Victoria Mahoney to be the first female black director to helm a significant part of Star Wars
Star Wars is creating history! The Star Wars franchise has taken a big step as they are hiring their first ever black female director. The news was shared by A Wrinkle in Time director, Ava DuVernay on her Twitter account. Ava could not contain her excitement and had to share the exciting news.
She informed fans that the upcoming Episode IX film's director and executive producer, J.J. Abrams, hired Victoria Mahoney as the second unit director for the film. This would mean that Victoria would become the first woman ever to get hired to direct the much-awaited movie of all time. "Happy to share this historic news," Ava wrote on her Twitter on Tuesday (April 17).
"A black woman directing stories in a galaxy far, far away. First unit director #JJAbrams. Second unit director @VictoriaMahoney. #StarWarsE9 #StarWars," she added. It seems like the cast and crew were planning to keep it a secret but thanks to Ava. Victoria got to share this happiness with everyone.
She retweeted Ava's tweet and thanked her for helping her land the position. "Catt's outta the bag. Thank you @ava for putting my name in the #StarWars #LucasFilm hat," she shared on her Twitter. "Thank you #JJAbrams for inviting me on your ferocious ride. *This one's for the outliers, dreaming big--in small corners of the Earth."
Being the second unit director for the film, Victoria's job role will consist of being in charge of supplementary footage that includes establishing shots, filming stunts, inserts, and cutaways. Prior to this, Victoria had been part of some of the greatest television shows of all time. These include Grey's Anatomy, Power, Gypsy, Seven Seconds, and DuVernay's Queen Sugar.
She recently directed a pilot for CBS called Red Line and got a chance to work along with her friend Ava and Greg Berlanti. At the same time, Victoria has also left her mark on the film forum and has also written, produced, directed her debut feature Yelling to the Sky.
