Expect more female-driven 'Star Wars' stories, says Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy: 'There's a balance in the Force'

Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy says that Ahsoka, The Acolyte and Daisy Ridley's just-announced Star Wars movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy signal that more women-led projects set in that galaxy far, far away are on the horizon.

"I would say, definitely," the studio president tells Yahoo Entertainment at Star Wars Celebration 2023.

"We don't set out to say, 'OK, this is going to be a project led by women' — it evolves that way," Kennedy continues. "And I'm pleasantly surprised to see there's a balance in the Force, let's put it that way. Because in everything that we've been doing, I think we have attracted some really strong women both in front of the camera and behind the camera and that’s been thrilling."

The Ahsoka series — which is set to premiere on Disney+ in August this year — stars Rosario Dawson as the titular Force-sensitive ex-Jedi Padawan and brings her together with Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Hera Syndulla and Natasha Liu Bordizzo's Sabine Wren. All three are characters first appeared in the various Star Wars animated series overseen by The Mandalorian co-creator Dave Filoni. Here, they're teaming up to thwart the return of fan favorite villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is also making his live action-debut.

Another prominent female character jumping from one Star Wars series to another is Andor's Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) who we glimpsed in the newly released Ahsoka teaser trailer. But which women in Star Wars lore would Kathleen Kennedy most want to see join or make a return to live action as Ahsoka spearheads the move towards more female-centric projects?

"Oh, I think there's a lot of interesting characters that can evolve," says Kennedy. "We're starting obviously with Rey, but trust me: Sharmeen will have some great ideas as to what we put forward. I don’t want to step on her toes, but she is working on some really interesting new characters."

Filoni — who will also be directing an upcoming Star Wars feature film — has previously been responsible for creating some of the franchise's most interesting female characters, including Ahsoka Tano. But the Star Wars superfan says that creating women characters isn’t a conscious thing for him.

"It's honestly not something that I plan," Filoni explains. "I just needed a samurai, and I have Ahsoka, and I've been telling her story. And then I knew in my story I needed a general and I have Hera. I needed a warrior, and I have Sabine. These are characters that we've accumulated over the years. I grew up and I had Luke and Han and Lando. These are great heroes. There's no end to the type of heroes, you just need to have interesting people playing them and interesting challenges for them.

"The important thing is that they're relatable to everyone," Filoni continues. "I think I expect every kind of kid to relate to Sabine and what she's going through, what she's struggling with and what she needs to overcome — the same that I watched kids being inspired by Luke. That's the strength of it and the limit here is people's imagination. I know for a lot of people it's so significant that there are so many women in these films, and I think that's wonderful. If that inspires people that maybe would have said 'It's not for me' or 'I can't do that' and [now] they say 'I can be that' and 'I can do that,' that's even better. You want it to be not a time of change, but a time of inclusion."

Naturally, we asked the cast which Star Wars women they want back in the live-action fold, whether in an existing series or a new project. For her part, Dawson picked the Martez sisters, Trace and Rafa, from the animated Clone Wars series.

"They were the first real folks that Ahsoka met when she left the Jedi Order, and interacting with them had a really profound effect on her and [gave her] a better understanding of what was really happening outside of these pearly gates of the Jedi Order and Coruscant," the actress explains. "I just think about them a lot. Those for me are the original Latinas that I got to see in there and be like, 'OK we're here, we're taking up space.' I would just like to know more about what their journey has been."

Winstead meanwhile looks back to the original trilogy and Princess Leia. "I'm completely besotted with Carrie Fisher and everything that she was able to do," the Scott Pilgrim star says. "Obviously, we saw Princess Leia as a child in the most recent Obi-Wan series, and it was amazing to get to see that energy brought back."

Ivanna Sakhno, who plays newly-revealed antagonist Shin Hati in Ahsoka, agrees with Winstead's pick, as does Diana Lee Inosanto, who plays Mandalorian magistrate Morgan Elsbet. "I do think that there's still quite a bit to explore within her journey and where that can go," Sakhno says. Adds Inosanto: "I'd like to see her swing that lightsaber more. I know that she's had some training so I would like to see that executed more.

"I do love Rey's character," Inosanto continues. "There's such a sensitivity [there]. And then there's [Jyn Erso]. I love the character from Rogue One. She's a powerful woman.”

Ray Stevenson — who plays another Ahsoka antagonist, Baylen — would like to see a new type of woman character emerge... one with that Divine Feminine energy. "I think [about] women warriors... but what is it motivated [by]?'" says the Rome star. "There is a divinity that women [who] have had to take up a mantle because of certain mens' weaknesses — especially leaning towards extreme violence and stuff like this — in order to protect themselves or their family, creed or their race or whatever. They've had to adopt that mantle.

"It doesn’t necessarily [have to] be that malevolent side of men," Stevenson continues. "Getting in touch with the Divine Feminine [is the way] … I think there’s not one character, but I think that sense of Divine Feminine needs to come through.”

A very interesting proposition.

Ahsoka premieres August 2023 on Disney+.