Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy to become first woman and person of colour to direct a Star Wars film
Lucasfilm has announced some very exciting news — the latest Star Wars films will be directed by our very own Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy!
The Oscar winner will be the first woman and person of colour to direct a film in the franchise. Actor Daisy Ridley’s Rey will be the centre of the first Star Wars feature film since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. The announcement was made at the Star Wars Celebration in London on Friday. The film will be written by Steven Knight, who also wrote TV show Peaky Blinders, according to Variety.
The new film is set after Rise of Skywalker and will focus on Rey as she builds a new Jedi Order.
“I have always been attracted to the heroes journey and the world needs more heroes!” the director said at the event. “The blueprints of the heroes we see on screen should be rooted in reality — I’ve spent my life meeting real life heroes, people who have overcome the most oppressive empires and battled impossible odds and that to me is the heart of Star Wars, which is why I was attracted to the promise of a new Jedi Order,” she said.
This isn’t Obaid-Chinoy’s first foray into Hollywood — she also directed several episodes of Ms Marvel, the Disney TV show centring around a Pakistani girl who gains superpowers.
Rumours of the director’s partnership with Disney began in October when Deadline reported news that she may have been picked to helm a Star Wars film.
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, the last Star Wars film, released in 2019 and ever since, the studio has been more focused on TV projects.
The filmmaker is an Oscar and Emmy-winning director known for documentaries such as Saving Face and A Girl in the River, The Price of Forgiveness. She is currently involved in directing Paramount’s adaptation of the novel Brilliance, produced by Will Smith.
