New Novel Teases LGBTQ Character For 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'

09/06/2017 12:54 am EDT

The Star Wars Universe has expanded greatly since Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney, creating new characters for all fans to enjoy and identify with. And though there have been romances in the movies and shows, they've all been very… hetero, to say the least.

A new character in Star Wars: The Last Jedi might be opening up the galaxy for LGBTQ fans, according to one of the new novels released for Force Friday II.

Laura Dern's character Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo of the Resistance will be butting heads with Leia Organa in the new movie, but there was a time when they were friends.

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The new book Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray, features the secret Skywalker on her home planet before the events of A New Hope. The book was billed as part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, so it was said to contain some hints and references to events and characters that would take place in the new movie.

While showing how the young woman became the person who would one day lead the Rebellion and the Resistance, it also details scenes of her friendship with Holdo, before things between them got sour.

One scene in the book hints that Holdo had a different sexuality than Leia's.

"A pair of pretty dark eyes." Then Amilyn thought about that for a moment. "Or more than a pair, if you're into Grans. Or Aqualish, or Talz. Or even –"

"That's all right!" Leia said through laughter. "It's just humanoid males for me."

"Really? That feels so limiting."

"Thank goodness it's a big galaxy."

The passage doesn't specifically label Holdo as bisexual or anything else, but it does imply that she's open with who she would be attracted to or enter into a relationship with. The fact that a canonical Star Wars story is including something like this is a big step for the franchise.

It's not making it an overt character point or using her sexuality as a plot device, it's merely a moment between two characters sharing intimacy and revealing parts of their lives.

In a franchise where the relationships have strictly consisted of hetero women and men, it's a welcome bit of inclusion. Let's hope they add some more.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi premieres in theaters December 15.

[h/t] ScreenRant

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