In a recent conversation with The New York Times about the upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy expressed her awareness that women in the franchise often endure more online harassment compared to their male counterparts due to the male-dominated nature of the fan base.
Kennedy highlighted, Operating within these giant franchises now, with social media and the level of expectation — it’s terrifying. 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.
Harassment in Recent Trilogy
The recent trilogy, featuring female stars such as Daisy Ridley and Kelly Marie Tran, witnessed considerable online harassment towards these actresses. Kennedy pointed out that Tran and Boyega had notable chemistry during auditions for The Last Jedi.
Emphasizing her support for diversifying the Star Wars universe, she remarked, That’s what we’ve been doing, and we’ve been having a great deal of fun doing it, and meeting with lots of different filmmakers and talent. There’s so many fans out there and so many filmmakers that have been influenced by Star Wars for so long that it’s a fantastic opportunity to get a sense of who wants to be a part of this. So, that’s what we’ve been doing.
The Acolyte Sparks Controversy
The Acolyte, an original story by Leslye Headland set before the events of The Phantom Menace, is poised to feature significant new female characters including roles by Amandla Stenberg and Carrie Ann-Moss.
The inclusive nature of the series has faced backlash from certain corners of the fandom. As reported by The Times, comments on The Acolyte‘s trailer include sentiments such as, Why are there so many women, girls, and minority characters increasingly dominating the ranks of Jedi?
Further illustrating these reactions, some trolls have nicknamed Headland’s series as The Wokelyte.
Diverse Representation Matters
Kennedy firmly stands by Headland’s vision, stating, My belief is that storytelling does need to be representative of all people. That’s an easy decision for me.
Despite already contending with online toxicity even before its Disney+ premiere on June 4th, Headland remains resolved. As she noted, If anyone engages in bigotry, racism or hate speech … I don’t consider them a fan.
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