Dave Filoni Reverses Course, Abandons Kathleen Kennedy's Star Wars Movie Promise

Dave Filoni took over Star Wars after former Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy stepped down in January 2026. Filoni's tenure has only just begun, but he's already abandoning an important promise Kennedy made to fans. The reversal has not sat well with a section of the fanbase, especially since it was one of the few Kennedy decisions the fandom wholeheartedly agreed with.

Lucasfilm President and Chief Creative Officer Dave Filoni revealed that the beloved opening crawl that kicks off the Star Wars films will not appear in every movie. That reverses Kennedy's pledge to bring it back for all theatrical releases. She made the commitment in 2023 at Star Wars Celebration in London, the same event where she announced three big films: James Mangold's movie about the first Jedi, Filoni's own big-screen crossover tied to The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's film about Daisy Ridley's Rey rebuilding the Jedi Order, all of which have gone unfulfilled. 

At the time, the crawl had only ever appeared in the nine Skywalker Saga films. Rogue One and Solo went without it, despite being theatrical releases. When asked if the crawl would return for the Rey film, Kennedy answered without hesitation: "The crawl's coming back." And when asked whether that applied to the Rey movie alone, she went further: "No. The crawl is for movies." Fans were ecstatic, given how iconic the prologue text is.

However, Filoni reversed course on Kennedy's promise with the franchise's first theatrical release in seven years, The Mandalorian and Grogu. The movie doesn't feature the famous crawl; instead, it opens with a few lines of static yellow text on a plain black background about its premise. 

The movie's opening sequence even leaves out the 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...' card, a first for a live-action Star Wars film. While promoting the movie alongside director Jon Favreau on Entertainment Weekly's Debunked video series, Filoni addressed the decision, stating that "the classic Star Wars crawl is something that we try to reserve only for Saga-type films":

"It did have a preface... We did a blurb that explains some context. Ahsoka has a version of a crawl, but we put it in red and it's strictly vertical. It doesn't go back. So, we find different ways to do it. To me, it's about capturing the serial vibe and giving a little context, but the classic Star Wars crawl is something that we try to reserve only for Saga-type films.

Favreau backed Filoni up, noting, "We've only seen the crawl in the Skywalker Saga films. Solo did not have a crawl. Rogue One did not." The director, who saw the original film's crawl in theaters as a kid, called it "such an iconic opening," opining that it's better if "we save it for the Saga:"

"The crawl itself from the original film, I remember being a kid and seeing it with that perspective, 'cause it was analog, of course. It was on a roller and just the diminishing point of the crawl, that whole first opening sequence, it feels like anecdotally, I understand was added later. That wasn't even the way it was originally designed. Such an iconic opening. We save it for the Saga."

Does the Star Wars Crawl Need To Feature in Every Film?

Naturally, the decision has split the fanbase, with a good number wanting the iconic crawl to open every Star Wars film. George Lucas modeled the narrative device on the Flash Gordon serials of his youth, and it served as a quick orientation tool, telling audiences where the story was headed. But it quickly grew beyond mere exposition. The crawl has become part of the franchise's identity, just as much as lightsabers, stormtroopers, and the Force. 

It's hard to imagine a Star Wars movie without lightsabers, so it's no surprise some fans have difficulty accepting one without the opening crawl. Dave Filoni limiting the text to saga-level films is understandable, as a way to make those entries feel more momentous. However, removing it from films like The Mandalorian and Grogu makes them seem less Star Wars than the Skywalker Saga entries. 

The franchise needs to succeed beyond the Skywalkers, and reserving the crawl for their films alone subtly suggests it cannot produce major projects without the family. The crawl has become too big a part of the brand to be withheld from some theatrical releases, and it wouldn't take anything away from the Skywalker Saga movies if non-saga films featured it as well. 

Star Wars' next release, Shawn Levy's Starfighter, arrives May 28, 2027, and it presumably won't feature the crawl either. Lucasfilm is counting on the movie to steer the franchise in a new direction, yet it doesn't feel the need to tie it to one of its most recognizable traditions. A new Skywalker Saga film might not happen anytime soon, meaning it could be years before fans experience one of the biggest Star Wars traditions in theaters again.