Despite being set in a wide galaxy populated by hundreds of different species, and focusing on a ragtag alliance of disparate rebel forces mounting an insurrection against a homogenous empire (originally staffed by literal clones), diversity has always been a bit of a sore point for Star Wars. For example, among the human characters in both the original and prequel trilogies, there only ever seems to be one important person of color, and one important woman. Sure, side characters like Mon Mothma or Aayla Secura do exist. But unless you’re someone like me, you probably don’t know who they are. Recent projects in the universe have attempted to correct this somewhat, with both the sequel trilogy and Rogue One featuring female leads, but this raises another question- what about the production staff?
Representation on-screen is great for audiences. It gives young viewers heroes to aspire to, and better reflects the interconnected world we live in today. But if the powers behind the scenes are the same people who ignored the issue for decades, it can ring a little hollow, especially if it takes work away from members of the same underrepresented groups these films are claiming to champion. For instance, despite featuring more named female leads, Star Wars films have not yet had a female director. Progress has been made on the small-screen in The Mandalorian, where both Bryce Dallas Howard and Deborah Chow have directed episodes, but theaters have only ever seen the work of George Lucas, J.J. Abrams, Gareth Edwards, Ron Howard, and Rian Johnson (and Dave Filoni, if you want to count the theatrically released Clone Wars pilot movie).
However, according to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kenneday, this trend might soon be coming to a close. Speaking to BBC News while attending the BAFTA awards, the producer answered a reporter who asked her whether a future Star Wars film would be helmed by a woman by saying “Oh absolutely, without question.”
There’s unfortunately not a lot to go on aside from this, and without any other context, it could come across as lip service. However, Kennedy was sure to clarify that with Bryce Dallas Howard and Deborah Chow’s work on The Mandalorian, as well as Chow being picked to lead the upcoming Obi-Wan series, that “we’re cultivating a lot of great talent.” I’m inclined to believe her, but I will of course remain skeptical until we see something more concrete. This was, after all, a spur-of-the-moment response.
That said, Deborah Chow’s name in particular is exciting, as Star Wars also has a problem with featuring people of color in prominent roles, both on-screen and behind-the-scenes, that it has also been attempting to correct by giving characters like Finn and Poe more screen presence. And though people of color are not a monolith, hiring Chow to direct a feature film in the series could lend some additional behind-the-scenes credibility to this new focus on diversity on more axes than just gender.
It’s worth noting that when Marvel brought in Ryan Coogler to direct Black Panther, it lead to the highest grossing solo superhero film of all-time, as well as the highest-rated Marvel movie on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s hoping that, one way or another, Star Wars learns from this example.
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