Director J.J. Abrams is in the midst of doing press for the upcoming “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” and naturally, questions have arisen about the close relationship between Resistance fighters Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Issac). Abrams, which he established in his first “Star Wars” film, 2015’s “The Force Awakens.”
And he was quick to dash the hopes of fans who read a lot into Poe and Finn’s reunion halfway through the film (which you can watch here) that includes a deep embrace and long looks between the two characters. That interaction led audiences to believe that franchise would have its same same-sex romance but instead turned out to be the latest case of queerbaiting — when creators tease a same-sex relationship to draw in an LGBT audience but don’t actually depict the relationship on screen.
Speaking with Variety on Tuesday, Abrams denied an onscreen romance between Finn and Poe in this month’s “The Rise of Skywalker,” defining their relationship as a “far deeper one than a romantic one. It is a deep bond that these two have, not just because of the trial by fire in which they met, but also because of their willingness to be as intimate as they are, as afraid as they, as unsure as they are, and still be bold, and still be daring and brave.”
Later in the same piece, Boyega confirmed that Finn and Poe’s relationship does not become romantic, stating “they are just platonic at the moment.”
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A gay relationship between Finn and Poe — which fans have dubbed #FinnPoe or #Stormpilot — could hardly be seen as controversial, as the franchise has flirted with incest (Luke and Leia), abuse (Anakin and Padme) and estrangement (Han and Leia) in previous films. (Finn and Poe were separated again in 2017’s “The Last Jedi,” with director Rian Johnson admitting “there wasn’t an opportunity” in the story to develop their bond.)
But Abrams’ additional comments about gay representation in the Variety interview were even more problematic. After dashing hopes for a Finn-Poe coupling, Abrams noted: “In the case of the LGBTQ community, it was important to me that people who go to see this movie feel that they’re being represented in the film.”
He declined to offer any further detail, saying, “I will say I’m giving away nothing about what happens in the movie. But I did just say what I just said.”
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Anyone (including myself) who has interviewed Abrams for any of his projects knows this is his modus operandi. He never spoils details from his films (even his trailers remain opaque about plot points). But to say the LGBTQ community will “feel like they’re being represented in the film” is literally baiting “queers.”
First, no single scene is representative to the entire LGBT community. The term LGBT encompasses many different things, not just lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (the L, the G, the B, the T and the Q).
It’s presumptuous for cis straight men like Abrams to believe all LGBTQ viewers recognize and feel represented by a singular representation, whatever that turns out to be. Even if Finn and Poe were to walk off holding hands as the suns of Tatooine set, they would only represent a same-sex, cis male-cis male relationship.
And any gay relationship outside of Finn and Poe in the final film would be coming out (pardon the pun) of nowhere, last-minute, and as a result, underdeveloped.
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Second, the “LGBTQ community” isn’t solely defined by sexuality. Representation may refer to gender identity and not sexuality.
A new character, or one we haven’t seen in a while, may be transgender or non-gendered. (Interestingly, Billy Dee Williams, who reprises the role of Lando in “Rise of Skywalker,” this week indicated a preference for gender-fluid pronouns in real life). But in a sci-fi world where aliens and robots and droids may have undefined or no genders at all, that doesn’t seem like a stretch of the imagination.
Ironically, the last time LGBTQ representation was so callously teased in a big blockbuster was for another Disney movie, 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Director Bill Condon told Attitude magazine that the movie included an “exclusively gay moment” with Josh Gad’s character, Le Fou. That “gay moment” ended up being a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, two-second dance between Le Fou and another man in the ending ballroom scene.
A gay moment doesn’t have to hit viewers over the head. When Justin Lin took over directing the “Star Trek” franchise from Abrams, he established Sulu as gay (by showing him reuniting with his husband and daughter). Representations don’t have to be overt to be meaningful. But they can’t be so subtle that most audiences miss them altogether.
That’s why Abrams’ wink-wink, “I did just say what I just said” is just more queerbaiting. For representation to be meaningful, all audiences, not keenly observant LGBTQ ones, should understand and feel its impact.
30 Actors You Probably Didn't Know Were in 'Star Wars' Movies (Photos)
LucasfilmThe "Star Wars" franchise -- now 40 years young -- is full of secret cameos, soon-to-be-famous actors in small bit parts, and well-known faces behind alien masks and makeup. Here are 30 big names hidden throughout the franchise you might not have known about.
For more features and deep dives into the world of "Star Wars" and the culture surrounding it, be sure to check out IMDb's "Star Wars" hub.
LucasfilmJohn Ratzenberger ("The Empire Strikes Back")
Ratzenberger is best remembered as know-it-all postman Cliff Clavin from "Cheers," or maybe his numerous voice roles in Pixar movies. In "The Empire Strikes Back," Ratzenberger is one of the Rebel officers hanging around Echo Base on Hoth with Princess Leia and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels).
