Star Wars: The Last Jedi may feature a pansexual character
The upcoming Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, may see the series’ first LGBT character.
Passages from a new book which the film is based on, Leia: Princess of Alderaan, suggest that the resistance’s Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo – played by Laura Dern – may be pansexual.
The clues are in the following passage, in a conversation between Holdo and Leia.
“A pair of pretty dark eyes.” Then Amilyn thought about that for a moment. “Or more than a pair, if you’re into Grans. Or Aqualish, or Talz. Or even – ”
“That’s all right! Leia said through laughter. “It’s just humanoid males for me.”
“Really? That feels so limiting.”
“Thank goodness it’s a big galaxy.”
The passage isn’t explicit, but it sure is suggestive.
It implies Holdo is interested in more than just “humanoid males”. After all, the Star Wars universe contains more than just humanoid and non-humanoid species.
Some supporting characters who appear in the series don’t fall within the gender binary. The insectoid Xi’Dec, for example, has multiple genders.
This leaves open the possibility that Holdo could be interested in characters who aren’t cis.
She is set to make an appearance in The Last Jedi, but there is no confirmation whether the film references her sexuality. If director Rian Johnson decides to remain faithful to the books, she will be the first openly LGBT character in a Star Wars film series.
Admittedly, the film series has been progressive with its casting choices so far – but it has yet to introduce any openly LGBT characters.
Even the Star Wars video games feature a number of LGBT characters, where users are permitted to choose who their character’s partner without any gender restrictions.
But even those in charge of the series admit that Star Wars hasn’t gone far enough.
In 2016, J.J. Abrams – who directed The Force Awakens and is producing The Last Jedi – said it was time for LGBT characters to appear in the on-screen universe.
“When I talk about inclusivity it’s not excluding gay characters,” he told the Daily Beast.
“It seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn’t be a homosexual character in that world”, he said.
The film is due to be released on December 14 in the UK and on December 15 in the US.
