Star Wars Producers Confirm Gay Couple in the Franchise

Representation matters and for Star Wars fans, while there’s been significant strides in the live-action films with more female and characters of color, fans of the overall Star Wars universe have been waiting for LGBTQ+ representation for a while. Or, so they’ve thought. It turns out that there’s been a gay couple in the franchise for a little while. Star Wars Resistance producers Justin Ridge and Brandon Auman have confirmed that Orka and Flix are in fact a gay couple and have been since their debut.

In the latest episode of the Coffee With Kenobi podcast (via io9), Ridge and Auman confirmed that the duo who mans the Office of Acquisitions in the Colossus are a loving gay couple.

“I think it’s safe to say they’re an item,” Ridge said.

“They’re absolutely a gay couple and we’re proud of that,” Auman added.

The idea that Orka (voiced by Bobby Moynihan) and Flix (voiced by Jim Rash) are a couple isn’t one that is exactly new for fans. Since the series’ debut, fans have speculated the characters could be in a relationship but Ridge and Auman’s comments make it official. It also makes the pair the first openly gay couple to be portrayed on screen in the Star Wars universe — though that isn’t likely to stop fans from continuing to ship Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) from the live action Skywalker Saga.

Moynihan expressed relief at being able to finally talk about the characters’ relationship.

“Oh, I’m so happy we’re allowed to say it,” Moynihan said. “I have had a sentence prepared for a year and a half if someone would finally ask me. I would say, ‘All I can say is when Flix says ‘I love you,’ Orca says ‘I know.’”

While Orca and Flix are the first on-screen characters to be confirmed as a gay couple, they aren’t the only characters in-canon to fall under the LGBTQ+ banner. There are characters in books who have had some mention or confirmation of their sexual orientation and, notably, the live-action Solo: A Star Wars Story featured Donald Glover’s pansexual Lando Calrissian. It’s also worth at least noting that while Orca and Flix as a gay couple is certainly a step in the right direction, they’re also male-coded non-humanoids (Orka is a Chadra-Fan, Flix doesn’t have an official designation). Fans are still waiting for a gay humanoid couple.

Star Wars Resistance‘s second season (and final) debuts on Friday, October 6 on Disney Channel.