Star Wars Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Says it’s “About Time” There Was a Female Director in the Franchise

As a film franchise, Star Wars has been on hiatus since the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. Several film projects went in and out of development in the years since, while Star Wars continued through various Disney+ series, such as The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka. In a project that seems to be coming off the ground, it was announced last April at Star Wars Celebration that Daisey Ridley would return as the Jedi Rey in a new film tentatively called Star Wars: New Jedi Order.

The new film is being directed by Oscar-winning Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Saving Face, Ms. Marvel). In a recent interview with CNN, Obaid-Chinoy commented about her status as the first female director of the franchise, as well as the first director of colour:

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.

Source: Variety

It should be noted that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is not the first overall female Star Wars filmmaker, as the Disney+ series has seen the likes of Deborah Chow and Bryce Dallas Howard behind the camera. It should also be noted that only a month before Obaid-Chinoy’s film was announced, it was confirmed that Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, announced in 2020 to be directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman).

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is directing Daisy Ridley's new #StarWars movie about Rey rebuilding the Jedi Order. She's the first woman to direct a "Star Wars" movie and says "it's about time."

“I’m very thrilled about the project because I feel what we’re about to create is something… pic.twitter.com/tE5SuUYxHS

— Variety (@Variety) January 2, 2024

While I don’t want to dilute the importance of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy being the first female director of a Star Wars film that will likely be released, Variety neglected to mention Patty Jenkins in their recent report sharing Obaid-Chinoys’ CNN quotes. It says a lot about the short memory of Hollywood reporting that Jenkins’ status of almost being the first woman to direct a Star Wars film has already been forgotten. Until this new Star Wars film gets released in 2025, we can even view Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s status as the first female director with a grain of salt, given the rotating door of Star Wars projects that went in and out of development over the last five years.