At least seven female filmmakers have met with executives at Lucasfilm about working on future “Star Wars” movies, an individual familiar with the discussions told TheWrap.
But a woman directing the high-profile franchise can only happen in a galaxy far, far away since Disney has male directors lined up for its first five “Star Wars” movies, slated through 2019.
Nonetheless, WME partner Adriana Alberghetti set up meetings this fall for four female directors and three screenwriters with Lucasfilm executives, the insider said, inspired by a top-secret confab of leading industry figures in October to discuss gender disparity issues in Hollywood.
The meetings, which were first reported by the L.A. Times, occurred just after Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy complained at a Fortune media conference in mid-October that no women had expressed interest in writing or directing projects on the high-profile series.
In an explosive New York Times magazine story last month about sexism in show business, Kennedy said she had not received “one single phone call from a woman telling me that she really, really wants to direct a ‘Star Wars’ movie.”
Reps for Lucasfilm and WME declined to comment, and the identities of the women who took meetings is not known.
But Alberghetti has some high-profile clients who would make sense on a “Star Wars” project — including S.J. Clarkson, director of Netflix/Marvel series “Jessica Jones,” and prolific writer/producer Marti Noxon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”).
There’s a lot of space travel booked before a female-helmed “Star Wars” project sees the light of day.
In addition to J.J. Abrams‘ “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opening on Dec. 18, Disney is preparing “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” with Gareth Edwards, “Episode VIII” with Rian Johnson, an untitled Han Solo story with Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and “Episode IX” with “Jurassic World”‘s Colin Trevorrow.
The male-skewing lineup behind the camera continues an ongoing pattern for studio tentpoles. In the past two years, only 1.9 percent of the directors of the 100 top-grossing films were women, one of many depressing statistics that led to the October conference on gender parity.
It’s not just Kennedy who thinks the time is nigh for a female perspective. During a promo stop for “The Force Awakens” on Tuesday, director Abrams sparked complaints with comments about the franchise’s male-female audience divide.
“‘Star Wars’ was always a boys’ thing and a movie that dads could take their sons to, and though that’s still very much the case, I was really hoping this could be a movie that mothers could take their daughters to as well,” Abrams said. “I’m looking forward to kids seeing this movie and seeing themselves in it and seeing that they’re capable of doing things that they never imagined possible.”
Women’s pop culture blog The Muse plainly called Abrams’ comments “a very weird thing to say,” maintaining the franchise was and always will be for all audiences. They also took issue with quotes from George Lucas in a CBS News interview in which he said the nearly 40-year-old franchise was “about generations, and issues of fathers and sons and grandfathers. It’s a family soap opera.”
Despite claims to the contrary, The Muse said women “refuse” to let culture make “Star Wars” an all-boy phenomenon. Getting a woman behind the camera would be a start.
'Star Wars: The Force Awakens': 9 Galaxy-Shaking Revelations From New Trailer (Photos)
1. "Who are you?" This is our first glimpse is of Rey (Daisy Ridley) dressed in heavy-duty sand planet gear, fitted with repurposed lenses from a Stormtrooper helmet. The Force is strong with this one!
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2. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is the ultimate fanboy -- he styles his look after the Dark Lord of the Sith and keeps Darth Vader's charred helmet on a plinth. Ren is clearly in hero-worshipping mode.
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3. "I've got nothing to fight for," says Finn (John Boyega), which should put to rest any theories he's not a real Stormtrooper. The trailer paints him as a soldier of the New Order who no longer believes in the cause.
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4. An epic battle over a lush green planet with temple ruins lead some fans to have a new hope for a return to Yavin 4, the location of the first Rebel Base from the original film. (P.S. pay attention to Finn's jacket; it's important later.)
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5. We finally see our first glimpse of Leia Organa Solo (Carrie Fisher), being consoled by her husband, Han (Harrison Ford). Is Luke's mysterious absence from the film's promotional materials the reason she's sad?
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6. The closest lead we have on the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is this shot of a robotic hand resting on R2-D2. Other than that, your guess is as good as ours.
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7. Many believe that the mysterious voice bookending the trailer ("Just let it in") belongs to Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o), who was possibly featured on the film's poster.
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8. Originally a skeptic in "hokey religions and ancient weapons," Han Solo (Harrison Ford) seems to be teaching Rey and Finn about how all the stories about Jedi and The Dark Side are true. (Remember, the jacket is important.)
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9. Is Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron under mind control? Bear with us as we piece together the evidence for our first crazy theory.
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An earlier teaser showed Resistance fighter pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) sporting a familiar worn jacket.
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Comic-Con footage let us view a shot of a captured Poe being led by a Stormtrooper to an uncertain fate. Could that possibly be Finn holding Poe at blaster point?
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In the new trailer, Ren subjects Poe to a new kind of Force torture (not a Force choke as some fans think, as that particular move makes it impossible to do anything other than gag).
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Finn later crashes down on a desert planet, now in possession of Poe's jacket which he seems to wear through the rest of the film.
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When Poe encounters Finn again, he doesn't seem to recognize his jacket. In fact, the look on his face seems menacing. Finn, meanwhile, seems to know something's up. Is the Force telling him something?
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From a first glimpse at Princess Leia to speculation about Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron, TheWrap details the biggest takeaways from new teaser for J.J. Abrams’ eagerly awaited movie
1. "Who are you?" This is our first glimpse is of Rey (Daisy Ridley) dressed in heavy-duty sand planet gear, fitted with repurposed lenses from a Stormtrooper helmet. The Force is strong with this one!