Originally published February 27, 2016. Updated April 10, 2018.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens made great strides in expanding the diversity of the galaxy far, far away by introducing its first female lead and its first black lead. But might we see a gay character introduced into the film side of the canon? J.J. Abrams believes so.
“When I talk about inclusivity it’s not excluding gay characters,” said Abrams (via The Daily Beast). “It’s about inclusivity. So of course. I would love it. To me, the fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility. So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn’t be a homosexual character in that world. I think we all have a hell of a lot to do, and I think it is insane to me that we still have to have a conversation about inclusivity. It’s shameful. We all need to do better to represent this world. It’s something that is important to me, and is something that we’re focusing on at [production company] Bad Robot.”
A gay character was introduced to the new Disney Star Wars canon last year in Moff Mors, who appeared in Paul S. Kemp’s novel Lords of the Sith.
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