For better or for worse, Kathleen Kennedy is often the one ultimately held responsible for the highs and lows of this era of Star Wars. The sequel trilogy she shepherded introduced a new generation to a galaxy far, far away while still giving longtime fans a (mostly) fulfilling end to this saga. And yet in the nearly six years since that saga ended with Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, Lucasfilm has struggled to figure out its next chapter on the big screen. With Kathleen Kennedy’s rumored exit from Lucasfilm, it doesn’t seem likely that these struggles will resolve themselves anytime soon.

A number of films from an impressive slate of filmmakers have been announced over the years. Creatives like Taika Waititi, Patty Jenkins, Rian Johnson, Kevin Feige, and more all elected to throw their hats in the ring to mold their own corner of the Star Wars universe. And yet, nearly all of them have been scrapped or reworked in one way or another. The only Star Wars film to make it from conception to production in the last six years is the upcoming The Mandalorian & Grogu.

As far as we know, James Mangold’s currently titled Dawn of the Jedi and the upcoming Rey solo film New Jedi Order (directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy) are still moving forward. But with the writer shake ups that New Jedi Order has already faced, a change in leadership doesn’t bode well for either of these projects.

No matter who takes Kennedy’s place, they are likely going to have their own vision for how Star Wars should move forward. Whether or not current projects fit into that vision is still to be determined. It’s doubtful that Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau’s ever-expanding Mando-verse is in jeopardy. The New Republic era has so far proven to be popular and lucrative for the franchise – it’s nearly impossible to enter any kind of big name store nowadays without seeing at least one Grogu-themed item.