There was once a time where Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu were the only people of color (PoC) with significant roles in any “Star Wars” film. Which is strange considering “Star Wars” is set in a fully fictional world where Jedi mind tricks and Ewoks are the norm. You get my point?
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“The Force Awakens” stepped up in 2015 and introduced more PoC in leading roles by casting John Boyega and Oscar Isaac (a.k.a the dream duo we collectively swooned over) as central figures to the plot. In 2016, we got “Rogue One”—the film where “Star Wars” finally got diversity right.
From the casting to the way characters were written, “Rogue One” did so much more for on-screen diversity than a lot of big Hollywood blockbusters do today. From Felicity Jones being cast as a fully-capable female lead to the relationship between Chirrut and Baze, here are some reasons why “Rogue One” was a win for diversity.
Felicity Jones was cast as Jyn Erso, a strong-willed heroine with a fighting spirit and the skills to match.
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Alright, so the idea of a heroine isn’t new. Before you bring up Katniss or that girl from the Divergent series, let me remind you of something; their strength and independence are often overshadowed by a love interest. Jyn Erso, on the other hand, is a strong fighter and never loses her independence; something we see throughout the film. She can hold her own in a gunfight and is the only one brave enough to rally up the rebellion. She doesn’t get trained by a man or fall in love with a man. Instead, she holds her own as a leader of the rebellion.
Diego Luna kept his Mexican accent as Cassian Andor.
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I can’t explain how overwhelmed I was when I saw Diego Luna in the first “Rogue One” trailer. Seeing Luna—a household name in many Mexican families and one of the most widely recognized actors and directors in Mexico—cast as the lead Cassian Andor in a global blockbuster was a huge deal. The best part? Luna kept his accent. After seeing American TV and film make Latino accents the punchline of many jokes, it was about time there was a movie that depicted an actor with an accent and not at the character’s expense.
Donnie Yen was heavily involved with the writing of his character, Chirrut Imwe.
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Donnie Yen is known for his role in the “Ip Man” series as well as a widely recognized martial arts master so naturally, “Rogue One” director Gareth Edwards approached him first for the role. Yen didn’t want Chirrut to fall into the stereotypical Old Master trope so he suggested making Chirrut blind to give his character more complexity.
The relationship between Chirrut and Baze tackled ideas of masculinity.
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The biggest question most of us had after watching “Rogue One” was if Chirrut and Baze were a couple. It hasn’t been officially been confirmed by anyone involved with “Rogue One” but you can’t deny that the love between them is palpable. Whether you want to believe they were best buds or in love, their relationship challenged traditional ideas of masculinity. Seeing two men (and men of color at that) share an intimate relationship with each other on screen is a rare thing.
The importance of on-screen diversity as seen in “Rogue One” is that the recognition of actors who aren’t white is long overdue. PoC actors should be recognized for their talent alongside the usual Oscar winners such as Jennifer Lawrence, Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep. #oscarssowhite was trending almost a year ago, and the conversation still hasn’t changed.
On-screen representation goes a long way for kids, whether it’s a little girl feeling empowered because she saw Jyn Erso basically save the universe or a kid in Mexico asking for a Cassian Andor action figure because they heard Andor with the same accent as them.
“Rogue One” set an example for the rest of Hollywood, however, Hollywood shouldn’t rely on science fiction films to show equal representation of PoC.
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