Star Wars director wants a woman or person of colour to direct franchise

Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson has called for Disney to consider a diverse range of filmmakers for following instalments in the franchise.

The European premiere for Episode VIII was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London earlier this week, ahead of the film's release on December 14. And the 43-year-old director, who makes his Star Wars directorial debut with The Last Jedi, said during a press conference in London that he feels "it's time" a woman or person of colour was brought in to direct one of the films. According to NME, he said:

“There are so many incredibly talented female directors [and] directors of colour out there, and so many I would love to see play in this universe. “So hell yes, please, I’d love it to happen.”

It comes after Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy told how they were looking at bringing in a female director "when the time is right". She previously told Variety:

“We want to make sure that when we bring a female director in to do 'Star Wars', they’re set up for success. “They’re gigantic films, and you can’t come into them with essentially no experience.”

She added that the Lucasfilm team was looking to bring in talented women filmmakers who are in the early stages of their career - and they would bring them in "when the time is right". She said:

“We want to really start to focus in on people we would love to work with and see what kinds of things they’re doing to progress up that ladder now, and then pull them in when the time is right.”