When Variety publishes a major profile on a filmmaker, readers tend to notice not only what’s included — but what’s missing. In the case of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the two-time Oscar-winning director who was once announced to helm a new Star Wars movie centered on Daisy Ridley’s Rey, a major omission might be the biggest story of all.
On October 11th, Variety ran an exclusive piece highlighting Obaid-Chinoy’s work as executive producer on Don’t Be Late, Myra, a short film by Pakistani-American director Afia Nathaniel. The article, which praises Obaid-Chinoy’s support of socially conscious storytelling, describes her as a two-time Academy Award and four-time Emmy winner and notes her experience directing Marvel’s Ms. Marvel.
But one thing the article doesn’t mention — not even in passing — is Star Wars.
Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), Lucasfilm
For fans following the long-promised (threatened?) Rey sequel film directed by Sharmeed Obaid-Chinoy, that silence could speak volumes.
A Director Once Positioned to Lead Star Wars Forward
In April 2023, Lucasfilm officially announced that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy would direct a theatrical Star Wars film set about 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker centered around Rey. Daisy Ridley would return, now rebuilding the Jedi Order. According to Lucasfilm’s own presentation at Star Wars Celebration London, the film was to be the first in a new line of theatrical stories exploring the future of the galaxy far, far away.
At the time, Obaid-Chinoy was candid about her perspective on the project. In one interview, she said, “It’s about time we have a woman shape a story in a galaxy far, far away.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Kathleen Kennedy attends 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 Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
That comment stirred debate among Star Wars fans, not least because the franchise had already been shaped by women for years. Kathleen Kennedy has run Lucasfilm since 2012; Deborah Chow was the show runner and director of Obi-Wan Kenobi; Leslye Headland created, wrote, and directed The Acolyte; and Bryce Dallas Howard has helmed several acclaimed Mandalorian episodes.
Fans also resurfaced an older quote from Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary-filmmaking days where she claimed, “We like to make men uncomfortable. I enjoy making men uncomfortable.”
Though originally said in the context of social-issue activism, not Star Wars, that remark was widely circulated and amplified by critics who felt it signaled a confrontational approach to the beloved space saga.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy 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)
Obaid-Chinoy also described her vision for Rey’s journey as exploring that of a “female Jedi,” a framing that some fans saw as emphasizing gender politics over character growth.
Still, for a time, her Star Wars movie appeared to be moving forward. Writer Damon Lindelof and co-writer Justin Britt-Gibson had been attached early on, later replaced by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight before he too left the project. The movie reportedly bore the working title New Jedi Order and was intended to arrive in theaters December 2026.
Then, the galaxy went quiet.
Vanishing Acts: Writers Exit, Release Dates Removed
In October 2024, The Playlist broke the story that Steven Knight had exited the film, leaving its script in limbo. A few months later, Disney quietly pulled the untitled Star Wars slot from its December 2026 release calendar, replacing it with Ice Age 6 instead.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: (L-R) Daisy Ridley, Kathleen Kennedy and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy attend 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 Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
By mid-2025, the trades began referring to the Rey-centered movie as “on hold.” Inside the Magic reported in June that Disney had “suspended production” on the project while shifting focus toward other planned films, including Shawn Levy’s Starfighter.
To muddy the waters further, in January 2025, ComicBookMovie.com claimed Lucasfilm had tapped screenwriter George Nolfi (Ocean’s 12, The Bourne Ultimatum) to rewrite the project — proof, perhaps, that it was still alive, albeit barely.
That leaves the film in what Hollywood veterans call “development limbo” — neither canceled nor active, neither alive nor dead.
Variety’s Omission: A Signal or a Coincidence?
This brings us back to the present.
Variety’s October 2025 profile of Obaid-Chinoy is glowing, detailed, and clearly based on her team’s own promotional materials. It celebrates her humanitarian values and creative leadership. But the lack of any mention of Star Wars — a brand normally impossible for publicists to resist — feels deliberate.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy 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)
If the Rey movie were still a cornerstone of Lucasfilm’s future, it would likely appear in any current biographical paragraph about its director. Instead, the article names Ms. Marvel as her major studio credit and focuses on Don’t Be Late, Myra, a short about child safety in Lahore.
That kind of editorial omission doesn’t happen by accident. Publicists and trade editors know how to frame a client’s narrative. If they leave something out, it’s usually because that subject is either:
- In flux — too uncertain to discuss publicly, or
- Out of frame — meaning it no longer fits the image they want to project.
Either way, it doesn’t suggest a film charging confidently toward production.
A Galaxy in Holding Pattern
Lucasfilm still lists multiple theatrical projects “in development,” including Obaid-Chinoy’s New Jedi Order. But development status is not the same as green-light status. Many films linger on internal slates long after creative momentum has evaporated.
(L-R): Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel / Kamala Khan on the set of Marvel Studios‘ MS. MARVEL, exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Chuck Zlotnick. ©Marvel Studios 2022. All Rights Reserved.
Meanwhile, the studio’s energy appears concentrated elsewhere — namely The Mandalorian & Grogu, the Starfighter project. If any of these hit big, Disney may attempt to resurrect the Rey movie down the line, with or without Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. For now, though, the odds look bleak.
The Bottom Line
The Variety omission doesn’t officially kill the Rey film or the involvement of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy in it, but it may be the clearest indication yet that it’s on life support.
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 07: (L-R) Daisy Ridley, Kathleen Kennedy and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy attend 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 Jeff Spicer/Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Disney)
After two years of creative turnover, vanished release dates, and radio silence from Lucasfilm, the absence of even a passing mention in Obaid-Chinoy’s latest high-profile coverage reads like a quiet retreat. The director is moving forward — just not to that galaxy far, far away.
Until Disney says otherwise, fans can file Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and the Rey Star Wars movie under “frozen in carbonite.”
Do you think Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will direct the Rey movie for Lucasfilm? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
Daisy has been put out to pasture.
Girl brands are not “cool”, so to speak. Men are into Luke, Han and Darth Vader (not the castrated Disney versions). They are “cool” characters. Leia, however, was never “cool”. She was eye candy, and iconic in the bikini as Jabba’s slave chick, and there to be rescued, the popular damsel in distress plot. Such a plot is a money-spinner.
Disney now dictates that, the Force is “female”, and insists on Star Wars being centred around girl bosses. This is not “cool”, not in a million years. The feminists at Disney committed brandicide (brand murder). And, guess what? The result is, no new movie in 7 years, and TV shows that are a sad joke (and boring).
I’ll just keep voting with my wallet. No more feminism, DEI, or alphabet stuff.