Lucasfilm has been taking strides in featuring diversity and representation in the Star Wars franchise. Not only do we have a female protagonist taking the lead in Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy, but we're also seeing more people of color in Star Wars films and series.
Speaking in a panel together with his Bad Robot co-CEO Katie Magrath during the 2020 Upfront Summit (via Variety), Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker director JJ Abrams discusses representation in the Star Wars franchise.
According to Abrams, he and McGrath have a "Bad Robot" rule where half of everyone interviewed for any job should be women. Forty percent of the people interviewed also have to be people of color. This method ensures that the people who make decisions in Bad Robot represent the population that they're trying to serve.
When it comes to Star Wars, McGrath says that she, Abrams, and the rest of the team "thought about building this story with the female protagonist, a set of four main characters: One of whom was Latinx, one of whom was a Nigerian Londoner, one of whom was a woman — a white woman — and one of whom was a white guy. How can we find a way to have every kid who's going to go see that movie see a version of themselves, in a way that isn't often considered at scale?"
According to the Bad Robot co-CEO, having the opportunity to build the blocks of Disney's Star Wars sequel trilogy through The Force Awakens and then ending it with The Rise of Skywalker has been nothing but a privilege to use and showcase diversity and representation.
"If we have this moment, this privilege, what do we want to do with it? And not from a place of being preachy or feeding people spinach, just from a place of — any time you have a privilege, you have an obligation, period. That's just how we try to live our lives," McGrath went on during the panel discussion.
Alt-right Star Wars fans might take issue with the push for diversity and representation in the Star Wars franchise, but it's great to see more people seeing themselves in the heroes that they see in film and in television.
What do you think about diversity and representation in Lucasfilm's sequel trilogy? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is currently screening in cinemas.
Read: Knights of Ren Star Reveals Shocking Alternate Ending for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
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