(LifeSiteNews) — A pair of comments by the director of an upcoming Star Wars project indicate that current franchise holder Disney has no intention of moving away from the activist mindset and identity politics focus that have turned the entertainment giant from a widely beloved cultural institution into a focal point for division, despite the financial toll the company’s current direction has taken.
In 2019, Disney-owned Lucasfilm released Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, the conclusion of its Sequel Trilogy billed as the grand finale to the beloved space fantasy saga’s main story, despite having no involvement by and only minimal use of ideas from original series creator George Lucas, who sold his company and franchises to Disney in 2012.
Social conservatives objected to the film’s inclusion of a lesbian kiss to appease LGBT “representation” demands, and more mainstream observers deemed the film a critical and commercial letdown for a variety of reasons unrelated to political or social issues. Episode IX’s lukewarm reception resulted in Disney/Lucasfilm spending the next several years avoiding direct follow-ups in its Star Wars content, instead focusing on projects such as streaming series The Mandalorian (which enjoyed bipartisan acclaim until Disney fired conservative cast member Gina Carano for her outspoken conservative comments on social media).
Last April, Lucasfilm announced that Episode IX would finally get a sequel in the form of an as-yet-untitled film starring Daisy Ridley (who portrayed the Sequel Trilogy’s main protagonist Rey “Skywalker” Palpatine) and directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a Pakistani-born Canadian filmmaker and feminist activist.
Critics reacted to the news by questioning the audience demand for such a story and bracing for a potential “woke” subtext from a story centered around a female character some disgruntled fans perceived as a “diverse” replacement for whom the original heroes had to be torn down.
On New Year’s Eve, Obaid-Chinoy seemed to validate those fears when she told CNN, “I’m very thrilled about the project because I feel what we’re about to create is something very special. 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.”
Both conservative commentators and independent-minded Star Wars fans blasted the statement as proof Disney has learned nothing from the financial toll its activist turn has taken on it over the past several years, and accused the director of not knowing about and/or denying credit to numerous female creators who have contributed to the franchise from the start (whose work has been largely embraced).
“Whatever they decide to do with this, fine,” Stephen L. Miller commented. “But to argue a woman hasn’t shaped the story of Star Wars is completely and insultingly naive to who Marsha Lucas or Leigh Brackett were, and that’s ultimately the problem with Disney Feminism – it purposely erases the accomplishments of other women because of their warped woke world view that history started in the year 2020.”
Disney/Lucasfilm continues drive Star Wars off a cliff by hiring ideologues instead of storytellers. https://t.co/2PP8ujYlTy pic.twitter.com/qtkyodRmud
— Star Wars Fan Animations (@SWfananimations) January 2, 2024
Karen Traviss and AC Crispin were two VERY celebrated writers in the EU. I don't understand why disney didn't just take Hans Journey from Paradise Snare and use it as the plot from Solo.
Actually I do, Arrogance. And now their stock is dropping despite this summers box office. pic.twitter.com/6gMK35QJNC
— The Chad (@ChadPrim3) August 10, 2019
On Wednesday, the negative sentiment was reinforced by the discovery of a clip from a 2015 Women in the World panel, in which comedian and moderator Jon Stewart asked Obaid-Chinoy if she considers it “part of the calculation of your art” to “permeate that patriarchy.”
New Star Wars director: "I like to make men uncomfortable. I ENJOY making men uncomfortable." pic.twitter.com/6i0vE5jvHb
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) January 3, 2024
“Oh absolutely. I like to make men uncomfortable,” she said, to laughter and applause from the audience. “I enjoy making men uncomfortable, […] I am working to bring something that makes you uncomfortable, and it should make you uncomfortable because you need to change your attitude.”
Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars movie is tentatively scheduled to hit theaters on May 22, 2026, although whether it stays on target remains to be seen. Under Disney’s stewardship of the franchise, numerous film and television projects with varying degrees of fan anticipation have been canceled due to various factors.