“It’s about time”: the next Star Wars entrusted to a director who has big plans for the saga

May the force be with her... Canadian-Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will be the first woman to direct a film in the Star Wars saga. If the television series in the franchise have called on female directors, notably Deborah Chow, the feature films had never been entrusted to a female director. Scheduled for 2026, Star Wars 10 must continue the main storyline and be set after The Rise of Skywalker (released in 2019). It would once again center around Daisy Ridley's character, Rey.

Interviewed by the American television channel CNN, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy said she was “very enthusiastic about this project”. “I have the feeling that what we are about to create is something very special,” said the filmmaker, whose credits include episodes of the series Ms Marvel and documentaries on the status of women. and on honor killings in Pakistan. In Saving Face, she follows the work of a surgeon who treats women disfigured by acid jets, as happens a hundred times a year in Pakistan. Girl in the River, broadcast in 2016 by HBO, tells the story of how a 19-year-old young woman survives the murder orchestrated by her father and uncle, and how those around her push her to forgive them even though they are ultimately free. Both films won an Oscar.

A self-proclaimed feminist, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is delighted to take the reins of the space saga which, at its beginnings almost 50 years ago, featured only one female character, a princess that valiant space knights owed. naturally save. “It's 2024 and it's about time a woman came forward to shape the galaxy far, far away,” said the two-time Academy Award-winning director, who will work with screenwriter Steven Knight, known for his series hit Peaky Blinders.

The director also gave an overview of her intentions on social networks by explaining what conception she had of cinema heroes, personalities “anchored in reality”. “I have spent my life meeting true heroes, who faced terrible empires and led impossible battles against oppression. For me, that’s the heart of Star Wars, she confided. “That’s why I’m excited about the emergence of a new order of Jedi knights and very eager to immerse ourselves in the adventures of a Jedi academy led by a powerful Jedi master.” And even more so if this new order is led by a woman in the person of Rey.

This declaration of intent did not please certain conservatives who have been fighting against Disney studios and its “inclusive” policy for months. “This film is destined to become the biggest flop that Disney has known to date,” predicted Matt Walsh, an editorialist close to conspiracy circles, citing as proof the thoughts shared by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy in a video that he broadcast.

During a round table in which she participated for the Women in the World association, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy talks about her way of working and the filming of her documentaries. “I like making men uncomfortable. It's important to be able to look a man in the eye and say, "I'm here, accept it, accept that I'm working to create something that makes you uncomfortable - because it should make you uncomfortable." “comfortable”,” she explained alongside Meryl Streep.

“Star Wars is cursed”, “It seems like Disney likes to lose money” commented several Internet users in reaction to the video. Despite criticism of the “woke” nature of the studio's productions in recent years, Disney has seen its turnover increase steadily for twenty years, going from 42 billion dollars in 2012 to 82 in 2022.