Things We Saw Today: Lucasfilm Hires a Woman for a Crucial Role, How About Female Directors Next?

As Lucasfilm gears up for their post-The Rise of Skywalker slate of film and television, they’ve brought on The Rise of Skywalker producer Michelle Rejwan as the senior vice president of live action development and production. Rejwan worked with JJ Abrams on several projects, including serving as a producer on The Rise of Skywalker.

Naturally, this has led to some fanbros on the Internet crying that she’s under-qualified for the position. However, now that she’s worked on two separate Star Wars projects (she also served as a co-producer on The Force Awakens), I’d like to think she has the chops, and more importantly the understanding of what makes Star Wars tick, to handle the coming projects that Lucasfilm has in the pipeline.

IndieWire’s Kate Erbland wisely pointed out in a piece titled “Star Wars Continues to Embrace Female Leadership, As Long As They’re Not Directing Films” that Lucasfilm hires women into leadership positions in the company, but that women are not often seen behind the camera. So far, no Star Wars film has been directed by a woman, though the upcoming series The Mandalorian will feature episodes directed by women. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has said she wants to hire a woman, but so far none have been brought on board.

While I’m glad to see Rejwan take on a leadership role behind the camera, I’m also hoping that the hiring of women behind the scenes means that women will be hired into director positions sooner rather than later. It’s beyond time for a woman to take over directing a Star Wars film.

(via Variety, image: Lucasfilm)

• Netflix lands Lin-Manuel Miranda’s latest directorial effort, Tick Tick … Boom. (via Variety)
• Max Landis dropped by manager following an article detailing alleged abuse. (via Deadline)
• Facebook employees break NDAs to explain what life is like doing moderation for the company. (via The Verge)
• Google hasn’t released a doodle to celebrate Juneteenth, so artist Davian Chester created a logo. (via Twitter)

So I noticed @Google didn’t create a doodle for #Juneteenth2019. So I decided to help out. pic.twitter.com/DZGRVKZo0F

— Davian Chester (@Real_Toons) June 19, 2019

• Male pastors read the sexist hate that their female colleagues receive. (via Huffington Post)
• CBS signs a pledge to audition disabled actors. (via The Hollywood Reporter)
• Finally, we here at the Sue have something special coming up for you all. Stay tuned…

Exciting things are on the horizon here at the Mary Sue! Stay tuned… pic.twitter.com/aBIcIbg0hQ

— The Mary Sue (@TheMarySue) June 14, 2019

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