'About Time;' Rey Movie Director Believes Woman at the Helm is a Major Breakthrough in Star Wars History

During last year's Star Wars Celebration in London, Disney announced several projects that fans of the Star Wars universe will hopefully enjoy in the years to come. Among these upcoming stories will be a feature-length movie titled New Jedi Order, starring Daisy Ridley as Rey.

The movie, work on the set of which should begin any minute now, paints itself as a special show for at least a couple of reasons. One of them is the presence of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as director - the first woman to be behind the camera of a Star Wars movie.

The director recently shared her joy at the task entrusted to her with reporters on CNN.

Star Wars women stand

While the creator's enthusiasm is fully justified, the fragment in which Obaid-Chinoy claims that she will be the first woman to "shape history in a galaxy far, far away" is not quite true.

In the more than 40-year history of Star Wars has saw many female representatives contribute to the blockbuster brand. Suffice it to mention, for example, George Lucas' ex-wife, Marcia Lucas, who served as editor of the original trilogy. It was up to her to properly present the narrative in these timeless productions.

The Empire Strikes Back would probably have been very different if it weren't for Leigh Brackett. Indeed, the filmmaker was responsible for the first version of the film's script. Sadly, the woman died of cancer before she could complete the script, and the text she left behind served as the foundation for the final version of the story written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan.

Also not to be forgotten are the women who stood behind the camera of Star Wars shows. Among them were Bryce Dallas Howard (The Mandalorian), director Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi) and Steph Green (The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka).

So, as you can see for yourself, the female contribution to the development of Star Wars has been invaluable.

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