Daisy Ridley, who will be reprising her role as Rey in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars film, attempted to tamp down or at the very least redirect the feminist narrative surrounding the film.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
That feminist narrative has been spearheaded by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy who recently rekindled it on New Year’s Eve when she made the absurd comment to CNN, “I am very thrilled about the project because I think what we are about to create is something very special. And we are in 2024 now and I think it’s about time we had a woman come forward to shape the story in a galaxy far, far away.”
Lucasfilm has been run by Kathleen Kennedy since George Lucas sold the company to The Walt Disney Corporation in 2012. Thus a woman has been shaping Star Wars for over a decade.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Kathleen Kennedy onstage during the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 attends the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
READ: New Star Wars Rumor Claims Daisy Ridley’s Rey Is Killed In Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy New Jedi Order Film
This wasn’t the first time that Obaid-Chinoy used feminist talking points to discuss the film. Back in May 2023 she told Vice News, “My name is Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and I’m directing the next Star Wars film. I’m excited about bringing Daisy Ridley back into the Star Wars galaxy, and in telling her story, I am excited to be immersed in the Jedi Academy, and I think there is so much excitement around the new Jedi order.”
She continued, “I’ve always kicked open doors that were previously closed, and I think my feeling is that there is a critical mass of women who have begun to move forward in places that were previously closed to them.”
@vicenews Pakistan-born Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will be the first woman and person of colour to direct one of three new Star Wars films. She’s Muslim, brown, an Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and this is her first major Hollywood feature. #StarWars #womenoftiktok #Pakistan #southasian #director #movie #film #msmarvel #daisyridley #jedi ♬ original sound – VICE News
Daisy Ridley tamped down this narrative that Obaid-Chinoy has been pushing in an interview with Variety’s Rebecca Rubin.
Rubin asked, “You’re reprising your role as Rey in a new “Star Wars” movie directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. How will the franchise’s first female filmmaker impact the series?”
Ridley responded, “The short answer is I don’t know. I’m excited to do the job, but not because Sharmeen is a woman.”
“Her documentaries are amazing. Her idea for the story is cool as shit. No spoilers, but she gave me a rundown of the entire story. If it weren’t amazing, I would have been like, ‘OK, call me in five years.’ But it’s worthwhile,” she added.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Daisy Ridley onstage during the studio panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London at ExCel on April 07, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for Disney)
READ: Rumor: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy And Daisy Ridley’s Rey Movie To Be Dumped On Disney+
Earlier this month, Ridley had similar comments while speaking with AlloCiné, “Once I knew what the story was and everything, I knew that it was something I really wanted to do. I think it’s a really fantastic exploration of the Star Wars world.”
“It’s a really cool way of taking the story on in a bit of a different direction,” she added.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
As for what the film is about, Kennedy informed IGN at Star Wars Celebration back in April, “We’re 15 years out from Rise of Skywalker. So we’re kind of post-war, post-First Order and the Jedi are in disarray. And there’s a lot of discussion around who are the Jedi, what are they doing, what’s the state of the galaxy? And she’s attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order based on the books, based on what she promised Luke.”
Kennedy concluded, “So that’s where we’re going.”
She also told Games Radar, “I think what’s always great about Star Wars is it’s a big galaxy, and we’re coming off what was a major war with the First Order. And now, Rey has made a promise to Luke and that’s really the core of where we’re going and what this story will be.”
“And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter,” she added.
She also revealed how the film would connect to James Mangold’s origin of the Force film, “It was something that Jim [Mangold] immediately sparked to, and I think it’s a really nice compliment to what we’re doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from. Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool.”
Daisy Ridley as Rey and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens (2015), Lucasfilm
What do you make of Daisy Ridley’s new comments?
