Lucasfilm president Katleen Kennedy says that a female filmmaker will direct a future Star Wars. Kennedy, who took over as president of Lucasfilm in 2012, recently oversaw production on the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga, which wrapped up with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Aside from finishing up the stories seeded by Star Wars creator George Lucas, The Rise of Skywalker is also notable for being the first Star Wars feature with a black, female second unit director.

The Rise of Skywalker director JJ Abrahms hired Victoria Mahoney after calling fellow filmmaker Ava DuVernay (who joined the Disney family by directing A Wrinkle in Time) to ask for a list of potential female directors. DuVernay had only one name for the Lost co-creator: Victoria Mahoney. Mahoney joined The Rise of Skywalker to direct the second unit (a crew responsible for things like establishing shots, stunts, and inserts) in April of 2018. Still, Kennedy’s initiative to diversify the Lucasfilm talent pool didn’t end there. Next, she hired Deborah Chow for an episode of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, which is already in production on its second season. Chow’s hiring made her the first woman to direct a live-action story in the 42-year history of the franchise. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard, who also directed an episode of The Mandalorian, became the second.

The BBC News caught up with Kennedy on the BAFTA Awards red carpet, where the producer was headed inside to receive the prestigious Bafta Fellowship award. She renewed her commitment to hiring a female director for a future Star Wars theatrical release.  “We’ve got two or three fantastic women working with Star Wars,” Kennedy said, “And we just brought in Deborah Chow who is doing the Obi-Wan series.” When asked if a Star Wars movie will get a female director soon, Kennedy says, “Oh absolutely. Without question.”

Kennedy’s mission to diversify Lucasfilm has been a key focus during her time as the company’s president. In 2015, Kennedy boasted about the executive changes she had made at Lucasfilm to ensure that half the team would be female. “Six out of eight of the people in my Story Group are women. I think it’s making a huge difference in the kind of stories we’re trying to tell,” Kennedy said at the time. A year later, Kennedy said, again, that she thinks there are “many” female directors who have the potential to direct a Star Wars movie, adding, “And I’ve talked to most of them.”

At this point, it seems like an inevitability that a woman will helm a Star War feature film in the near future. Kennedy’s been working on this issue for years, and might already know who she wants to hire. The bigger issue is that the entire future of the franchise seems to be in flux, as Kennedy and her team figure out where to take the Star Wars series next.

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Source: BBC News