11 Great LGBTQIA+ Characters In Star Wars
Image Source: Twitter
Even the Star Wars universe needs LGBTQIA+ icons. Although Disney has some work to do in this regard, here is a selection of characters for inspiration. With all the new Star Wars series in the works, let’s hope that in a year’s time this list can be even longer. Are any of these names a surprise?
10. And 11. Ahsoka Tano And Barriss Offee (Almost)
Image Source: Giancarlo Volpe
Back in 2014, Star Wars: The Clone Wars director Giancarlo Volpe wrote this blog post complete with a cute picture. Apparently, he pushed for the couple to become canon while making the episode “Weapons Factory” but they never quite made it. There is a lot of support for “Barrissoka” online. You only have to look at the fanfiction communities to see that. Let’s see what the upcoming Ahsoka series brings.
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9. The Hutts
Image Source: StarWars.com
Every member of the Hutt species can choose their own gender. They are born androgynous and may switch between male and female depending on preference and their stage of life. A. C. Crispin’s Legends Han Solo Trilogy went into detail about this with Jiliac switching from male to female in order to conceive and birth her own Huttlet.
8. Grand Admiral Rae Sloane
Image Source: Lumi
Grand Admiral Rae Sloane did her best to hold together the Galactic Empire after the Battle of Endor. She would become the leader of the First Order during the New Republic Era. Although she did not appear in any of the movies, she did turn up in several books. Rae’s sexuality was not defined explicitly, but she did have a relationship with her female assistant Adea Rite as well as General Hux and Kanan Jarrus. She was most likely bi-sexual.
7. Chelli Lona Aphra (Doctor Aphra)
Image Source: StarWars.com
Part archaeologist, part droid mechanic, and part bounty hunter, Doctor Aphra had worked closely with Darth Vader and helped him consolidate his power behind the Emperor’s back. She was conceived as a dark femme version of Indiana Jones who had left a string of broken hearts across the galaxy.
She first appeared in Kieron Gillen’s Darth Vader comics in 2015, and then in her own series. When asked about her sexuality, Gillen said, “I've never written her with any romantic interest in men.” She was featured on the Pride Month cover variant of War of The Bounty Hunters.
5. And 6. Larma D’Acy And Wrobie Tyce
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The first on-screen same-sex kiss occurred in the background of the last few minutes of The Rise of Skywalker. Larma was a part of the Resistance command, while Wrobie flew in Cobalt Squadron. The pair was played by Amanda Lawrence and Vinette Robinson.
4. Juhani
Image Source: Wookieepedia
This female queer character from Knights of the Old Republic game snuck in under the radar and fell in love with female Revan. However, if the player chose to play a male Revan, then this subplot would not be revealed. Although there were earlier LGBTQIA+ characters in Star Wars, Juhani was one of the first positive representations. The Cathar was not a typical non-player character. She had a complicated backstory where she struggled with what she learned in her Jedi training, her trauma, and the nature of her race.
3. Lando Calrissian
Image Source: SFF Gazette
In 2018, screenwriter Jonathan Kasdan told Huffington Post that Lando Calrissian was pansexual. He wrote Solo: A Star Wars Story with his father Lawrence Kasdan, who was the co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, so he understands the character of Lando better than anyone. He stated, “There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee’s [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality.” Donald Glover, who portrayed Lando in Solo, agreed. He told Huffington Post:
“There’s so many things to have sex with. I mean, serious. I didn’t think that was that weird. Yeah, he’s coming on to everybody. I mean, yeah, whatever… It just didn’t seem that weird to me ’cause I feel like if you’re in space it’s kind of like, the door is open! It’s like, no only guys or girls. No, it’s anything. This thing is literally a blob. Are you a man or a woman? Like, who cares? Have good time out here.”
1. And 2. Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin And TK-421
Image Source: ScififantasyNetwork
In the short story “MSE-6 and Men” penned by Glen Weldon in the anthology From A Certain Point of View, we learned about a doomed romance between Tarkin and TK-421. If that designation sounded familiar, he was one of the stormtroopers who boarded the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope. Luke Skywalker would use his armor as a disguise.
Shortly before the Millennium Falcon arrived, TK-421’s malfunctioning mouse droid bumped into the Grand Moff and played an image of him without his helmet on as he was inspecting his acne. Surprisingly, Tarkin was enchanted and sent the mouse droid back with an invitation to his quarters and a gift of antibacterial wash. TK-421 said that he made Tarkin laugh when they were together, hinting that although the relationship was brief, it was genuine.
After TK-421’s death, Tarkin later brought his mouse droid up to the command deck to view the destruction of the Rebel base on Yavin 4. However, things did not exactly go to plan when the Death Star was destroyed.
Many on this list have been retconned via novels, comics, or comments from the creators, or never made it to the screen. Star Wars is behind other franchises with their support of the LGBTQIA+ community in their productions. Aside from a brief background kiss that was edited out in some unfriendly markets (Marvel refused to do the same in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Star Wars has not pushed representation forward in the same way as Marvel and DC, who have featured openly queer characters in the leading roles. With many projects coming down the pipeline in the near future, we hope to see this change in the galaxy far, far away.
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