‘Iron Man’ Director Jon Favreau Will Write a New Star Wars TV Series
Not everyone is happy about it.
Jon Favreau was the director for Iron Man 1 and 2, so he knows his way around huge, popular franchises. Sounds like he’d be a natural choice for writing and producing a new Star Wars show.
A Lucasfilm announcement made Thursday indicated Disney agrees. Favreau will be filling those roles for the series set to air on Disney’s still unnamed streaming service.
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in the announcement that she “couldn’t be more excited about Jon coming on board to produce and write for the new direct-to-consumer platform.”
Kennedy stated that Favreau will bring “the perfect mix of producing and writing talent, combined with a fluency in the Star Wars universe.” She concluded by saying the new series will provide Favreau with the “chance to work with a diverse group of writers and directors and give Lucasfilm the opportunity to build a robust talent base.
Favreau is obviously stoked (who wouldn’t be?), indicating his long-lasting love of the franchise and calling the chance an “adventure.”
Plenty of fans made it clear via social media that they weren’t happy about Favreau’s involvement—mostly because he’s a straight white dude. Just a small sample characteristic of many tweets by pissed-off social justice warriors.
https://twitter.com/kaludiasays/status/971766182184456192https://twitter.com/ChrisSedor/status/971766168158601221
I love Jon Favreau. I think he's actually one of the good white dudes, and a super talented filmmaker to boot!!
But for the love of our lord and space queen Ahsoka Tano, how unbelievably tone deaf can you be, Lucasfilm? #InternationalWomensDay
— Allyson "SkekAll the Hero" Gronowitz (@TheFakeFangirl) March 8, 2018
Others didn’t see the problem and kind of wanted everyone else to shut up about it—because that’s basically how social media works, after all.
https://twitter.com/derek_ober/status/971791532775956480
People are actually mad that they hired Jon Favreau, a very talented writer and director, to create a Star Wars series because he’s white and straight, not LGTBQ or a POC. I’ve got some advice for you all, shut up.
— Garrett McCall (@mccallgarrett) March 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/ElwinRansom/status/971798304785870848
No one is going to like this take, but both sides kind of have a point. Disney employs plenty of diverse people. White dudes also do run a ton of things.
That said, many on both sides agree that Jon Favreau knows what he’s doing, and with him on board, the series should kick ass.
Maybe that’s what matters most, in the end.
h/t The Verge