The future of Star Wars? 'It’s time for a female director'

Count us in.

With the Star Wars: The Last Jedi premiere taking place just this week, it’s safe to say the wait is over for the newest instalment of the franchise - and it’s about time.

While this latest film has been surrounded by more buzz than usual - with Princess Leia being digitally recreated following actress Carrie Fisher’s death and surprise cameos from Prince William and Prince Harry, supposedly appearing as Stormtroopers - people have already started talking about the next film.

The next Star Wars episode in the series it seems could be one for the ages, with Rian Johnson, the director of the latest film announcing that it’s about time the series was entrusted to a female and/or non-white film-maker.

George Lucas, Irvin Kirshner, Richard Marquand, JJ Abrams, Gareth Edwards, Rian Johnson, Ron Howard - notice a trend? Yes, every single director to join the franchise has been a white male - and according to team Star Wars, enough is enough.

While the more recent films have broken the mould and chosen a female character as the leading role, this needs to be echoed offscreen too, with a call for more diversity in the film series' production.

‘Hell yes it's time,’ Star Wars director Rian Johnson explained in a press conference for The Last Jedi. ‘There are so many incredibly talented female directors, directors of colour out there, and so many that I would love to see play in this universe.’

We’re so onboard for this.