LucasfilmTreat Williams ("The Empire Strikes Back")
When you're Treat Williams, you can wander onto the set of "The Empire Strikes Back" and find yourself in the movie. Williams reportedly dropped by England's Elstree Studios set, where the movie was being filmed, to visit Carrie Fisher. Apparently one thing led to another, and now Williams plays one of the Rebel troops running around Echo Base on Hoth.
LucasfilmJulian Glover ("The Empire Strikes Back")
Julian Glover's General Veers is probably the most competent officer available to Darth Vader as wanders the galaxy looking for the Rebels and Luke Skywalker. He'd be decidedly less competent as Grand Maester Pycelle on "Game of Thrones," but decidedly more evil as Nazi collaborator Walter Donovan in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (you know -- the guy who ages super fast after drinking from the wrong grail).
LucasfilmTony Cox ("Return of the Jedi")
In an Ewok suit, you'd never know Tony Cox appeared in "Return of the Jedi." He wouldn't really show off his acting chops until later when he was stealing scenes all over comedies like "Bad Santa," where he was Billy Bob Thornton's much-smarter mall-robbing accomplice/Christmas elf, and "Me, Myself and Irene."
LucasfilmDeep Roy ("Return of the Jedi")
It's easiest to remember Deep Roy in the Johnny Depp-starring "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," since Roy played every orange oompa-loompa in that movie. In "Return of the Jedi," he was both an Ewok and the puffy alien band member Droopy McCool in Jabba's Palace. Deep Roy also worked on "The Empire Strikes Back," acting as a stand-in for the muppet Yoda.
LucasfilmKeira Knightley (“The Phantom Menace”)
Knightley wasn’t just any handmaiden in “The Phantom Menace” — she was the handmaiden. Serving as the decoy for the real queen, Knightley was the actress people thought was Amidala for half the movie, before Natalie Portman’s Padmé revealed her true identity.
LucasfilmPeter Serafinowicz ("The Phantom Menace")
Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will recognize Peter Seafinowicz for his turn as untrusting Nova Corps officer Garthan Saal in "Guardians of the Galaxy." He didn't appear in "The Phantom Menace," but provided the gravely, frightening voice of Darth Maul (the rest of whom was played by Ray Park), as well as for a gungan warrior and a battle droid.
LucasfilmDominic West ("The Phantom Menace")
The prequel trilogy was filled with actors who would go on to do great things, but who were mostly filling small or background roles in the "Star Wars" universe. Dominic West's character in "The Phantom Menace" was an otherwise nondescript member of Queen Amidala's palace guard -- nothing so interesting as his later turn as Jimmy McNulty on HBO's "The Wire."
LucasfilmSofia Coppola (“The Phantom Menace”)
There really were a mess of these handmaidens. Before she was a full-time director, Sofia Coppola picked up a few small acting gigs, including the handmaiden Saché in “The Phantom Menace.” Just a few years after the 1999 movie, in 2003, Coppola would pick up a Best Director Academy Award nomination for “Lost in Translation.”
Team Coco/LucasfilmSally Hawkins ("The Phantom Menace")
Before she was an Academy Award-nominated actress for her role in "Blue Jasmine," Sally Hawkins was an extra in the giant celebration scene in "The Phantom Menace." She admitted in an interview with Conan O'Brien that she'd never actually seen the movie, despite being in it.
LucasfilmRichard Armitage ("The Phantom Menace")
Blink and you'd miss Richard Armitage's small background role (second from the right in the background) among the guards on Naboo. Although, it's tough to recognize him without the lustrous locks Armitage sported in "The Hobbit" as Thorin Oakenshield, or the creepy teeth from his turn as killer Francis Dolarhyde in "Hannibal" Season 3 on NBC.
LucasfilmRose Byrne (“Attack of the Clones”)
Before she was a mainstay of the “Insidious” movies alongside Patrick Wilson or had joined the “X-Men” franchise as CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert, Rose Byrne was one of the handmaidens serving Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman) in the “Star Wars” prequels. Specifically, she was Dormé, who accompanied Padmé to Coruscant to do government things.
LucasfilmMartin Csokas ("Attack of the Clones")
The "Star Wars" movies have slipped a few notable actors into the voice roles of aliens. Martin Csokas is one -- he provided the voice of the Geonosian alien Poggle the Lesser in "Attack of the Clones." Fantasy fans probably know him better as the elf Celeborn, husband to Cate Blanchett's Galadriel in "The Lord of the Rings."
For more features and deep dives into the world of "Star Wars" and the culture surrounding it, be sure to check out IMDb's "Star Wars" hub.
LucasfilmJoel Edgerton (“Attack of the Clones,” “Revenge of the Sith”)
Luke’s moisture-farming, humorless uncle Owen Lars was young once, but he was never not a guy who stood around a crappy homestead on Tatooine. In the prequel movies, the role was picked up by Joel Edgerton of “Loving” and “The Great Gatsby.”
LucasfilmBai Ling ("Revenge of the Sith")
Bai Ling actually doesn't appear in "Revenge of the Sith," but she was supposed to. Her scene as Senator Bana Breemu was cut from the film. But there are things you definitely have seen her in, including "Crank: High Voltage," "The Crow" and "Entourage."
