Star Wars director says ‘it’s about time’ a woman shaped a film for the franchise

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film will see Daisy Ridley return as Rey

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who is set to become the first woman and the first person of colour to direct a Star Wars feature film, has said “it’s about time.”

The 45-year-old Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker made her name as an Oscar-winning documentarian before going on to direct two episodes of the Marvel series Ms Marvel.

Her Star Wars movie, which has been written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and is rumoured to be titled either Star Wars: A New Beginning or Star Wars: New Jedi Order, is set to begin filming this year.

“I’m very thrilled about the project because I feel what we’re about to create is something very special,” Obaid-Chinoy told CNN during their coverage of New Year’s celebrations around the world.

“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.”

When the film was first announced last April, it was confirmed that Daisy Ridley will return as Rey and that it will be set 15 years after the events of Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker.

Daisy Ridley as Rey in ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi' (LucasFilm)

It has not been revealed whether Ridley’s other co-stars, such as John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Kelly Marie Tran, will also be returning.

At the same Star Wars Celebration event in London last year, it was announced that James Mangold will be directing a film based on the first Jedi to discover “the Force”. Billed as a “biblical epic” inspired by Ten Commandments, the film takes place 25,000 years before the original trilogy.

It was also revealed that Dave Filoni, the director of the forthcoming Star Wars series Ahsoka who has been involved in numerous Star Wars projects, will be directing a new film set between episodes six and seven.

The movie is said to involve an “epic battle”, and will draw upon elements of the old Expanded Universe, and serve as the endpoint for story threads in several Star Wars series, including The Mandalorian.

Last month, Star Wars fans were left disappointed when it emerged that acclaimed series Andor will not be returning this year.

Andor premiered in September 2022 and won acclaim from viewers, with many calling it the best standalone series based on the long-running science-fiction franchise, surpassing The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and even The Mandalorian.

It was expected to return this year, but was not included in Disney’s latest slate of upcoming releases.