Doubling down on desires expressed earlier this year by Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the people responsible for Star Wars have recently met with four unnamed directors and three unnamed screenwriters, all women, to potentially join the franchise’s creative team. (It may or may not say something about the current state of the series, feminism-wise, that taking meetings with a bunch of women can be seen as a big step forward.) There are currently five upcoming Star Wars movies—Episodes VII, VIII, and IX, plus Rogue One and the untitled Han Solo prequel—and they’re all being written and directed by men, so it’s nice to see Lucasfilm making cautious steps toward addressing the imbalance.
There’s absolutely nothing hesistant, meanwhile, in Carrie Fisher’s approach to the state of women’s rights in the galaxy far, far away. Having already dished out some advice to her co-star Daisy Ridley, re: letting people treat her like a sex symbol, Fisher is now dropping truth bombs left and right (often accompanied by her dog, whose name is Gary Fisher), as The Force Awakens’ press push marches steadily toward December 18.
Among comments about weight loss and her inability to escape her famous character, Fisher also had some (imaginatively disgusting) words to share with those experiencing a kneejerk negative reaction to one of her most iconic costumes. Asked by The Times about a father who made viral headlines by protesting against Princess (that is, General) Leia action figures featuring the famous “slave bikini” from Return Of The Jedi, Fisher suggested that this is what he should tell his daughters if they ask about the revealing, chain-collared outfit:
“How about telling his daughter that the character is wearing that outfit not because she’s chosen to wear it. She’s been forced to wear it. She’s a prisoner of a giant testicle who has a lot of saliva going on and she does not want to wear that thing and it’s ultimately that chain, which you’re now indicating is some sort of accessory to S&M, that is used to kill the giant saliva testicle…. That’s asinine.”