LucasfilmKeisha Castle-Hughes ("Revenge of the Sith")
Sometime after Padmé's term as queen had ended by "Revenge of the Sith," the wise people of Naboo apparently elected another teenager queen: Queen Apailana, played by Keisha Castle-Hughes. Apailana is seen at Padmé's funeral, and Castle-Hughes is known for "The Whale Rider" and appearing on "The Walking Dead."
LucasfilmSimon Pegg (“The Force Awakens”)
Another secret cameo, Pegg is covered in alien costume work as the junk dealer Unkar Plutt on Jakku. He’s the guy who gives Rei less than what her salvage is probably worth.
LucasfilmBill Hader and Ben Schwartz (“The Force Awakens”)
You’d think the last thing a droid like BB-8 would require is a voice, given that he’s a robot and speaks in bleeps and bloops. But to get the sound and personality just right, director J.J. Abrams enlisted comedians Bill Hader (formerly of “SNL”) and Ben Schwartz (well-known for playing Jean-Ralphio on “Parks and Rec”).
LucasfilmThomas Brodie-Sangster (“The Force Awakens”)
“Game of Thrones” might have noticed a familiar First Order officer during shots of the bridge of the Starkiller Base. It was Jojen Reed, Bran Stark’s loyal friend, who also plays Newt in the “Maze Runner” franchise.
LucasfilmDaniel Craig (“The Force Awakens”)
It was something of a news item at the time, but James Bond slipped in a secret cameo in the first “Star Wars” film in a decade — as a stormtrooper. He’s the guard that Rei manages to Jedi mind trick into releasing her.
LucasfilmBillie Lourd (“The Force Awakens”)
Billie Lourd sneaked into Lucasfilm’s revival of “Star Wars” as Lt. Connix, one of the Resistance fighters running tactical machinery in the base of General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). Known for her hilarious turn as Chanel No. 3 on the horror-comedy series “Scream Queens,” she’s also Fisher’s daughter.
LucasfilmHarriet Walter ("The Force Awakens")
Playing a Resistance medic who helps out Chewbacca, "Downton Abbey" alumna Harriet Walter gets a short but sweet cameo in "The Force Awakens." She actually has one of the movie's funnier moments as she talks to Chewie about how scary his ordeal must have been.
LucasfilmRian Johnson ("Rogue One")
The director of 2017's "The Last Jedi" actually made a cameo in 2016's "Rogue One" along with producer Ram Bergman as members of the gunner crew of the Death Star.
LucasfilmJustin Theroux ("The Last Jedi")
Casting "The Leftovers" star Justin Theroux as the unnamed super-great slicer Finn and Rose are looking for is a fun cameo that winds up being a misdirection and a fun joke. Instead, the pair find Benicio del Toro's DJ to take over the job.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("The Last Jedi")
Director Rian Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt collaborated on the 2005 movie "Brick," the director's first feature-length movie. JGL makes the most of their friendship by voicing an alien in the "Star Wars" universe called Slowen Lo, a riff on the Beastie Boys song "Slow & Low." He's the guy who's really upset about Finn and Rose's bad parking job.
Tom Hardy ("The Last Jedi")
Taking a page from Daniel Craig's cameo in "The Force Awakens," Tom Hardy grabbed a stormtrooper uniform to appear in "The Last Jedi." His scene (which also featured Princes William and Harry) was deleted, unfortunately, but it finds him in an elevator with an incognito Finn, Rose and DJ as they sneak around the First Order ship midway through the movie. Hardy's trooper recognizes Finn and congratulates him on the promotion his uniform suggests, even giving him a supportive smack on the butt.
LucasfilmRalph Ineson ("The Last Jedi")
Another famous face appearing in the deleted sequence aboard the First Order ship is Ralph Ineson, star of "The Witch." He plays an officer who immediately recognizes that Finn and Rose don't belong. He pops up later with a detachment of stormtroopers to catch the impostors for real.
LucasfilmGareth Edwards ("The Last Jedi")
Edwards gave Rian Johnson a cameo in "Rogue One," so the director repaid the favor by making Edwards one of the Resistance troopers standing their ground on Crait. He's the guy who looks incredulously at the trooper who decided to taste the ground.
Clint Howard ("Solo")
Director Ron Howard's brother Clint is a well-known actor whose career goes all the back to the original "Star Trek" series. He pops up in a cameo role, as seen in this photo from his Twitter account, as a particularly mean guy in "Solo" who runs a droid fighting pit -- and gets a rough talking to by Lando's droid companion, L3.
LucasfilmJon Favreau ("Solo")
The "Iron Man" director (who also plays Happy Hogan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) and star of "Swingers" doesn't fully appear in "Solo," but his voice does -- he plays Rio Durant, the multi-armed member of Tobias Beckett's crew. Favreau gets to be the jokey member of the heist crew in the movie and acts as pilot, despite Han complaining that he wants the job.
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