortable.” It’s not even about whether she’s allowed to say that or not, it’s more a business decision — do you seriously want to isolate a following that bring you billions?
Kennedy’s comments come just a few months after CEO Bob Iger promised that the company would revamp their focus and “entertain first,” instead of delving into “messages.” Iger basically blamed Disney’s failures on the “progressive” messaging behind their movies. In his words, he wanted to “quiet things down after years of culture wars.”
Kennedy clearly didn’t get the memo. Also, why do they keep forgetting that Carrie Fischer’s Leia was an integral part of the first three films. A strong, sensible, independent female heroine that everyone took to heart.
If anything, LucasFilm, Kennedy and Iger should pay more attention to the sudden reappraisal of George Lucas’ prequels, including the success of ‘The Phantom Menace’ re-release. There are many fans out there who are genuinely upset with how the last Star Wars Disney trilogy turned out, putting a major dent on the entire franchise, that they would rather rewatch Lucas’ original prequels on repeat. It’s pure nostalgia.