While we can all agree that the actors announced in yesterday’s Star Wars cast will do an incredible job with whatever material they’re given, a lot of people were very concerned by the overabundance of white guys in the cast. Seriously, one black guy and only two women in 13 people? Is it still 1977? Well, hold on to your blasters, because there’s still one part that hasn’t been cast yet.
Based on what multiple sources are telling The Hollywood Reporter, J.J. Abrams still has to cast one more substantial role in the upcoming Episode VII, and it’s written for a woman. It’s unclear whether or not this is the same part for a biracial 20-something female actor that was getting traction in the Rumorverse several months ago, but with any luck it will be—or, at the very least, hopefully the backlash against the current lack of diversity in the already announced cast will convince Abrams to seek out a type of actor who’s a little more underrepresented. Like, hey, there are pretty much no Asian actors in the whole Star Wars franchise. Maybe that might be worth looking into, considering the whole franchise is basically a love letter to Kurosawa.
Speaking of which, it’s a relief that the people currently making Star Wars aren’t as dumb as we initially feared with regards to gender equality in casting, but it would have been nice if they’d held off on the big announcement until they had all of their ducks in a row. As a lot of people online have noted, announcing a cast with only one new female character in it pretty much ensured that all we were going to be talking about was how there weren’t enough women in the cast, which sets a bad precedent for the film going forward.
We all want to like you, Star Wars, we promise. Just don’t forget that “we all” doesn’t just mean white guys, K?
(The Hollywood Reporter and Uproxxx, image via X-Wing Rogue Squadron 4)
- Check out the rest of the announced cast list
- Who would win in a fight, a jedi or a wizard?
- We sure wish that one Star Wars game hadn’t been canceled
