It’s no secret that the Star Wars fandom is experiencing a social dilemma. Lately, there’s been a lot of emphasis on female leads and representation in live-action projects. Some fans see it as positive, while others criticize this direction.

There are various reasons behind the criticism. Some fans are genuinely misogynistic, but the majority feel that the female and minority representation feels forced, resulting in flat and bland characters. They’re there just for the sake of being there, which makes the overall products worse.

For many the face of that new woke direction is Kathleen Kennedy, a film producer and the current president of Lucasfilm. She has been perceived as “woke” by some due to her approach to diversity and inclusion within the Star Wars franchise. This perception largely stems from her decisions regarding the representation of women and minority groups in the Star Wars films and related media. Kennedy has been vocal about her commitment to diversity, and some people interpret this as a reflection of so-called “woke” values.

But now, new reports point in the direction that she may not be as woke as many believe her to be. Matthew Belloni, journalist and former editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter voiced a different side of the story via his The Town podcast. He claims that the creative forces behind the projects often need to talk Kennedy into including diversity in the projects.

But Kathleen Kennedy is not… That whole ‘South Park’ thing was… It was funny, but it wasn’t accurate. Within Disney, she’s not known as the ‘woke warrior.’ She kind of has to be convinced, from everything I’ve been told, she kind of has to be convinced to do this stuff.

Belloni also made a valid point that the decisions that have the most impact on the projects are still not made by women.

And there’s still never been a female director of a ‘Star Wars’ movie. I’m very critical of Kathleen Kennedy, but I don’t think she’s gone overboard on the diversity stuff.

This could very well be true as far as we can prove it. The fact remains that Star Wars is not the only franchise “hijacked” by females. The MCU is going through similar stuff, for better and worse. So, my personal opinion is that it’s not only about Kennedy; it’s more on a systematic level, where shareholders and fans demand that everyone “get with the current times.”

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!