„It's about time”. The director of the Rey Movie believes that Woman at the Helm is a Breakthrough in the History of Star Wars
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will be the first woman to direct a film within the Star Wars universe, but the contribution of women to the development of the popular franchise has been evident since its inception.
During last year's Star Wars Celebration in London, Disney announced several projects that will hopefully delight Star Wars fans in the coming years. Among these upcoming stories is a full-length film New Jedi Order featuring Rey portrayed by Daisy Ridley.
The production, work on the set of which is to begin very soon, promises to be a unique spectacle for several reasons. One of them is the presence of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as the director – the first woman to helm a Star Wars film. She recently shared her excitement about the project with CNN (vide Bingefire).
I’m very thrilled about the project because I feel what we’re about to create is something very special. We’re in 2024 now, and it’s about time that we had a woman come forward to shape a story in a galaxy far, far away.
While the director's enthusiasm is entirely justified, the statement by Obaid-Chinoy claiming to be the first woman to "shape history in a distant galaxy" is not entirely accurate.
In the whole 47-year history of Star Wars many women have made significant contributions to the building of this iconic brand. For example, George Lucas's former wife, Marcia Lucas, played a crucial role as the editor of the original trilogy, responsible for shaping the narrative in these timeless productions.
The Empire Strikes Back would likely have been very different without Leigh Brackett, who was responsible for the initial draft of the script. Unfortunately, she passed away from cancer before completing the script, but her work served as the foundation for the final version of the story written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. Additionally, there are women who have directed episodes of Star Wars-related series, including Bryce Dallas Howard (The Mandalorian), Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Steph Green (The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka).
As you can see, the contribution of women to the development of Star Wars is truly invaluable.
