I’ve been reading briefly about Children of Blood and Bone, and it is a YA fantasy novel inspired by African mythology and Yoruba. Apparently the author was motivated to write the story after feeling a sense of hopelessness because of the police shootings of Black Americans. So those emotions and themes are carried through in this novel.

I’m not sure how much it was Kathleen Kennedy’s decision to pick up this story to adapt, but I do feel like she does care about getting progressive ideas across in this new era of Lucasfilm. Clearly we’ve been hearing people cry SJW regarding the Sequel Trilogy, so imagine we might be hearing more complaints from that group of people as this film moves forward.

I do think that Kennedy’s selection, if it was her decision, is an indication that moving forward Lucasfilm does have an interest in telling stories that carries a progressive message for contemporary audiences.