‘Star Wars’ News: Mark Hamill On Whether Luke Skywalker Is Gay
The brief appearance of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Force Awakens only left more questions than answers, which is what makes his future appearance in Star Wars 8 and, hopefully, beyond even more tantalizing.
Despite the character’s vast cinematic history, having appeared substantially in the original Star Wars trilogy on top of his brief appearance in The Force Awakens, there is one side to the character that we’ve not seen too much of: his love life.
Okay, there was that kiss between Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in The Empire Strikes Back. But since it was later revealed in Return Of The Jedi that they are brother and sister, the less said about that the better.
Mark Hamill discusses whether Luke Skywalker is gay https://t.co/uHcYw1vv3Y pic.twitter.com/pBHhSwp9KC
— The Independent (@Independent) March 4, 2016
J.J. Abrams recently made comments insisting that the Star Wars universe needs to have gay characters in order to be truly diverse and represent the world. And on the back of the co-writer and director of The Force Awakens‘ remarks, Mark Hamill was asked for his thoughts on Luke Skywalker being gay.
And the actor gave about a perfect response as you can imagine, as he insisted to The Sun that he is completely open to the sexuality of his character being interpreted in every which way.
“I just read online that JJ is very much open to that,” Hamill declared. “In the old days, you would get fan mail. But now fans are writing and asking all these questions, ‘I’m bullied in school… I’m afraid to come out.’ They say to me, ‘Could Luke be gay?’ I’d say it is meant to be interpreted by the viewer. If you think Luke is gay, of course he is. You should not be ashamed of it. Judge Luke by his character, not by who he loves.”
In the Star Wars novels that follow the original trilogy of films, it’s revealed that Luke Skywalker falls in love with, and then gets married to a woman. However, both Lucasfilm and Disney have now confirmed that those books aren’t part of the history of the new Star Wars universe.
J.J. Abrams made these comments regarding the possibility of homosexual characters in the Star Wars universe during his appearance at the U.S.-Ireland Alliance’s annual Oscar Wilde Awards, which took place last Thursday ahead of the 88th Academy Awards.
When he was quizzed about whether he sees a future for a gay character in the Star Wars galaxy, J.J. Abrams enthused, via The Daily Beast, “Of course! When I talk about inclusivity it’s not excluding gay characters. It’s about inclusivity. So of course.”
Abrams explained that it’s impossible that within the huge expansive Star Wars universe there isn’t a homosexual character, and he then admitted that he can’t wait for the universe to explore it even further.
“I would love it,” Abrams continued. “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.”
Daisy Ridley Says @HamillHimself‘s #LukeSkywalker Is “So Cool” In @starwars #EpisodeVIII https://t.co/vAWGIAitTV pic.twitter.com/8l7vB0vdxb
— ComicBookMovie.com (@ComicBook_Movie) March 1, 2016
Star Wars fan theories soon began to speculate that Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron and John Boyega’s Finn might have a sexual relationship following the release of The Force Awakens. In the hugely successful blockbuster, Finn saves the life of the Rebel pilot, and when the pair are reunited, after their plane crash lands and Finn assumes that Poe has died, they share a warm embrace.
Their relationship will be further explored in Star Wars 8, and eagle-eyed fans will be looking for any minute details that suggest they are more than just friends. They’ll be able to do just that when Star Wars 8 is released on December 15, 2017.
[Image via Lucasfilm]
