Jon Favreau (not to be confused with Jon Favreau) has been announced to write and executive produce a new, live-action, Star Wars TV series. The show will be one of the first to stream on Disney’s eventual direct-to-consumer platform that we will all dutifully purchase because The House of Mouse are our new overlords.
Disney has a long working history with Favreau, with the writer/director/actor/producer having started the Marvel Cinematic Universe1 with Iron Man and Iron Man 2, has acted in multiple MCU films since the Disney purchase, and is the director behind 2016’s The Jungle Book and is currently helming next year’s The Lion King “live action” remake. Not to mention that he has roles in both Star Wars Rebels as well as this May’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. He’s basically Disney’s Swiss Army Knife.
But he’s also another middle aged white dude playing in the sandbox that, at this point, only lets white dudes in. When Ron Howard is the most diverse hire you’ve made because he’s a redhead, it starts to get a little difficult to give the benefit of the doubt.
Favreau is talented, and I wish I was more excited for him to get his chance in the Star Wars universe, but it really is getting depressing watching more white guys get these incredible opportunities to explore one of the largest franchises in cinema history — one that almost certainly is financial-flop-proof — without even a hint that these films will be heading in a more diverse direction behind the scenes. This announcement comes on the heels of Black Panther becoming one of the highest grossing films of all time and a day before A Wrinkle in Time, the first blockbuster directed by a woman of color, hits theaters. It feels remarkably tone-deaf on Disney/Lucasfilm’s part and I hope that their next announcement2 is a bit less white-dude-centric.
What do you guys think? Am I being harsh? Tell us in the comments!
