J.J. Abrams says Selma director Ava DuVernay should helm a Star Wars movie

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams have both said they'd like to see a female filmmaker helm a future Star Wars flicks, and during a conversation with Yahoo! Movies, Abrams said his top pick is SELMA director Ava DuVernay.

One name that immediately comes to mind is Ava DuVernay, who I thought did just a mind-blowingly great job with Selma. And getting to know her a little since that movie… she is such a fan of genre films and storytelling.

Abrams went on to say there are other woman directors that would also do a good job, but DuVernay is his "knee-jerk reaction, because she loves the world so much and loves this genre and is such a talented storyteller. So if I had a say in this, which I don’t, I’d give her whatever she wants.”

Although I'd be fine with DuVernay directing one of the upcoming movies, I'm not sure if she'd be interested in tackling a big-budget studio project like Star Wars, especially since she passed on helming Marvel's BLACK PANTHER earlier this year. Who do you think should be the first female Star Wars director?

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS opens on December 18th.