With Apple, Disney and a host of other big companies about to enter the streaming business, how will the movie business change to accommodate them?

It’s hard to know exactly how it’s all going to work, and I think these companies are all trying to figure it out themselves. The optimist in me says hopefully there will be a chance for storytellers and filmmakers of all backgrounds to have shots at telling their stories who might not have otherwise. The pessimist in me says there’s going to be so much real estate that there’s going to be a lot of landfill — stuff that might not be worth everyone’s time. But I think the optimist wins this one.

Because audiences are so demanding and smart, they’re not going to put up with junk. The demand for innovative, new young storytellers is going to be high, and as uncertain as everything is, there’s probably never been a better time to be a creative person in this business, just because of the near-term demand for programming. It’s going to require great stories for these platforms to survive, so that people become not just subscribers but loyal subscribers.

Are we starting to see a permanent shift when it comes to diversity onscreen?

Increasing the pool to include more people of color and of diverse backgrounds and sexual orientations is only good for business. When we were casting “Force Awakens,” it was really important to us that the movie looked more like the way the world looks than not. It’s not that there should be any quota — you should be only casting the best people for the roles — and yet, I think the audience does value the effort to go beyond the usual suspects.

Audiences are so sophisticated now in terms of process and story, you can’t fool people the way you used to be able to. People can get a sense of what was the corporate decision and what was the creative decision. I think we all have to work harder because audiences demand more, and rightfully so.

What helped prompt your awakening on this?

This is something that my wife, Katie, and I have been thinking about for a long time. Years ago, we were looking around the room at the Emmys, and it was essentially all white people in the room. It felt strange for this medium that’s meant to be accessible to everyone and tell stories that represent and entertain everyone in the country, to see that the vast majority of the people there were white . I mean, it was a little bit shocking to even consider it.