J.J. Abrams Says Star Wars Universe Will Include Gay Characters

Sunday night there will be a lot of attention paid to the lack of diversity among this year's Oscar nominees. However, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is nominated for five Academy Awards, will be immune to such criticism. It featured a wonderfully diverse cast, topped off with a female Jedi and a black lead.

But could the Star Wars universe expand its diversity even further by having its first out-and-proud same-sex loving character?

"Of course!" director J.J. Abrams said (via The Daily Beast) Thursday at the annual "Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film" pre-Academy Awards event. "When I talk about inclusivity it's not excluding gay characters. It's about inclusivity. So of course."

Abrams, who is largely responsible for making The Force Awakens' diverse cast a priority, believes gay characters already exist in the Star Wars universe—even if they don't identify themselves as gay. "To me, the fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility," he said. "So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn't be a homosexual character in that world."

There is a fan theory floating around that speculates Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron could be gay, and even some fans are shipping Poe with Boyega's Finn. Much of the Poe speculation stems from comments Isaac made during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show this past December.

"I think it's very subtle romance that's happening," Isaac teased. "You have to just look very closely, you have to watch it a few times to see the little hints, but there was. At least, I was playing romance. In the cockpit I was playing, there was a deep romance there." Though he did add, "I won't say with which character, but there was. … Could be a droid."

Rey took her first steps into a larger world in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and will continue her epic journey with Finn, Poe, and Luke Skywalker in the next chapter of the continuing Star Wars saga, Star Wars: Episode VIII, which began principal photography at Pinewood Studios in London on February 15, 2016.

Star Wars: Episode VIII is scheduled for release December 15, 2017.