Daisy Ridley 'Star Wars' Movie Director Fired?

Almost nothing is known about the upcoming new Star Wars movie featuring Daisy Ridley returning as Rey Skywalker, but rumors are already swirling that Lucasfilm has fired Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy before production has even begun. But where did those rumors come from?

Daisy Ridley and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on stage at Star Wars Celebration announcing Rey's new movie — Credit: Lucasfilm via Twitter

Lucasfilm has not made a statement to indicate whether she has been fired from the upcoming film, so everything has to be taken with a grain of salt at the moment. However, there has been an undeniable amount of controversy around the Daisy Ridley Star Wars movie so far, largely around the director and some comments she made several years ago.

A video clip of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy resurfaced in the last several months in which she said, “I like to make men uncomfortable,” which was swiftly taken by some areas of Star Wars fandom to be related to her upcoming Daisy Ridley film. However, it was quickly determined that the comment was from eight years ago (long before she was a candidate for Lucasfilm, presumably) and in the context of her acclaimed documentaries regarding the abuse of women in Pakistan.

Star Wars Daisy Ridley Oscar Isaac John Boyega — Credit: Lucasfilm

Her full comment reads:

“I like to make men uncomfortable…I enjoy making men uncomfortable. It is important to be able to look into the eyes of a man and say, ‘I am here and recognize that, recognize that I am working here to bring something that makes you uncomfortable, and it should make you uncomfortable because you need to change your attitude… it’s only when you’re uncomfortable… when you have to have difficult conversations, that you will perhaps look at yourself in the mirror and not like the reflection. And then say maybe there is something wrong with the way I think, or maybe there’s something wrong with the way that I am addressing this issue.”

Given that Daisy Ridley has already faced sexist and misogynistic rhetoric from some Star Wars fans for her role as the lead of the Disney sequel trilogy, it is no surprise that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy would receive a backlash of her own. As the first female director (as well as person of color) to direct a Star Wars movie, the mere announcement of the new Star Wars movie was bound to get similar comments. Even billionaire Elon Musk has weighed in to support a hypothetical lawsuit against Disney, the entire premise of which is hiring a woman is bad for business.

It appears that the inflammatory rumors that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has been fired from her Star Wars movie originated with YouTuber Mike Zeroh, who claims Disney decided to “fire and remove” the director “in the wake of the Rey movie backlash.” Once again, there has been no indication from either Disney or Lucasfilm that this is the case.

Rey wielding a blue lightsaber as she listens to Jedi spirits star wars — Credit: Lucasfilm

At the moment, we have to assume that Disney and Lucasfilm are weathering the backlash against having a supposedly “woke” director for the new movie until we hear confirmation otherwise.

The upcoming Star Wars movie will take place after the events of The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and finds Rey (Ridley) attempting to build a New Jedi Order in the aftermath of a galactic war. The film does not yet have a scheduled release date, and it has not been announced whether any of Ridley’s co-stars from the sequel trilogy will reappear.

Inside the Magic reached out to Lucasfilm for comment, but has not heard back by the time of publishing.

What do you think of the rumors about Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy being fired? Tell us in the comments below!