Kathleen Kennedy Names the Lowest Point of Her Lucasfilm Era — and It’s About Fan Expectations

Kathleen Kennedy has said a lot over the years about Star Wars, leadership, pressure, and the sheer chaos of steering one of pop culture’s most emotionally-owned franchises.

But in her latest Deadline interview — released as her Lucasfilm exit becomes official — she finally puts words to what she considers the low point of her time running the studio.

And it’s not a box office number. Not a cancelled movie. Not a particular show.

It’s the impossible math of trying to satisfy everyone.

Why this matters now

Kennedy stepping away from Lucasfilm isn’t just a management shuffle — it’s the end of a defining era for modern Star Wars.

So every line from her exit interview matters, because this is the version of the story that will stick: what she felt went right, what went wrong, and what she believes the franchise actually struggled with.

And her answer here touches the most sensitive nerve in Star Wars fandom: what Star Wars “should” be, and who gets to decide that.

What Kathleen Kennedy said

In the Deadline interview, Kennedy describes the “lows” of her tenure in simple terms — a small segment of the fan base with outsized expectations, and the inevitability of disappointment if you try anything new:

“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. I’m not sure there’s anything you can do about that, because you can’t please everybody.”

It’s blunt. It’s also… unmistakably Lucasfilm.

The context: Kennedy’s Lucasfilm era was built on change — not comfort

Kennedy’s run as Lucasfilm President brought Star Wars back to theaters at full blockbuster scale, then pushed the brand into streaming dominance.

But every step of that strategy involved creative risk:

• a sequel trilogy that re-centered the franchise
• standalones like Rogue One
• the pivot into Disney+ series
• and wildly different tones depending on the project (The Mandalorian vs Andor vs The Acolyte)

No matter where you fall on those titles, the point is clear: Star Wars didn’t try to stay the same.

And that’s exactly what her quote is defending.

What her quote actually reveals (without saying it directly)

Kennedy is essentially describing the central tension of Star Wars in the modern internet age:

There’s a passionate core of fans who want evolution.

And there’s a passionate core of fans who want reassurance.

Both groups often insist they want “good storytelling” — but they don’t always mean the same thing.

And Star Wars is uniquely vulnerable here because it’s not just entertainment. It’s identity. It’s memory. It’s childhood. It’s “my version of the galaxy.”

That’s why Kennedy frames the problem as unsolvable.

“You can’t please everybody.”

Why this matters to Star Wars fans — even if they disagree with her

This quote will land differently depending on who’s reading it.

For some fans, it will sound like Kennedy is downplaying criticism or shifting blame.

For others, it’ll sound like the most honest thing a Lucasfilm executive has said in years: Star Wars is a franchise where some people will always hate change — and some will always hate familiarity.

The truth is, Star Wars has always been this way. Even the prequels proved it.

The difference now is scale: social media amplifies a reaction into a headline in minutes.

What This Really Signals

If Kathleen Kennedy is choosing this as the low point of her Lucasfilm era, she’s telling you something important about how she sees the job.

Not as “make movies.”

But as “manage expectations around mythology.”

Whether you agree with her framing or not, it’s a reminder that the fight over Star Wars has never just been about scripts or directors.

It’s been about ownership.

And with a new leadership structure now in place at Lucasfilm, the next era won’t escape that reality.

It’ll just inherit it.

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