Victoria Mahoney Becomes the Star Wars Universe’s First Black Female Director
Mahoney will serve as second unit director on J.J. Abrams' Episode IX
Photos by Sean Gallup/Getty Movies News Victoria Mahoney
With so much momentum behind female directors, another historic moment has been made, as actress/director Victoria Mahoney has become the first black woman to direct a Star Wars film with Star Wars: Episode IX, as reported by Deadline.
Lucasfilm and J.J. Abrams handpicked Mahoney to act as second unit director for the final chapter in the Star Wars saga. This is not Mahoney’s first time behind the camera, as she helmed the 2011 semi-autobiographical film Yelling to the Sky.
Since the release of Yelling to the Sky, Mahoney has directed primarily for episodic television, with credits including Queen Sugar, Grey’s Anatomy, Power, Claws and most recently, Netflix’s Misfits. She spent her early career as an actress, appearing on TV series like Seinfeld and Sliders, and in films like Legally Blonde.
See the tweets director Ava DuVernay and Mahoney put out about the historic announcement.
Happy to share this historic news. A black woman directing stories in a galaxy far, far away. First unit director #JJAbrams. Second unit director @VictoriaMahoney. #StarWarsE9#StarWarspic.twitter.com/s689jv9I4u
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 17, 2018
Catt’s outta the bag. Thank you @ava for putting my name in the #StarWars#LucasFilm hat. Thank you #JJAbrams for inviting me on your ferocious ride. *This one’s for the outliers, dreaming big—in small corners of the Earth.
#MaytheForceBeWithYouhttps://t.co/G6ckWzCIwt— Vic Mahoney (@VictoriaMahoney) April 17, 2018