'Star Wars' Still Pushing Woke Storytelling In A Strategy That Seems Far, Far Away From Reality

“Star Wars” isn’t the only franchise to go woke, but it appears the minds behind the saga haven’t learned the “go woke, go broke” golden rule.

The “Terminator” series, “Charlie’s Angels” and others have embraced what Elon Musk calls the “woke mind virus,” often with calamitous results.

The 2019 flop “Terminator: Dark Fate,” the most recent film in the series, earned just $62 million at the U.S. box office. The 1991 “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” scored $205 million in stateside theaters. Keep in mind how much movie ticket prices spiked during that period to get the full picture.

Those two franchises are dead in the cinematic water, and we haven’t seen a new “Star Wars” film since 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” Nor will anything "Star Wars" hit cineplexes before 2023 ends.

Multiple “Star Wars” films have been announced, and shelved, including projects to be directed by Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”), Colin Trevorrow (“Jurassic World”) and Patty Jenkins (“Wonder Woman”).

Star Wars fans blame the saga’s woke mindset for its descent, and they have a point.

“The Last Jedi” featured two Mary Sue characters — Rey and Rose Tico — a pointless, anti-wealth screed and a female leader dressing down the saga’s new Han Solo-esque character, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). 

“Solo” introduced a woke robot, L3-37, and made Lando Calrissian pansexual.

The big irony? Team Disney fired Gina Carano, the popular, empowered heroine from “The Mandalorian” for being too contrarian on social media.

Now, the director of an upcoming “Star Wars” film, assuming it actually gets off the ground, is pushing her woke bona fides for all to see.

The media touted Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy as “the first woman and the first person of color” to helm a “Star Wars” film.” That doesn’t matter to hardcore “Star Wars” fans. They just want someone to summon the beloved saga from its cinematic grave.

Yes, all three recent “Star Wars” sequels made gobs of cash, but 2015’s “The Force Awakens” generated $2 billion globally while “The Rise of Skywalker” brought in roughly half that amount.

That’s a monumental collapse, not to mention 2018’s “Solo: A Star Wars Movie” earned just $392 million in total sales.

Obaid-Chinoy is a respected documentary filmmaker with one geek credit to her name. She directed two episodes of Disney+’s “Ms. Marvel,” a show which hardly rocked the pop culture zeitgeist.

Now, she’s being asked to steer “Star Wars: New Jedi Order” which brings back Daisy Ridley’s bland Rey character for all-new adventures.

Yawn. That's not the worst part.

Obaid-Chinoy can be heard in a one-minute video on social media in which she doubled down on her woke beliefs.


“I’ve always kicked open doors that were previously closed and I think my feeling is that there is a critical mass of women who have begun to move forward in places that were previously closed to them. … a few years ago I began to think about what I wanted to do. Ms Marvel was coming around and I thought about a brown Muslim superhero and what impact she would have on the way young girls see themselves.”

What about a good story, memorable characters and themes that connect to the classic “Star Wars” trilogy? Seems important, no?

Fans have slammed Kathleen Kennedy, the Disney executive who oversees all things "Star Wars," for nudging the saga in the woke direction. Nothing in Obaid-Chinoy's comments suggests Kennedy learned her lesson.

Team Disney continues to push woke storytelling, be it via Disney+ entertainment or a franchise set "in a galaxy far, far away."

Written by
Christian Toto is an award-winning film critic, journalist and founder of HollywoodInToto.com, the Right Take on Entertainment. He’s the author of “Virtue Bombs: How Hollywood Got Woke and Lost Its Soul” and a lifelong Yankees fan. Toto lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife, two sons and too many chickens. Follow Christian on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HollywoodInToto