Director J.J. Abrams has allegedly delivered on his promise to feature more LGBTQ representation in the Star Wars universe via the upcoming film “Rise of Skywalker.” Though the characters Finn and Poe will not be lovers, Abrams said the representation will still be apparent.
Speaking with Variety, Abrams said he specifically wanted the LGBTQ community to feel represented without revealing any details as to how he had pulled it off.
“In the case of the LGBTQ community, it was important to me that people who go to see this movie feel that they’re being represented in the film,” Abrams said. “I will say I’m giving away nothing about what happens in the movie. But I did just say what I just said.”
J.J. Abrams has long promised that the Star Wars universe will be introducing gay characters in the coming future.
“When I talk about inclusivity, it’s not excluding gay characters,” Abrams previously told 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.”
Following the release of “The Force Awakens,” social media immediately lit up with hopeful calls for the characters Finn and Poe (played by John Boyega and Oscar Isaac, respectively) to embark on a romantic love affair; fans hoping to see that materialize will be left disappointed this time around. Both Boyega and Oscar Isaac expressed dismay over that fact.
“Personally, I kind of hoped and wished that maybe that would’ve been taken further in the other films, but I don’t have control,” Oscar Isaac told Variety. “It seemed like a natural progression, but sadly enough, it’s a time when people are too afraid, I think, of … I don’t know what.”
“But if they would’ve been boyfriends, that would have been fun,” added Isaac.
John Boyega simultaneously told Variety that the relationship between Poe and Finn “wouldn’t be too weird” if it suddenly advanced beyond the platonic.
“They’ve always had a quite loving and open relationship in which it wouldn’t be too weird if it went beyond it,” Boyega said. “But at the same time, they are just platonic at the moment.”
As to why he ruled against Finn and Poe being romantic lovers, J.J. Abrams said he believed the relationship was a deeper one.
“That relationship to me is a far deeper one than a romantic one,” Abrams said. “It is a deep bond that these two have, not just because of the trial by fire in which they met, but also because of their willingness to be as intimate as they are, as afraid as they, as unsure as they are, and still be bold, and still be daring and brave.”
Most recently, executive producer Justin Ridge of the show “Star Wars: Resistance” revealed that two cartoon characters, Flix and Orka, were in fact gay lovers.
“They’re absolutely a gay couple, and we’re proud of that,” Ridge said, confirming what fans have already suspected. “I think it’s safe to say they’re an item, absolutely.”