Studio executives revealed three new Star Wars movies are in development on Friday, including the first movie in the cinematic universe to be directed by a woman. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, an Oscar-winning director of Pakistani descent, is moving from the Marvel universe to the Star Wars galaxy to helm a new movie that takes place 15 years after the conclusion of the previous film.
She will oversee the return of British actor Daisy Ridley to the role of Rey, the protagonist of the last trilogy, which concluded in 2019 to mixed reviews. The upcoming movie will center on Rey’s initiatives to resurrect the Jedi order. Obaid-Chinoy, who won two Oscars for her work on anti-violence against-women documentaries, claimed that the Star Wars world drew her in because of its “hero’s journey.”
“I spent the better part of my lifetime meeting real heroes who are overcoming oppressive regimes and battling impossible odds and I think that’s the heart of Star Wars,” she said.
Upcoming Star Wars Films to Cover Different Periods and be Directed by James Mangold and Dave Filoni
The Ms. Marvel television series from last year, which featured a Muslim superhero, was directed by Obaid-Chinoy. Each of the three movies, according to Kathleen Kennedy, head of Lucasfilm, the studio that Disney acquired in 2012, will focus on a distinct time period in the Star Wars saga. And a different director will oversee each.
After recently directing the newest installment in the Indiana Jones series, which is scheduled for release later this year, James Mangold, a two-time Oscar contender, will take the helm of one of the movies.
His movie would examine the Jedi order’s early history, which took place thousands of years before the main plot. Also, the third movie will be directed by Dave Filoni, a veteran of the Star Wars world who has also produced a number of television shows, including the hugely popular The Mandalorian, which is currently in its third season.
As Ahsoka, a female Jedi warrior who first appeared in an animated series, fans at the conference also got to see US actress Rosario Dawson in that character for the first time. The Star Wars fandom has taken to the character so well that she has progressed to a live-action television series, which will debut in August. The first of the three movies, though, won’t hit theaters until 2025.
