Luke Bi-Walker: Laura Dern's Holdo Revealed As First LGBT Star Wars Movie Character
In a galaxy far, far a gay, could the winds of change be coming to Star Wars?
In a galaxy far, far a gay, could the winds of change be coming to Star Wars? We may have already seen the likes of Billy Dee Williams and John Boyega represent the black community, while Daisy Ridley swung her lightsaber for gender equality, but in that world of gloopy space aliens and rusted robots, where are all the LGBT characters?
Holdo Out For A Hero
Across the past 40 years of #StarWars movies, we have been confined to the generic pairing of man and woman (and sometimes wookiee), and while even incestuous kissing is acceptable, there have been no same-sex romances. Thankfully, all of this could be about to change thanks to one particular passage from Claudia Gray's Leia: Princess of Alderaan and. In a novel set prior to A New Hope, there is an interaction between Leia and Amilyn Holdo. Although #LauraDern's portrayal of Admiral Holdo in #TheLastJedi will be the first time we meet the high-ranking official, she has clearly been around for a while, as the passage reads:
'"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.'"
Technically the passage doesn't stamp a big rainbow flag on Holdo's forehead, but it certainly seems to imply that she doesn't just enjoy the company of men. Interspecies romance is nothing new to the Star Wars universe, and it sounds like Holdo may like the fairer sex just as much as she likes being wooed by nerf-herding smugglers. Given that the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination specifically mentioned The Last Jedi in a report to push for more big screen diversity, someone somewhere may just have been listening.
Everyone knows about that ambiguous Finn/Poe romance following The Force Awakens, and you only have to stick their names in Google to find a whole Dagobah System filled with fan fiction about the pair. Elsewhere, the expanded universe is packed with LGBT characters such as Sarn Shild, Reess Kairn, and Sith Lord Cytharat — in fact, there have been LGBT references in Star Wars media since 1999. With The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams advocating for more diverse representation of same-sex couples in Star Wars — and even Mark Hamill getting on on the action — it looks like their wishes may just have come true.
Whether or not The Last Jedi's Rian Johnson will use a Holdo reveal on screen remains to be seen, but with Gray's novel officially in canon, at least we know a bit more about the mysterious Amilyn's backstory. With A New Hope set decades before The Last Jedi, the candy floss-haired heroine has been around the block a few times, so expect Holdo to have a fair few stories to tell by the time Episode VIII hits cinemas in December this year.
About the Creator
Tom Chapman
Tom is a Manchester-based writer with square eyes and the love of a good pun. Raised on a diet of Jurassic Park, this ’90s boy has VHS flowing in his blood. No topic is too big for this freelancer by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night.
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