Kathleen Kennedy Says ‘The Last Jedi’ Director Rian Johnson Never Did More ‘Star Wars’ Because He Was “Spooked By The Online Negativity”
Despite being heralded by the media as the best thing to happen to Star Wars since George Lucas and being handed the reigns to a trilogy all his own, now-former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy says “online negativity” prompted The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson to cancel any and all return trips to the galaxy far, far away.
Reflecting on the ups-and-downs of her 14-year tenure as the studio’s top boss during an informal ‘exit interview’ given to Deadline‘s Mike Fleming Jr., Kennedy was at at one point asked for an update as to the current status of various Star Wars projects that were greenlit under her watch but will be completed well-after the dust has settled on her sudden exit.
“I’ve got to tread a bit carefully here,” she began. “James Mangold and Beau Willimon wrote an incredible script, but it is definitely breaking the mold and it’s on hold. Taika Waititi has turned in a script that I think is hilarious and great. It’s not just my decision, especially when I’ve got a foot out the door.
“Donald Glover has turned in a script [for his Lando Calrissian solo film]. And as you have read, Steve Soderbergh and Adam Driver turned in a script written by Scott Burns [The Hunt for Ben Solo]. It was just great. Anything’s a possibility if somebody’s willing to take a risk.
“I remember when I came into this job, the first thing Bob Iger said to me was, ‘Be bold.’ I’ve always liked that because I think you have to be bold and you have to be willing to take risks with people and with ideas. Otherwise you are just doing the same thing. Right now we’re in an era where companies are so risk-averse, and I get it. I hear all the conversations. They’ve got Wall Street to please, and I get it, but I also believe that that’s what contributes to things disappearing, ultimately. I just think you have to take those chances.
“Everything I just reeled off to you is taking a bit of a chance because none of those filmmakers are just walking in trying to do same old, same old. I’m excited by that, but the studio’s nervous about that, and that’s kind of where it sits at the moment.”
Turning specifically to Johnson, the Amblin Entertainment co-founder explained, “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. That’s the other thing that happens here.”After Shawn [Levy] 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.”
“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.”
Further pressed as to what, if anything, she had to “say to ease the apprehension of these newcomers to the Star Wars universe”, Kennedy pointedly declared, “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 emphasize 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. 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.”
Notably, Kennedy’s knowledge of Johnson’s declining to return echoes the director’s own words, who himself attributed his disinterest in Star Wars to fans considering him as a persona non grata among the franchise.
“Before I made the Star Wars movie, when I was very, very active on Twitter, if someone said anything mean about me, I felt like I had to fix that,” the director explained to The Hollywood Reporter in November 2025. “Having grown up as a Star Wars fan, I think the love and the hate are two sides of the same coin, and it’s all passion for what the thing is. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to deal with when it’s coming at you in a personal way.”
