Space race: How 'Star Wars' became a battleground for diversity

Make me laugh. The real reason for this “ diversity” is sales and marketing. The races and nationalities are there to sell in the different Asian and western markets.

Can we please just get an interesting story instead of just appeasement to special interest groups.

I love how the article not so subtly implies that anyone who didn't like The Last Jedi were racists and sexists. Sure, don't leave any room for the large group of people like myself that just thought it was a bad film.

I've seen many people pointing out that the more 'woke' a film is the worse its story is and star wars is the same. The main complainers also overlook things like Rogue One which had a woman as the lead but was widely liked but wasn't outspoken about 'diversity'. Check out Rough Night with Scarlett Johansson, the 'wokest' film I've ever seen but it's so contrived it's a parody.

No reasonable person is against diversity and representation and whatever but when that's all a film is without a story nobody is going to care. This new star wars might actually be the nail in these 1D attempts to 'appeal to a wide audience'. Story first, what they look like/identify second, and if the story is good nobody is going to mind about the second bit

It became a battleground for everything except trying to make a good movie.

Sad junk; watch the originals!

I'm totally cool with the diverse cast.

I'm much less cool with how boring the movies have become.

There is no connection between these two variables (diversity and quality). The Expanse (just finished watching season 4) has a very diverse cast and is a really great sci fi show to name one example.

I don't know if it can live up to the brilliance of The Last Jedi but if it manages to annoy the, er, "fans", that's a plus.

Can we please just get an interesting story instead of just appeasement to special interest groups.

Race, gender and sexuality affect us all. And if some still think Star Wars isn't about fighting fascism, you've been watching a different saga.

The Expanse (just finished watching season 4) has a very diverse cast and is a really great sci fi show to name one example.

Can't argue with that - it's hard sci-fi, though. Star Wars is a fairy tale. Both can be enjoyed for the very different stories they tell.

Looking fwd to the latest season of The Expanse. I reckon it's the best of that particular genre since Battlestar Galactica (the latter day version)

It is a different galaxy, long ago ... perhaps there weren't any queer people or it was socially unacceptable there?

Or perhaps everyone is gay and just hiding it? We don't know. It hasn't been a topic in any canon that I know. Perhaps some of the stormtroopers were gay - Gary has been popular. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3iwssa That's diversity.

It's a movie.

+1 on The Expanse. Great stories, close enough to the books, but different.

I liked Kelly Marie Tran in the prior movie. She made it "real." Not woman is a size 2-4. Hope everything is fine with her health.

Unfortunately the woke silliness of the movie is not even its worst aspect. The terrible acting is.... so sad to end with such a poor movie

Any journalist claiming Star Wars has not been diverse is simply ignorant. Any journalist claiming that Star Wars needs diversity only sees the color of a person’s skin or the person’s biological sex...and not the person’s thought or heart.

How racist and sexist of them!

Disney has abandoned Star Wars storytelling, minus a few exceptions, for what J.J. Abrams, Rian Johnson, and Kathleen Kennedy pulled out of their dumpster diving.

Star Wars has always epitomized diversity.  aliens, humans, robots, male and female heroes, some who I guess are gender fluid........

All we needed was for Princess Leia to cop off with Rey or Luke to do the same with Han (or even better, Chewbacca) and we were done.

Just one complaint. These people are all able-bodied. No way I'm watching the movie until this changes.

Finally, the greatest diverse lead 'actoress' has been found!

'Zer' is gender non binary and is, incredibly, a mix of every nationality on earth. Zer's complexion is pitch black on one side of the face, albino white on the other with a few streaks of yellow, brown and other shades to boot.

Zer's sexuality is LGBTQXYZA+-......all 365 of them, magically transforming to the next letter's sexuality every day throughout the year.

Zer is also physically diverse being both pencil thin slim as well body positive obese at the same time.

Politically, Zer is very diverse, embracing every woke, Marxist, left wing, progressive philosophy possible.

Zer is sure to please everyone in Hollywood and to finally satisfy their heretofore frustrating quest for diversity in movies.

Yawn....

Tell a good story, nobody cares about the race, gender or sexual preferences of the characters. Hollywood has forgotten how to tell stories though.

Hollywood has forgotten how to tell stories though.

Hmm, some people have forgotten to watch films, though.

I love a popcorn blockbuster as much as the next person, there's always a time and a place for escapism but seriously, have you not been to the cinema lately?

The Favourite, BlacKKKlansman, The Irishman, Joker, Roma, Marriage Story, etc?

Once upon a time in Hollywood...

have you not been to the cinema lately?

The Favourite, BlacKKKlansman, The Irishman, Joker, Roma, Marriage Story, etc?

I have seen a few of those. I was making a generalization. I saw the Irishman, Joker and Marriage Story. All were decent to excellent. None of them engaged in obviously "woke" dialogue or intentionally "diverse" casting. All 3 did focus on the story. My one gripe with Marriage Story is that it is one of the many Hollywood movies that deals with the lives of Hollywood and theatre people. A decent story, but an example of script writers not getting outside their little LA/NY entertainment circle.

Worth noting that 2 of the 3 were only made by virtue of Netflix, and the Joker was considered controversial (god knows why - typical Hollywood films are many times more violent).

One of the wonder of science fiction (such as the Star Wars universe) is that it offers limitless possibilities for great stories, unconstrained by current realities. So it's disappointing to see the producers constrain it intentionally. (See Dr. Who, for example.)

Star Wars is Fantasy Fiction, not Science Fiction.

There is nearly ZERO "science" in Star Wars.

Star Wars is Fantasy Fiction, not Science Fiction.

There is nearly ZERO "science" in Star Wars.

This argument has been going on almost since Star Wars came into existence. The most common label that it's been given is 'Space Fantasy' because it blends sci-fi and supernatural elements together.

Personally I'm fine with it being labeled science fiction because the common definition of sci-fi includes themes of space travel and life on other planets, both of which are abundant in Star Wars.

Also, there's a ton of sci-fi movies with no real science in them.

The vast majority of people who disliking the Rise of Skywalker and the Last Jedi have no issues with what race or gender a character is. Its all about the story and what this new story did to George’s story. That original story that made people fans of Star Wars.

The Skywalker family has been killed. Their victory over Palpatine negated. The real Skywalkers have been rendered irrelevant by this abomination, through appropriation. Everyone should see that Ep 9 is actually the Rise of Palpatine.

My one gripe with Marriage Story is that it is one of the many Hollywood movies that deals with the lives of Hollywood and theatre people. A decent story, but an example of script writers not getting outside their little LA/NY entertainment circle.

Oh, for sure. It is limited in its scope and reminded me in places of the closed circles that the best Woody Allen films operated within. But Johansson and Driver were absolutely convincing in their roles and I wouldn't be surprised if either or both get an Oscar nod.

One of the wonder of science fiction (such as the Star Wars universe) is that it offers limitless possibilities for great stories, unconstrained by current realities. So it's disappointing to see the producers constrain it intentionally. (See Dr. Who, for example.)

I presume you're referring to the Doctor being stranded on Earth with no idea how to use his TARDIS? The scriptwriters at the time were riffing on Quatermass and other Earth-bound serials of the day. There's a bit of Bond gimmickery and Kung Fu leanings in there, too, if you look close enough. I don't know whether it was Pertwee tiring of the role, or down to the producers but the amount of stories set off world and elsewhere increased towards the end of his tenure. Two of the most popular stories (these were made in the 70s but set in the 80s) were The Green Death and Inferno. Both of which dealt with pollution, drilling and eco-disasters. Way ahead of their time & both (mostly) Earth-set adventures.