Star Wars is a massive global franchise that has come quite a long way in terms of representation and progress since it began in 1977, but it has so much further to go.
It’s likely little surprise that Star Wars isn’t exactly breaking new ground when it comes to queer representation. Even for those not all that interested in the franchise, the fanbase — or, at least, parts of the fanbase — has become notorious for going after the shows, creators and actors for any ounce of diversity. The Acolyte, which was released in 2024, was a prime example, and many of The Acolyte’s actors have spoken out about the racism they experienced from viewers and online.
Queerness, be it in terms of relationships on screen or gender identity, has received similar treatment from Star Wars audiences, and it seems Disney — which owns the franchise through its subsidiary, Lucasfilm — is largely bowing down to that section of the fanbase. There has been very little queer representation whatsoever in the “Star Wars” shows and movies, and what little there has been hasn’t been all that revolutionary.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker had the franchise’s very first queer kiss on screen when two unnamed women kissed in the background of the film’s final celebration scene. This ended up getting plenty of pushback from both sides. There was significant homophobic backlash to the decision from viewers who were furious that Star Wars would have any queer characters whatsoever, but queer audiences were unhappy as well. For many LGBTQ+ viewers, this quick kiss between background characters no one knew felt like a way to appease queer fans without the franchise really sticking its neck out.
The Acolyte is perhaps the Star Wars project that has had the most queer representation to date, but even that was minimal at best. The main characters, Osha and Mae, had two mothers, Mother Aniseya and Mother Koril, but the show never clarified whether they were romantically involved. It did suggest a queering of family structure — Aniseya created the girls using the Force, and Koril carried them — yet their relationship remained ambiguous, given their roles in the coven and limited screen time.
The Acolyte also made reference to they/them pronouns, although that felt nearly as much like a throwaway as the kiss in The Rise of Skywalker had. The use of the pronouns came when protagonist Osha was asking about a character she’d just met and said, “Is he, or they, with us?” As the kiss in The Rise of Skywalker had, this caused backlash from those who decried its supposed “woke agenda” and from the queer community for being a low-stakes form of representation. Still, this was progress in Star Wars, and it’s worth noting that the actor who plays Osha and Mae, Amandla Stenberg, is nonbinary.
Oddly, Star Wars has had one genuinely solid queer story arc on screen, but it seems to have flown under the radar for the most part, perhaps because it was in an animated show, which may reach a different demographic. In Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, which also came out last year, a nonbinary Jedi survivor of Order 66 — the event that wiped out nearly all the Jedi alive at the time — was being hunted by the Inquisitors. The character, who wasn’t named in the episode but had a legitimate storyline, used exclusively they/them pronouns, which was reinforced throughout the episode.
There is also a minor character, Djovi Resmia, who uses they/them pronouns in Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, another animated show. This show is targeted to a significantly younger audience, which may also explain why it hasn’t gotten the same heat as representation in other Star Wars movies and shows has.
Star Wars movies and shows are therefore disappointingly far behind in terms of queer representation, which is only all the more frustrating in light of how progressive the books are. In fact, the canon Star Wars books “Queen’s Hope,” “Brotherhood” and “The Secrets of the Clone Troopers” have all cemented Sister as a canonically trans clone trooper, and the “Ahsoka” novel featured a plotline in which Kaeden Larte developed feelings for Ahsoka Tano. These are just a few examples, but “Star Wars” books are consistently more diverse than the movies and shows in myriad ways.
Queer representation in Star Wars may seem inconsequential to some, but the truth is, this matters far beyond just the damage it does to the fans. Because it is such a massive franchise, Star Wars can be considered a litmus test of the cultural climate. The franchise’s hesitancy to depict queer stories on screen and the intense backlash to any diversity in the shows and movies suggest a broader cultural hostility to queerness, particularly when it comes to representation on screen.
This issue with Star Wars is also part of a larger Disney trend of pulling back from representation, especially queer representation. This was most recently clear with Disney’s animated kids’ show Win or Lose, which removed a trans storyline from the show entirely. This example is particularly disappointing because rather than not including representation in the first place, Disney was actively removing it. In addition to depriving trans kids the opportunity to see themselves on screen, this decision sent a major message about Disney’s stance on trans people and representation on screen.
The Star Wars Celebration is taking place in Japan this April, and several new shows and movies are expected to be announced. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem likely that any upcoming Star Wars project will suddenly shift the franchise’s approach to queer representation. It may be quite some time before Star Wars movies and shows accurately reflect the fanbase, which has only become queerer and more diverse with time.