‘Star Wars’: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Is Happy That A Female Director Will “Shape The Story” Of The Next Film

It’s not controversial to say the “Star Wars” fandom has its fair share of toxicity, especially when it comes to misogyny and racism. Watching certain segments of the fandom lose their minds over the fact that a woman (Daisy Ridley) was the lead in the most recent films made was shocking and disturbing to watch. Not to mention the racism in response to actors like John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran being prominent members of the cast. It was all very ugly. (It’s also worth mentioning now that the toxicity comes from a small part of the fandom and isn’t indicative of everyone.) 

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In spite of all that toxicity, Kathleen Kennedy and the folks at Lucasfilm have continued to aim for diversity in front of the camera, and perhaps more importantly, behind the scenes. The biggest proof of that is the hiring of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy to direct the forthcoming “Star Wars” film, the first since 2019’s ‘Rise of Skywalker.’ Obaid-Chinoy will become the first woman to ever direct a “Star Wars” film, not to mention the first person of color, as well. That’s something to celebrate.  (Also of note, women such as Deborah Chow and Bryce Dallas Howard have directed episodes of live-action “Star Wars” TV shows, but not a feature film.) 

In a recent interview with CNN, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy talked briefly about her upcoming job as director of the next “Star Wars” film, which is due to be released in 2026. While she didn’t give away anything in terms of plot, she does talk about why it’s significant that she was chosen to direct.

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“I’m very thrilled about the project because I feel what we’re about to create is something very special,” she said. “And we’re in 2024 now, and I think it’s about time that we had a woman come forward to shape the story in a galaxy far, far away.”

Now, you shouldn’t be surprised to know that these comments have been used against Obaid-Chinoy by those toxic fans mentioned above. Whenever the mention of a *gasp* woman having a large hand in shaping a “Star Wars” story, fans start to get riled up. The obvious, and most boring, response is to mention how women have always held a place in “Star Wars” cannon. 

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“Look at Carrie Fisher’s Leia!” they might say. “Daisy Ridley was a huge part of the sequel trilogy!” 

The truth of the matter, especially when you want to talk about representation on screen, is very sad. In the original trilogy, outside of Leia, only three other women had speaking roles at all. And guess how much those women actually speak? 63 seconds. Sure, the number of women have slowly been getting larger as the prequel trilogy came about and then the sequel trilogy, but fans love to hate on those movies, don’t they? They pine for the days of the original trilogy, which again, had nearly zero female representation outside of Leia. 

All that to say, the fact that a new “Star Wars” film is being directed by a woman is an incredible thing. Will it be amazing? Who knows? Lately, the “Star Wars” franchise, as a whole, has been struggling to retain any sort of viewers outside of the diehards. So the odds aren’t that great. Regardless of whether or not it’s amazing, Obaid-Chinoy will hold a special place in “Star Wars” history.