It’s been a long time coming, but it sounds like we’ve finally gotten a queer character in the Star Wars universe… probably, maybe.
Critics who saw Solo: A Star Wars Story before its May 25 release were pleased to note that the banter between Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) seemed flirty, giving fans a new hope that this installment would establish Lando’s love for the Hans, Leias, and every droid in between.
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And according to the Solo co-writers (well, one half of them at least), Lando’s sexuality is fluid — just don’t expect him to get explicit about it in the film.
When HuffPo asked if Lando was indeed “pansexual” like so many fans have hoped, Jonathan Kasdan, the younger of the father-son Solo co-writers, admitted:
“I would say yes. There’s a fluidity to Donald and Billy Dee’s [portrayal of Lando’s] sexuality. I mean, I would have loved to have gotten a more explicitly LGBT character into this movie. I think it’s time, certainly, for that, and I love the fluidity ├óΓé¼ΓÇó sort of the spectrum of sexuality that Donald appeals to and that droids are a part of.”
Aliens too, we assume?
The writers may dance around it, but Lando’s sexual preferences are certainly talked about in the film. Even Lando’s droid L3-37 makes a joke about his teasing dynamic with Han.
But we’re more likely to see Lando hook up with L3 than Han. In the film, L3 tells Emilia Clarke‘s Qi’ra that a physical union between her and Lando would “work.”
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Jonathan acknowledged that really anything could happen when it comes to Lando, adding:
“He doesn’t make any hard and fast rules. I think it’s fun. I don’t know where it will go.”
Though his father was much more vague. Addressing L3’s jokes about Lando’s flirting towards Han, Lawrence Kasdan said:
“That is her personality. Maybe it means something, maybe it doesn’t.”
Thanks for the cryptic non-answer, Yoda.
While Solo may not give audiences an explicitly queer character, the writers made sure to represent more unconventional types of attraction — like Jon Favreau‘s character getting hot and heavy for a big set of pearly whites. Jonathan explained:
“There’s a line that [Jon Favreau’s character, Rio] has where he’s asking Han about the girl that he left behind, and he says, ├óΓé¼╦£Does she have big teeth?’ ├óΓé¼┬ª It’s a joke in the movie, but we did want to hit on this idea that people’s ideas of what they’re attracted to all over the galaxy are very, very different and not exactly as set as ours are.”
Well, at least we’re finally getting representation for people with teeth fetishes…
As for an obvious LGBT character in the Star Wars cinematic universe, we’ll have to keep waiting.
[Image via LucasFilm/Disney.]
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