In an ideal world, the notion of an openly gay character in a blockbuster movie franchise wouldn’t be a big deal, but we don’t live in an ideal world, so J.J. Abrams‘ recent comment that he sees a future for a gay character in the Star Wars universe is headline news.
Abrams, who directed The Force Awakens and will stay on with the Star Wars series as an executive producer, made the remarks while hosting the US-Ireland Alliance’s annual Oscar Wilde Awards, ahead of the Oscars.
When asked about whether he saw the potential for gay characters in future films, he said:
“Of course! When I talk about inclusivity it’s not excluding gay characters. 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.”
We can still hope.
The Star Wars universe is a big place, and gay and lesbian characters have already featured in various video games and books, including Delian Mors, an Imperial official in the novel Lords Of The Sith, who was the first lesbian character to become official canon.
Speaking to the Daily Beast last month, Abrams said that Hollywood films can do more to represent the world as it is, telling them:
“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 Bad Robot.”
Source: The Daily Beast.
Photo: Mike Marsland / Getty.
