Rey Star Wars Movie Will be “Very Special” Because a Woman is Directing, Says Director

Movies

In some super-shocking news you’ll never believe till you see for yourself, the director of the upcoming Star Wars movie centered around Rey, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, thinks the film will be “very special” because it’s being directed by a woman. In an interview with CNN, Obaid-Chinoy said this:

“You know, I’m very thrilled about the project because I think what we are about  to create is something very special. And, you know, we’re 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.”

That’s how you know this movie will suck. Obaid-Chinoy says nothing about the story, characters, themes, action, lore, or anything having to do with the film itself; it’s just another “Finally, a female director!” demand for applause. That’s what people do when they know they’ve got nothing substantial to offer. (“Please clap.”) Kathryn Bigelow never has to do this because she makes good movies that speak for themselves; unless they read about it or paid attention to the credits, nobody would’ve known American Psycho was directed by a woman (Mary Harron) because she didn’t feel the need to make her sex more important than the amazing film she made. Staying with movies geared towards guys, Amy Heckerling directed the classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Penelope Spheeris directed Wayne’s World, and neither of them made themselves the story. How long can they con idiots into thinking this is a battle that still needs to be fought?

This kind of talk is setting up the marketing of the Rey movie, which will be more lecturing, more finger wagging, more accusations made against anyone with a criticism – exactly the right way to get people ready to lose themselves in a fun sci-fi adventure fantasy. But, then, it most assuredly won’t be that because it’s from Lucasfilm, and Lucasfilm abandoned fun and immersion around the time Rey slapped Finn’s helping hand away in The Force Awakens. Even when they’ve got something that leans towards fun, like The Mandalorian, eventually the message must seep in, which is why an entire potentially interesting storyline that was set up at the end of season 3 was jettisoned so Bo-Katan could take center stage and the ostensible lead of the series could pledge himself to her. Some of these things aren’t problems in themselves, but they become problems because they occur at the expense of the story and characters; if the rumors of this new film involving Rey re-forming the Jedi (instead of Luke Skywalker) are true, it’ll be yet another example of that. This is what Star Wars is now: a gender studies lecture in space.