The Force is with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy: the “Ms. Marvel” director has been tapped to helm a “Star Wars” film. Deadline reports that the script is still being written, and plot details remain under wraps.
Obaid-Chinoy is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker who is set to make her narrative feature directorial debut with “Brilliance,” a futuristic story about a world where non-neurotypical people — and their gifts, which include reading people’s secrets by how they fold their arms — are demonized by society.
Two of Obaid-Chinoy’s shorts, “Saving Face” and “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness,” won Oscars and Emmys. Her feature docs include “Song of Lahore” and “A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers.” Most recently, she directed two episodes of Iman Vellani-starrer “Ms. Marvel.”
“My advice to other female directors would be to pay no heed to naysayers,” Obaid-Chinoy told us. “Women can be united in the fact that there has always been someone in our lives who has told us, ‘It can’t be done’ or ‘There is only so much you can do.’ We are constantly encouraged to think that being born a woman means we were born with limited choices and compromised dreams.”
“Wonder Woman” helmer Patty Jenkins signed on to direct a “Star Wars” pic back in 2020. Originally slated for a 2023 release, the film, titled “Rogue Squadron,” was pulled from Disney’s schedule this September. It’s unclear whether the project is still happening or when to expect it.
