Next to falsely complaining that President Trump is taking away their rights, the LGBT community most loves to bitch that there are no gay characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars. That Iron Man/Spider Man reach-around never happened, but apparently there’s some kind of gay scene in the new Stars Wars film, The Rise of Skywalker. Is it some Wookie munching? Perhaps droid-on-droid scissors action? It’s anyone’s guess.
Since Disney took over the Star Wars franchise, director J.J. Abrams has been in charge and he really seems to want to gay up the galaxy. In an interview with Variety earlier this month, he suggested the new Star Wars film would have something LGBTers would be jacked about:
…Abrams still left the door open to a different form of LGBTQ representation in his film. The filmmaker noted that he’s always strived to find a cast for “Star Wars” that “looked more the way the world looks than not.”
“And 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,” said Abrams.
The premier of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was on Monday and Variety film critic Adam Vary reports there is indeed some kind of gay scene:
Also, I can confirm there is queer representation in #StarWars #TheRiseofSkywalker. It lasts maybe two seconds, and you may miss it entirely. Welp.
— Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) December 17, 2019
So what exactly does that mean? Is there a couple of Stormtroopers blowing each other in the background? Maybe Jar Jar makes his triumphant return to the franchise by giving Kylo Ren a handy?
On a side note, I know everyone hates Jar Jar Binks, but he was a very important part of the prequel trilogy and then kind of disappeared. I need some closure on this character and I’d even take him coming of the closet and then dying of space AIDS or something.
This film critic’s spoiler that there is LGBT representation in the new Star Wars film doesn’t come off as very convincing. “It lasts maybe two seconds, and you may miss it entirely” sounds like he saw something innocuous and gave it some gay meaning that doesn’t exist.
The franchise has a history of LGBTer trying to read gayness where there is none. In the recent trilogy they tried to claim that black Storm Trooper Finn and resistance pilot Po had some gay chemistry going, but that was never a thing:
Striking a lightsaber into the hearts of “Star Wars” fans, it appears that a romance between Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) will not materialize in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”
The “Star Wars” fan community latched onto the notion of a romantic connection between Finn and Poe almost immediately after the premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 2015, ‘shipping the characters with hashtags like “FinnPoe” and “Stormpilot.”
Speaking with Variety at the “Rise of Skywalker” press junket on Tuesday, however, Isaac expressed regret that the “natural chemistry” between Poe and Finn in “The Force Awakens” was not explored in an overtly romantic way in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” — and wouldn’t be in “The Rise of Skywalker.”
Isaac noted that the “ambiguity” of the characters’ relationship might allow more people to see themselves in the characters. “But if they would’ve been boyfriends, that would have been fun.”
Define “fun.” Parents aren’t taking their kids to see this movie in hopes of some hardcore man-on-man action.
Last year’s mediocre Solo: A Star Wars Story promised that character Lando Calrissian was a “pansexual” freak, but that wasn’t the case at all. Chances are The Rise of Skywalker also doesn’t have any freaky gay sexuality, mostly because Disney owns the franchise and that’s not something they try to promote.
Not everything has to be gay and in realty most things don’t need to be. I’m going to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on Thursday and I’ll update you on how gay it is or isn’t.
