The Star Wars universe is a mess. The brand suffered its first loss when Solo: A Star Wars Story was released and a new film has yet to come out. The brand has been thriving on Disney Plus, though the over-reliance on nostalgia is starting to creep up on them. The last few shows haven’t been doing so hot, though the television brand is the only reason that Star Wars has been kept alive in the media thus far.
Over five film projects have been canceled under Kathleen Kennedy‘s reign; Guillermo del Toro, Damon Lindelof, Kevin Feige, Patty Jenkins, and David Benioff & D.B. Weiss were all tapped to make a Star Wars film at one point. Perhaps the biggest issue is that politics have taken over the Disney brand entirely. The Marvel Universe is currently suffering because of its heavy lean toward politics, and the Star Wars universe has received some flack over their recent material such as the last season of The Mandalorian. Their recent development has sparked more ire at Kathleen Kennedy – the hiring of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. The new Star Wars director had this to say about joining the project:
“I’m very thrilled about the project because I feel what we’re about to create is something very special. And 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.”
At what point do we get away from focusing on women being hired for big blockbuster projects? It shouldn’t matter that she’s a woman doing the upcoming Star Wars film; the important thing here is that she’s the right filmmaker to spearhead the next generation of Star Wars.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Comments Ignore All Of The Women Who HAVE Worked On Star Wars
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The notion that a woman hasn’t shaped the Star Wars universe is quite silly because there have been a few notable names who directed some of the past episodes of the Disney Plus series. Though there has never been a female director for any of the feature films, Marcia Lucas – George Lucas‘s wife – was a big instrument in shaping the popular sci-fi series as she was the editor of the original trilogy.
Leigh Brackett wrote the original screenplay for Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Sadly, she passed away due to cancer before the script was finalized. Then we have Kiri Hart, the Senior Vice President of Development at LucasFilm, who was one of the producers of Star Wars Rebels. Let’s not forget the female directors for past episodes of Star Wars: Bryce Dallas Howard (The Mandalorian), Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi), and Steph Green (The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka). The point is that the narrative that women still haven’t had any influence on the Star Wars universe disrespects and ignores the important contributions these ladies have brought to the table.
Say what you will about the current rendition of the Star Wars universe, but Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s comments feel political and agenda-driven. Man or woman, it shouldn’t matter who comes in and directs the next chapter of Star Wars. It matters that the new face behind the scenes understands the world of the popular franchise and has a unique vision that honors and respects everything that came before it.
Disney Is Pushing Their Luck With These Feminist Decision Makers
Disney is in hot water at the moment. Other than quality, fans are simply fed up with a politically driven narrative that has saturated most of their films and television. Every film has some kind of important theme and message, but Disney and Marvel are far from subtle when it comes to their political narratives. Obaid-Chinoy has stated that the upcoming Star Wars film will have some type of activism within it.
If Disney wants to have a powerful message in their films then there’s nothing wrong with it, but if the message overrides the entertainment of the movie then that’s where the problem is. Sharmeen has directed two episodes of the Ms. Marvel television series, which was one of the best Disney Plus shows to come out recently. However, the concern is that this is her first big-budget action film, as the rest of her films and shows in her category are politically driven-documentaries or dramas.
Exactly what will she bring to the world of Star Wars beyond the message? Will it be new characters? Or opening the scope to brand-new storytelling? The filmmaker needs to focus on this aspect instead of the political nature. Be subtle with the messaging and never forget the entertainment factor first.
Can Shareem Obaid-Chinoy Pull Off Such A Grand Narrative?
Can the new director steer the new Star Wars in a positive direction? The recent quality of their television series has notably gone down, and it’s not all because of politics. The current reign of Star Wars feels stuck; Disney is desperately trying to recapture the magic that George Lucas created without doing anything truly original.
For a while, the stuff on television and movies was genuinely compelling, but the brand didn’t properly finish off the Rey story and they haven’t fully recovered since. There have been hits like The Mandalorian, but going back to Rey’s story is risky because the conclusion was messy and disappointing. We can’t truly judge Shareem’s skill until the final product has been released. There’s concern that she may not be able to grasp such a huge world because blockbusters are an entirely different beast than independent projects. Disney can get this film right as Rey could be a great character if done properly. Let’s just hope they can pull off something that reminds fans why they fell in love with the brand in the first place.
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