Star Wars Is Fixing Rise Of Skywalker’s LGBTQ+ Mistake

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker fumbled its LGBTQ+ representation – but Star Wars: The High Republic is correcting that mistake. Disney is often criticized for making little more than token gestures when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation. Sadly, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a good example, with Lucasfilm teasing the saga’s first gay kiss. It was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it background moment between two Resistance characters who lacked any backstories or character arcs, and censors were able to effortlessly cut it from releases in Singapore and Dubai.

But Lucasfilm is beginning to fix that mistake. The last few years have seen Star Wars become a trailblazing transmedia franchise, and an initiative called Star Wars: The High Republic sits at the heart of this. Set centuries before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, this story has shown the Republic and the Jedi Order at their height. The first phase has been led by a quintet of authors – Charles Soule, Cavan Scott, Claudia Gray, Justina Ireland, and Daniel Jose Older – and each has been allowed to cultivate their own band of character. Older’s books and comics have been a particular highlight, with the writer working to bring a beautiful LGBTQ+ romance to the forefront of his narrative.

Jedi Padawan Lula Talisola and Force-sensitive Zeen Mrala are situated at the center of this arc. Discovered by the Jedi on the hostile planet Trymant IV, Zeen helped the Jedi drive back Nihil invaders. Zeen’s people fear and hate those who possess the Force, and all her life Zeen has hidden the truth of who she really is; but a near-apocalypse forced her to use the Force for the first time in her life, and the Jedi recruited Zeen’s help as much to protect her as because they valued her insight. Although she isn’t training to be a Jedi, Zeen has been welcomed and allowed to learn the ways of the Force. She’s been meditating with Jedi Padawan Lula Talisola, and the two have developed a powerful bond of love. Because of the couple’s rich characterization and backstory, their relationship is far more significant than previous LBGTQ+ representation in the Star Wars saga and represents a major improvement on The Rise of Skywalker‘s cursory nod.

Older is a phenomenal writer, and he’s developed both characters in a wonderfully organic way. He’s been ably assisted by artist Harvey Tolibao, whose artwork in Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures has helped portray the intensifying bond between the two. The artist was responsible for a subtle arc that ran through the comics and ultimately came to a head in Older’s Midnight Horizon, namely the positions in which the two meditate together; when Lula first began teaching Zeen how to meditate they sat side-by-side, but they gradually moved until they were face-to-face, creating a beautiful sense of growing intimacy. By contrast, the same-sex relationship hinted at in The Rise of Skywalker seems woefully two-dimensional and empty.

It’s impossible to say where this high-profile LGBTQ+ romance is going. The story of Star Wars: The High Republic is one of tragedy, with the Jedi suffering their greatest defeat until the prequel era, and sadly Zeen and Lula are caught up in it. Pleasingly, though, Older is clearly avoiding a rinse-and-repeat of the fall of Anakin Skywalker, with attachment bringing Lula down. Midnight Horizon uses other LGBTQ+ Jedi to reinforce the truth there’s a difference between love and attachment, with Master Kantam Sy reflecting on the truth emotions should be acknowledged rather than suppressed. “The Masters taught non-attachment – it was part of the Jedi vow. And many Jedi twisted that notion into the opposite of what Kantam understood it to mean. They spoke of suppressing emotions, of forsaking love, burying any discomfort until it was a mere whisper. But emotions couldn’t be mastered… Neither could emotions be the masters of a Jedi. But there were more than these two simple options.” Star Wars‘ current writers understand the difference between love and attachment, and this is informing the best LGBTQ+ story in the franchise to date – fixing the problems seen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4899 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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