The Force Awakens Director J.J. Abrams talks Female Writers and Directors for Future Star Wars Films
Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams sat down with NERDIST to talk about the future of the Star Wars franchise and which female writers and directors he’d like to see tackle a Star Wars film.
President of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy has said that she would like to bring in more female writers and directors to the Star Wars franchise for future Star Wars film projects. Nerdist sat down with The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams, to discuss this very topic. Check it out. You can watch the video HERE, as there are some embedding problems. But watch the interview, because it’s really quite good.
What I find interesting about this interview is that while Abrams does say that there are quite a few female writers/directors that would do amazing work in the Star Wars franchise, his “knee-jerk reaction” would be Selma director Ava DuVernay. Abrams praises DuVernay’s telling of the Selma story:
"“When you look at her work in Selma…which was as well told and as sophisticated and, and human a film as I think has come out in the last decade. I mean, she is someone…If she can do that story that well, uhh, there is no question she could kill this movie.”"
DuVernay’s name seems to be the name brought up more often than not, whenever a big-budget blockbuster film comes available. Perhaps this is why J.J. Abrams praises DuVernay’s passion for “genre filmmaking” and how she expertly brought Martin Luther King Jr.’s story life in the Oscar-winning film. Nerdist points out that DuVernay recently had a Barbie doll made of her likeness (which is apparently sold out), that comes complete with a director’s chair.
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It would be great to see how a female director/writer would tackle a Star Wars film, and would be a great moment that would blaze a trail for other female writer/directors to get involved with the franchise. Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters worldwide on December 17 and 18.