When The Rise of Skywalker was released in 2019, director J.J. Abrams went on a whirlwind press tour to tout the first gay kiss in all of Star Wars. While he may have been right about the on-screen inclusion being the first representation in the series, the Star Wars extended universe has been serving up some kick ass LGBTQ+ hotties since 2009.
The pickings may be slim, but there are plenty of contributors to the wider Star Wars Galaxy that have taken pains to include queer characters. Even Mark Hamill has encouraged fans to view his beloved Luke Skywalker through a lens that empowers them. Disney itself may be loudly purporting inclusivity but more often than not, it’s other creatives that are allowing these characters to let their flags fly. Recent comic books and novels have made strides for inclusion and some of the oldest contributions come from video games. While there are more entries that can be added to this list, there wasn’t enough substantial story behind the characters to get a mention. If only there was a Holocron to help in finding more than the paltry offering complied in this list.
Commander Larma D’Arcy and Wrobie Tyce
While this started out with a criticism of this very moment, it can’t be denied that showing the kiss between pilot Wrobie Tyce and Commander Larma D’arcy was a big moment for Star Wars. During Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, an overjoyed commander can been seen kissing a returning pilot in the background after the successful completion of whatever they were doing in that movie. While the inclusion was long enough to anger many conservatives, it was too short to matter to many liberals. While the two women have essentially no screen time besides a short-lived kiss and literally no character development, they still make the list for trying.
Flix and Orka
Another on-screen couple comes from the lesser-known Star Wars: Resistance series. Flix and Orka are a fully canonical gay couple. Before the release of the series’ second season, producer Justin Ridge proudly confirmed in an interview with Coffee With Kenobi the couple’s romantic inclinations. Flix, a leggy bird-like alien called a Gozzo, runs the Office of Acquisition. His partner, Orka, a pig-like Chadra-Fan, is the fast-talking negotiator for the shop. The two are passionate about the loot that comes through their store and often bicker like old friends as they work. Unfortunately, Resistance didn’t make it much past the couples reveal, but it might have been nice to see where the plot could have taken the quirky pair.
Dr. Chelli Lona Aphra
Dr. Aphra makes her debut appearance in the Darth Vader comic series. She is a morally dubious archeologist and mechanic with a penchant for murderous droids and getting into trouble. After getting wrapped up in Vader’s quest to overthrow his master, Aphra helps the Sith Lord discover the true identity of the death-star destroying pilot, Luke Skywalker, before betraying his intentions to Emperor Palpatine. Narrowly making her escape and convincing Vader of her own demise, Aphra disappears into the galaxy.
Throughout her tenure, Aphra has romanced two different women. Canonically lesbian, Aphra wars between her affections for Magna Tolvan — an imperial turned rebel — and Sana Starros, a no-nonsense smuggler with a good heart and even better aim. Both women have love-hate relationships with the incorrigible Dr. Aphra and their misadventures see the three women overlapping in a glorious hate/love triangle.
Sana Starros
While it seems like a cop-out to include both of Dr. Aphra’s lovers on the list, Sana Starros is too interesting a character to bypass. Initially introduced as Sana Solo, Han Solo’s illegitimate wife, Starros quickly proves herself as a formidable smuggler to the crew of the Millennium Falcon. While her marriage to Han was a sham, her incredible skills are certainly not and the crew quickly trusts Starros. After joining them (and rescuing them) on several quests, Starros runs into Aphra, who she quickly shoots. The two women do end up reconciling, but their relationship is still tumultuous. Though we love a good love story, there is something very engaging about an on-again off-again relationship, especially when one half would rather shoot the other than have a conversation.
Juhani
Juhani is a Cathar, a cat-like humanoid, that first appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game. The game’s 2009 release makes Juhani one of the first openly gay characters (that didn’t get retconned) in the Star Wars universe. With a fairly tragic backstory, a passion for defending the downtrodden and a consistent struggle with the Dark Side, Juhani is only romanceable by female players. While she initially attacks players in a fit of anger, the player can recruit the beaten fighter. If the player chooses to kill the former Jedi upon meeting her, a young female Jedi named Belaya will track them down in an attempt to take revenge for her former lover.
In the initial release of the series, developer Bio-ware was forced to cut a large portion of Juhani’s story. The only indication of her sexual orientation was a singular line of dialogue that players could access regardless of gender; the line lead players to believe Juhani was bisexual initially, but it was later patched by Bio-ware, who confirmed her status as lesbian icon and removed any romantic potential with male characters.
Sinjir Rath Velus
Sinjir Rath Velus was introduced in the novel Star Wars: Aftermath. A regular human, Rath is the first openly gay character in the series. A wisecracking alcoholic mired in a swamp of self-loathing, Sinjir is an ex-Imperial Officer who joins the rebellion and becomes a close advisor to Mon Mothma. He is a complex and compelling character who doesn’t get those big hero moments like most characters do in Star Wars. His journey is a painstaking crawl as he reconciles with his violent past and tries to make a decent future. His redemption arc in the Aftermath series is well worth the read and his romance with his near antithesis, Conder Kyl, is just too sweet to miss.
Conder Kyl
Since Aphra’s romantic interest got a shout-out, it only seems fair to talk about Conder Kyl. Kyl is one of the New Republic’s best slicers —similar to a hacker but a bit more hardcore — and one of Princess Leia’s go-to guys. Conder is kind and measured, described as a big-armed, barrel-chested man. He frequently tempers Sinjir’s more abrasive response to other people. With a romance that spans three books and plenty of ups-and-downs, they have a pairing that is more developed than many Star Wars couples.
Grand Admiral Rae Sloane
Introduced in A New Dawn and playing a pivotal role in the Aftermath series, Grand Admiral Sloane joined the Empire in its early days and transitioned to the New Order when it fell. Sloane has trained under Imperial legends like Grand Moff Tarkin and has even thwarted assassination attempts on Vader and Palpatine. The impressive commander even serves on Gallius Rax’s shadow council. Her formidable presence on the battlefield is largely due to her prowess, but it can’t be denied that her willingness to forgo a relationship with either gender has pushed her to success. Sloane does have plans to wed someday. In Aftermath: Empire’s End, she reveals that she has spent her whole life working for the empire and has no husband or wife to return to.
Eleodie Maracavanya
A non-bianary human space pirate Eleodie uses Zhe/Zher pronouns. Zhey first appear in Aftermath: Life and Debt and reappear in the final Aftermath book. Opportunistic and politically shrewd, Maracavanya is an incredible tactician. After leading zher crew to victory over the Imperial Star Destroyer ‘Annihilator‘, Eleodie renamed the ship ‘Liberty’s Misrule‘ and used it to form an armada where pirates work in harmony to be pillage and plunder the galaxy. While zhe never fully believes the fledgling New Republic can save the galaxy, Eleodie does partner with the former rebels to disassemble the old empire when it seems profitable. Despite having next to zero romantic inclinations towards others, Eleodie is the first canonically non-binary character despite Star Wars’ slew of prominent aliens.
Keo Venzee
The second non-binary person to grace the list, Keo Venzee, uses they/them pronouns. First appearing in Star Wars: Squadrons, Keo is a humanoid alien from the planet Mirialan. With their connection to the force granting them incredible reaction time, they became a competitive starship racer, a career that ended after a series of wins angered the criminal underworld of the outer rim. After escaping, they joined General Hera Syndulla and put their talents to good use taking down the empire. Despite their rough past, Keo is optimistic and frequently make jokes during even the worst dog fights.