The latest Star Wars instalment The Force Awakens marked a huge step towards diversity in the popular film franchise. With a person of colour and a woman as the two main characters, it is clear that director JJ Abrams wanted to step away from the white, male dominated previous films.
Abrams again proved that he is an advocate for diversity when he recently told The Daily Beast that he would love to see a gay character in upcoming Star Wars films.
“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” he comments, continuing to say that the new Star Wars films are “about inclusivity. So of course [a gay character is a possibility].”
Although The Force Awakens fans will be sad to know that Abrams considers Finn and Poe’s relationship to be a “bromance”, we can be content with the possibility of seeing GLBTI+ characters represented in the popular franchise.
The Star Wars canon has had a gay character in Delian Mors who appeared in a novel Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp, but never have GLBTI+ themes been tackled in the films.
