‘Star Wars’ will feature gay characters: J.J. Abrams

The “Star Wars” films will feature gay characters, director J.J. Abrams has confirmed. The filmmaker has proved that diversity in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” isn’t a deterrent to bring out the big numbers at the box office. And now he will be taking inclusivity one step further in the coming instalments of the film franchise.

“When I talk about inclusivity, it’s not excluding gay characters. It’s about inclusivity. So of course,” he answered on Thursday when asked if there’s a future for a gay character in the “Star Wars” universe.

Abrams, who was speaking at his Bad Robot HQ, imagined that it was just natural to include gay characters in the series.

“I would love it,” he was quoted by the Daily Beast as saying. “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.”

So far, there has been no homosexual characters in any of the films in the series. However, the novel “Star Wars: Aftermath,” released last year by author Chuck Wendig, has introduced a major gay character in the Star Wars universe, Sinjir Rath Velus

As EW pointed out, Sinjir Rath Velus is the first gay hero with a major role in the universe, but he is not the first gay character. The novel “Lords of the Sith” by Paul S. Kemp introduced a lesbian character in April. Moff Delian Mors is a lesbian Imperial officer who felt adrift when her wife was killed in an accident.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is the first in the film franchise to feature non-white actors as the major characters. Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) were arguably the main stars of the blockbuster hit, with the original trilogy’s main characters – Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) – serving as supporting cast.

There are fan theories, though, that the film already featured its first gay characters. Apparently, there has been romantic tension between Finn and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).

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