Filmmaker Victoria Mahoney Hired As Second Unit Director For ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’Posted by Wilson Morales
April 17, 2018
Filmmaker Victoria Mahoney is joining Star Wars: Episode IX as a second unit director, which will make her the first woman to step behind the camera in that capacity for a Star Wars movie. The second unit director (or assistant director) is responsible for shooting additional footage that often includes establishing shots, stunts, cutaways and inserts. The first unit director principally shoots scenes with the main cast.
Previous second unit directors for Star Wars films have all been men, though many of the third assistant directors, for Rogue One for example, have been women
Director Ava DuVernay broke the news on her Twitter account, posting a photo of Mahoney with Episode IX director J.J. Abrams.
“Happy to share this historic news. A black woman directing stories in a galaxy far, far away,” she tweeted.
Mahoney responded by tweeting “Catt’s outta the bag,” and thanking DuVernay and Abrams.
“This one’s for the outliers, dreaming big–in small corners of the Earth. #MaytheForceBeWithYou,” she tweeted.
Mahoney is known for directing the indie film Yelling to the Sky, which starred Zoe Kravitz, Gabourey Sidibe and Antonique Smith. She also has directed episodes for DuVernay’s Queen Sugar on OWN, ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Starz’s Power. She recently directed Red Line, a pilot for CBS that is exec produced by DuVernay and Greg Berlanti. She is also writing for TV an adaptation of the novel Dawn, for DuVernay and Charles King’s MACRO.
Little is known about Episode IX, which Abrams is co-writing with Chris Terrio. Lucasfilm is opening the film Dec. 20, 2019.
