Kathleen Kennedy Addresses Why Women in Star Wars Face Online Attacks from the 'Male-Dominated' Fan Base

Kathleen Kennedy talks about the constant struggle faced by the women of the world Star Wars franchise.

As recently discussed by Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm The New York Times regarding the latest Disney+ series of the franchise Acolytethe longtime Hollywood producer said she believes “storytelling has to be representative of all people.”

“It’s an easy decision for me,” said Kennedy, 70. “Now working within these giant franchises, with social media and the level of expectation — it’s scary.”

Acolyte stars Amandla Stenberg, Carrie-Ann Moss, Lee Jung-jae, Jodie Turner-Smith and Manny Jacinto, among others, in an effort to focus women and people of color on Star Wars‘ stories, as Time reported. The series was created by writer-director Leslye Headland, a lifelong fan of the franchise and the first woman to create a television series for a galaxy far, far away.

“I think Leslye struggled a bit with it. I think many women who step into Star Wars fight this a little bit longer,” Kennedy told the newspaper. “Because of the male-dominated fan base, sometimes they get attacked in ways that can be quite personal.”

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Kathleen Kennedy May 23, 2024

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Daisy Ridley, who helmed the franchise’s three sequel films released between 2015 and 2019 as the character Rey, emphasized the importance for actresses in the franchise to “turn off” negative comments during an interview in January 2023.

Kelly Marie Tran, who played a supporting role in 2017 The Last Jedi and in 2019 The Rise of Skywalkerwrote a comment for 2018 Time in which she denounced the racist criticism she received from fans originating from her Star Wars the role.

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“Amandla Stenberg can handle herself,” Ridley, 32, said in 2023 of Stenberg, 25, and Acolyteaccording to Diversity. “She has been working for a long time. I was sitting next to someone in Wakanda forever prime minister, executive, and they said [The Acolyte] is amazing.”

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Daisy Ridley in Star Wars — The Force Awakens 2015 Lucasfilm/Bad Robot/Walt Disney Studios/Kobal/Shutterstock

Headland came to create Acolyte for Lucasfilm after directing films like those in 2015 Sleeping with other people and co-creating the popular Netflix series Russian doll with Natasha Lyonne and Amy Poehler, among other projects.

“I stand by my empathy towards Star Wars fans,” she said Time in a text message, regarding her new show. “But I want to be clear. Anyone who engages in bigotry, racism or hate speech… I don’t consider them a fan.”

Acolyte it comes more than a year after Lucasfilm announced that Ridley would reprise her role as Rey in the new film Star Wars a movie that should take place after The Rise of Skywalker. Acolytewhich will premiere on Disney+ on June 4, takes place well before the events of 1999 The Phantom Menace.

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Source: HIS Education