Bringing Some Diversity To A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave Oscar winner) and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth in Game of Thrones) have been cast in the next Star Wars movie:

That’s hardly gender parity — with Carrie Fisher and newcomer Daisy Ridley the only other females currently announced — but it’s certainly a substantial and necessary improvement for a traditionally boys-heavy franchise entering the post Hunger Games universe. Thus far, the only significant female Star Wars characters in six episodes have been a princess and a queen — but Abrams has a solid reputation for strong, well-drawn female characters, from Felicity to Alias to Fringe. 

Alyssa is thrilled:

Beyond the simple joy of getting to see Nyong’o and Christie together on the big screen, there is also something exciting about the fact that these particular actresses are taking their first steps into this particular world.

Because Nyong’o made her international reputation in a socially significant historical drama, she easily could have been stuck there, relegated to playing characters whose experience of abuse is their most salient characteristic. That she is joining “Star Wars” instead, and has optioned Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel “Americanah,” a contemporary story about Nigerian immigrants who return home, suggests that Nyong’o will not let herself be limited to stories about the American past. Instead, she will stake out territory for herself that stretches from a galaxy far, far away to a part of the present with which many American audiences are unfamiliar.

This makes Nyong’o the first black woman to appear in a Star Wars film, while the entire franchise has only featured two black characters (Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu). Alex Abad-Santos notes why there’s no excuse for this:

There aren’t any rules or constrictions about race or gender in galaxies far, far away. And at the heart of it, Star Wars revolves around an allegory about an outsider.

Other sci-fi/fantasy/superhero franchises have traditionally challenged the way we’ve thought about and perceived race. Perhaps there’s no better example than Star Wars’s rival franchise: Star Trek. Characters like Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and Sulu (George Takei) contributed to a vision of the future in which positions of power aren’t solely held by whites. Star Wars, on the other hand, has more ewoks with speaking roles in Return of the Jedi than it does black characters with speaking roles in the entire franchise.

Update from a reader:

You’ll probably get a deluge of emails from Star Wars geeks, but I hope I’m not halfway down the pile.  There is at least one other black character in Star Wars: Quarsh Panaka, from Episode 1. He was Padme Amidala’s head of security. He’s a minor, supporting character, but he does have a speaking role.

Another:

Lupita Nyong’o won’t be “the first black woman to appear in a Star Wars film.” That honor goes to Femi Taylor, who portrayed the green-skinned Oola in Return of the Jedi. An understandable mistake!