Ms. Marvel's Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy To Direct Damon Lindelof's New Star Wars Film
The galaxy might just be getting through "Andor," but that isn't slowing down the "Star Wars" machine going at lightspeed with other projects. "The Mandalorian" will be back on the job early next year, and "Ahsoka" is not too far behind either, ensuring the small screen side of the galaxy far, far away has a carbonite cut structure in place. The big screen? Not so much. Currently, Patty Jenkins' "Rogue Squadron" movie has been shelved, and there's still no confirmation of whether Rian Johnson's trilogy is any closer to getting the green light. Though, panic not "Star Wars" fans, as just like a new hope, there is another — and it's a Marvel favorite, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who worked on Disney+'s "Ms. Marvel," at the helm of it.
Still logged as the highest-rated Marvel show on Rotten Tomatoes, "Ms. Marvel" was the vibrant, refreshing chapter the MCU needed that debut New Jersey hero Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani). Obaid-Chinoy was behind two of its strongest episodes, "Seeing Red" and "Time and Again," and is on the cards to provide the same sort of energy to the now 45-year-old franchise (via Deadline). Even more exciting is that she'll be working alongside Damon Lindelof to bring their specific sci-fi adventure to life.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Damon Lindelof's Star Wars collaboration is a top-secret endeavor
This will mark the first time Lindelof joins the "Star Wars" franchise after his old work buddy, J.J. Abrams, revived it with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and "The Rise of Skywalker." After the two changed television as we know it with "Lost," Lindelof also worked on other franchise chapters, including the "Alien" prequel, "Prometheus" and the sequel to 2009's "Star Trek" — "Star Trek Into Darkness." According to Deadline's sources, Lindelof will be co-writing the project with another scribe, yet to be revealed. Well, you know what they say — "Always two, there are."
It's interesting to see what direction this new big-picture project for "Star Wars" takes us, given that the last one was seen as somewhat of a misstep by both fans and critics alike. With its rather unexpected return of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and John Boyega's character, Finn, being sidelined to yelling for most of the film, the cinematic comeback, whatever it is, needs to be a big one. Given that some of the best moments in recent years have been with characters sharing no link to the Skywalker family tree, it's possible the film could take some cues from the TV side of things. "The Mandalorian" has become a compelling character in his own right, and just about every "Andor" episode has hit its target effortlessly. Here's hoping this is enough of a gauge for Disney and Lucasfilm to maybe keep away from the family consisting of Jedi, Sith, and sand that gets everywhere. Fingers and lightsabers crossed.