As the movement to bring more female voices to Hollywood gains more momentum, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy says she wants to bring in a woman director to helm one of the upcoming Star Wars films. There are a number of talented names to choose from — any number of Vulture’s list of 100 women directors would do — but J.J. Abrams, who directed The Force Awakens, name dropped Selma director Ava DuVernay as a prime candidate.
During an interview with Yahoo Movies, Abrams said:
One name that immediately comes to mind is Ava DuVernay, who I thought did just a mind-blowingly great job with Selma. And getting to know her a little since that movie… she is such a fan of genre films and storytelling.
After directing David Oyelowo in 2014’s Selma, DuVernay became one to watch and a prominent voice amid the diversity discussion. She’s tackled a number of issues, including the white-washing fiasco with The Gods of Egypt and the gender imbalance in Hollywood, on social media. Marvel courted her to helm the Chadwick Boseman-led Black Panther movie, but she declined over creative differences. However, it would seem that she’s not opposed to directing something so grand as a big-budget blockbuster, so perhaps Star Wars is up her alley, assuming the powers that be give her ample room to do what she does so well.
Other names directing Star Wars films — so far — are Gareth Edwards (Rogue One anthology film), Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the Han Solo anthology film), Rian Johnson (Episode VIII), and Colin Trevorrow (Episode IX). Josh Trank was previously attached to helm the second anthology film but fell off the project after all the drama with the Fantastic Four reboot. As of right now, we know there will at least be one more anthology film, though it wouldn’t be a shock to see more installments added, especially if The Force Awakens lands big bucks at the box office.
