Lucasfilm taps Producer Michelle Rejwan As New Production Senior VP

Star Wars fans should pay attention to this one. LucasFilm has named The Force Awakens Producer Michelle Rejwan as the Senior Vice President of Live-Action Development and Production. That’s an awful long title, but what does it mean? It means, Star Wars fans, that you are being introduced to the key person who will decide what you see on screen both on Disney+ and in theaters.

Who is Michelle Rejwan?

Her bio on LucasFilm’s website reads as follows:

As Senior Vice President of Live Action Development & Production, Michelle Rejwan oversees all theatrical and direct-to-consumer live-action content. She will also be responsible for and identifying and delivering future projects for Lucasfilm. Working closely with Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, Rejwan shapes and implements the creative strategy for both Star Wars and Lucasfilm.

Rejwan is currently producing the final installment of the Skywalker saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, with Kathleen Kennedy and J.J. Abrams… Rejwan has been with Lucasfilm since 2015.

Source: LucasFilm.com

What other projects has she worked on?

Rejwan has several IMDb credits ranging from Casting Assistant to Executive Producer on many popular titles, such as The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. She is best known for her work on feature films like Star Trek: Into Darkness and Super 8, along with Co-Producer credits on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. She’s even done some voice acting on the Lego Star Wars video games.

While browsing those credits, many are attached to Bad Robot and J.J. Abrams, which could bode well for the future of the Star Wars universe. Bad Robot makes some pretty solid films and tells good stories. If she worked that closely with Abrams, likely some of the same traits in filmmaking rubbed off.

Why should Star Wars fans care about this?

After reading social media comments about Lucasfilm and Disney management of Star Wars, the overall consensus of the fandom is they are not interested in race, gender, or anything else of the producers and directors, just tell a good story. There’s great potential there coming out of Bad Robot.

Back in 2015, Rejwan spoke to Marie Claire about advice she received from J.J. Abrams while working on The Force Awakens. She said this:

“Never settle for good when something can be great. When numerous pressures are coming at you, it can be seductive to think you’ve done all you can do. But if J.J. hears an idea that makes something better— no matter who it comes from—he’ll fight to do it. That’s become a core value in my approach to my job.”

Michelle Rejwan

Let’s hope that advice carries over while she’s finishing Episode IX, and at the helm of the next trilogy.

Sources: Lucasfilm.com, IMDb.com, Variety