Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who has become the first woman and first person of color to direct a ‘Star Wars’ film, has created a stir in Hollywood as fanboys have started criticizing the woman director with an innocuous comment.
Deatils of the film ‘Star Wars’ plot are still scarce, but a director has already been named: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who will become the first woman and first person of color to direct a Star Wars feature film.
That fact alone would probably be enough to rile up conservatives dubious about a women-led, women-directed Star Wars, but Obaid-Chinoy’s recent comments about the film have added fuel to the fire.
READ MORE: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on directing ‘Star Wars’ Film: 1st woman who took the reigns of Star Wars universe. I’m very thrilled about the project
“You know, I’m very thrilled about the project because I think what we are about to create is something very special. And we’re in 2024 now, and I think it’s about time that we had a woman come forward to shape a story in a galaxy far, far away,” she recently told CNN.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1742526855939297319
The controversy intensified when right-wing commentator Matt Walsh shared an eight-year-old clip where Obaid-Chinoy expressed her enjoyment in making men uncomfortable with her art if it prompts a call for action.
The clip, from a 2015 panel with Meryl Streep and Ava DuVernay, led Walsh to predict that Disney’s Star Wars film would be a major flop. The comments and the clip sparked debate and fueled criticism on social media.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1742583950944432607
Although Walsh or anyone else can’t predict the box office success of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s 2026 film, it seems that some individuals claiming to be Star Wars fans have already formed their opinions. The discussions and controversies surrounding the film are expected to persist for the next two years and beyond.
Courtesy: Madeline Roth for The Daily Beast
