by Ray Keating
News and Commentary
DisneyBizJournal.com
January 9, 2024
Well, there certainly has been a good deal of news flowing around Star Wars in recent days – both good news and bad news.
Since I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, let’s start with the good news.
Disney announced today that the Mandalorian and Grogu will be featured in a movie to be directed by Jon Favreau. The Mandalorian & Grogu will go into production this year. Favreau was quoted: “I have loved telling stories set in the rich world that George Lucas created. The prospect of bringing the Mandalorian and his apprentice Grogu to the big screen is extremely exciting.”
Favreau. Star Wars. The big screen. That’s good news.
Unfortunately, one does have to wonder about the timing of this announcement given the firestorm Disney has faced with revelations about the views of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who is slated to direct the next Star Wars movie focused on the Rey character.
Chinoy is a Pakistani-Canadian journalist and two-time Oscar-winning documentarian. And from what I can tell, she has confronted how women are mistreated in various Muslim nations. Good for her. She also directed a couple of episodes of the lightly-watched Disney+ Ms. Marvel series. That’s not so good. Without rehashing the full controversy here, comments that Chinoy made at a conference several years ago and recently on CNN (get more information here) point to her to being long on feminist ideology and activism, and rather short on discernment and balance. Her resume also appears quite brief and peculiar to be handed a major sci-fi/fantasy film in the massive and troubled Star Wars franchise. Unfortunately for her and for Disney, it’s hard to not see her Star Wars hiring as being based on ideology and/or a quota, as opposed to a track record that indicated she would be ideal for a Star Wars movie. As this controversy emerged, questions come to mind about Disney perhaps not doing their homework on this hire. Naturally, leftist commentators are trying to paint criticisms of Chinoy as being misogynistic, but these responses seem to amount to little more than ad hominem attacks.
Listen, I get it. These debates tend to degrade into ugliness, and often-questionable motivations are at work. But from a straight business standpoint, does it make sense to hand a major Star Wars film to a director who lacks experience, and seems to have a tough time keeping her views in check? It’s safe to say that I probably disagree with 90 percent of the political views espoused in Hollywood, but that doesn’t stop me from recognizing and appreciating good storytelling from people with whom I disagree. And if the Chinoy Star Wars film goes forward, I hope she makes a film that can be enjoyed by all. Unfortunately, many of her statements make me wonder if she can overcome her politics in order to make such a movie.
As a fan, I recognize that much of Star Wars is about hope. So, here’s hoping for the best. As a stockholder, however, I would appreciate serious decision-making about storytelling and customers that provide a more solid foundation for such hope.
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Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com; and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries, the Alliance of Saint Michael novels, and assorted nonfiction books. Have Ray Keating speak your group, business, school, church, or organization. Email him at raykeating@keatingreports.com.
The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?
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