Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker features the first-ever LGBTQ+ kiss in the franchise’s history.
Minor Spoiler Warning: The following article discusses a brief moment from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
The upcoming final chapter of the Skywalker Saga is set to hit theaters worldwide this week, and the film will officially feature LGBTQ+ representation for the first time in the Star Wars movies. Unfortunately for those shipping Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), this LGBTQ+ kiss isn’t shared between the lovable Resistance duo.
The kiss in question is shared between two women in the crowd with the Resistance during a celebration. It is a moment so brief that viewers could easily miss it if not paying attention. The two characters have minor roles in the film and are not part of the primary ensemble. Director J.J. Abrams recently hinted at LGBTQ+ representation in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker while promoting the film, telling Variety:
“In the case of the LGBTQ community, it was important to me that people who go to see this movie feel that they’re being represented in the film.”
Although this kiss in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the first LGBTQ+ moment in the live-action films, there have been canonical LGBTQ+ characters in books and even one of the animated series. In Star Wars Resistance, Okra and Flix were confirmed by the show’s executive producers to be a gay couple. The book Star Wars: Aftermath introduced Sinjir Rath Velus, one of the first openly gay characters in the franchise. Sinjir finds a boyfriend named Condyr in the book’s sequel, Aftermath: Life Debt.
What do you think of the addition of this first LGBTQ+ kiss in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news in the Star Wars franchise.
Here is the official synopsis for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker:
Lucasfilm and director J. J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.
Directed by J. J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams. Carrie Fisher will appear as General Leia Organa through the use of previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released in theaters on December 20, 2019.
