Star Wars universe confirms its first black female director
In an important step in the right direction towards more diversity in the movies, Lucasfilm has hired director Victoria Mahoney for Star Wars: Episode IX.
Mahoney will be J.J. Abrams’ second unit director, a key role in the film’s production, and is the first black female director to get behind the camera in the long-running franchise.
Ava DuVernay, director of A Wrinkle In Time for Disney, appears to have had some influence on the matter too.
She tweeted the news first, posting a pic of Mahoney and J.J. Abrams along with her sincerest congratulations.
“Happy to share this historic news. A black woman directing stories in a galaxy far, far away. First unit director #JJAbrams. Second unit director @VictoriaMahoney,” she wrote.
Happy to share this historic news. A black woman directing stories in a galaxy far, far away. First unit director #JJAbrams. Second unit director @VictoriaMahoney. #StarWarsE9 #StarWars pic.twitter.com/s689jv9I4u
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 17, 2018
Mahoney then added: “Catt’s outta the bag. Thank you @ava for putting my name in the #StarWars #LucasFilm hat. Thank you #JJAbrams for inviting me on your ferocious ride. *This one’s for the outliers, dreaming big–in small corners of the Earth.”
Catt's outta the bag. Thank you @ava for putting my name in the #StarWars #LucasFilm hat. Thank you #JJAbrams for inviting me on your ferocious ride. *This one's for the outliers, dreaming big–in small corners of the Earth.
#MaytheForceBeWithYou https://t.co/G6ckWzCIwt— Vic Mahoney (@VictoriaMahoney) April 17, 2018
Lucasfilm has not been without criticism for its apparent propensity towards hiring almost exclusively middle-aged white men to make its movies.
It received flack for both its recent announcements; that the Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will be behind a new trilogy of movies, while Jon Favreau was recently signed up to make the franchise’s first live-action TV series.
They joined previous helmsmen including Rian Johnson on The Last Jedi, Gareth Edwards on Rogue One, and Phil Lord and Chris Miller – then Ron Howard – on Solo.
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