Anna Daniels
It’s interesting that Isaac blames his “Disney overlords” for blocking any romance between two of the film’s leading men, but it’s not entirely surprising. Since the studio has always tried to produce content that’s friendly for the whole family, it typically skirts hot-button issues. With that said, it shouldn’t be shocking in 2019 — or in any year, really — for two major characters to strike up a same-sex romance, especially since other Disney properties are providing better representation.
Star Wars might not be ready for an LGBTQ+ character on its front lines, but Marvel, which is also owned by Disney, is ready to take this huge and important step thanks to director Taika Waititi. In the New Zealander director’s upcoming Thor film, subtitled Love and Thunder, the powerful Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) — named the new leader of Asgard by Thor (Chris Hemsworth) himself at the end of Avengers: Endgame – will be looking for her “queen” with whom she can rule. Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige confirmed in July 2019 that Valkyrie will be the MCU’s first openly queer superhero. With a formidable, popular actress like Thompson taking on this sensitive and vital role within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, LGBTQ+ fans will get their first real chance to see their community represented within this pop culture juggernaut, which is certainly an exciting prospect.
As far as Star Wars goes, Disney’s top brass clearly balked at the chance to make two of its most important characters a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and their attempt at inclusivity in The Rise of Skywalker was largely panned by fans and critics alike. The Rise of Skywalker did feature a brief same-sex kiss between two female Resistance fighters during the film’s final celebration scene, but many viewers were upset at just how brief the scene really was — and it even ended up censored in conservative countries that refused to show two women kissing.
Isaac is clearly disappointed at Disney’s stance on a romance between Finn and Poe, and he’s not alone. Many fans walked into The Rise of Skywalker hoping to see the bond between the two find new depths, only to be left out in the cold. Even Boyega thought the two would work well together, telling Variety, “They’ve always had a quite loving and open relationship in which it wouldn’t be too weird if it went beyond it.” However, unlike Isaac, Boyega qualified his statement by concluding, “But at the same time, they are just platonic at the moment.”
Thankfully, Star Wars loyals hoping to see better representation can turn to other canon within the franchise, with some LGBTQ+ characters appearing in its books. (In fact, one novel seems to confirm that Vice Admiral Holdo, played by Laura Dern in The Last Jedi, was pansexual.) When it comes to the big screen outings, though, this particular frontier is still unexplored.
Written by: Looper
