Luke Skywalker was a Tatooine farmboy who emerged from modest beginnings to become one of the galaxy’s greatest Jedi. Luke, along with his allies Princess Leia and Han Solo, fought the malevolent Empire, learned the truth about his parents, and defeated the Sith. The location of the renowned Jedi master was one of the galaxy’s greatest mysteries a generation later. Luke, haunted by Ben Solo’s fall to evil and persuaded that the Jedi had to end, sought exile on a distant planet while ignoring the galaxy’s cries for assistance. Luke Skywalker had one final, pivotal role in the conflict between good and evil, but his solitude was interrupted.
Is Luke Skywalker Gay?
He is gay, according to vanityfair. The creator of Luke Skywalker verified to the British newspaper The Sun earlier this week that the Chosen One’s sexual orientation is open to interpretation. In response to director J.J. Abrams’ suggestion that it would be good for the franchise to include non-heterosexual characters, Hamill stated:
“…fans are writing and ask all these questions, ‘I’m bullied in school… I’m afraid to come out. They say to me, ‘Could Luke be gay?’ I’d say it is meant to be interpreted by the viewer… If you think Luke is gay, of course he is. You should not be ashamed of it. Judge Luke by his character, not by who he loves.”
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How The Mandalorian Revived Luke Skywalker’s Queerness
The season 2 finale of The Mandalorian gave these headcanons new vitality. The Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker modifications were all over the place, and while they are still minor vessels, they hold their own on Archive of Our Own. The 2022 publication Stories of the Jedi and the Sith is an official collection of short stories about numerous Force-sensitive characters.
In “Luke on the Bright Side,” author and former TMS editor Sam Maggs describes Luke Skywalker’s first days at Echo Base on the icy planet Hoth, as well as his reluctant Rebel companion Sergeant Reyé Hollis. Again, there was nothing explicit in the text—just some Jedi maneuvering to escape an ice cavern on Hoth—but fans were quick to point out that the entire short narrative gave the impression that the two characters were developing feelings for each other.
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The query, therefore, remains: Is Luke Skywalker gay? Due to minor factors such as the nature of subtext and devotion and corporate policies, the answer is not a straightforward yes or no.
Luke was never depicted as having romantic feelings for anyone in any of the Star Wars films or television series, and that is a fact. Still, the subtext is unquestionably present, as evidenced by the fact that he has never expressed romantic interest in anyone, leaving his sexual orientation open to interpretation, and by Mark Hamill’s openness to such interpretations.
Nonetheless, I feel compelled to conclude this article by reiterating something that I’m certain we are all aware of but that bears repeating: No matter how compelling or compelling the subtext, it does not constitute representation. Nor do actors enjoy seeing how admirers perceive the characters they portray. Andor demonstrated this using Vel Sarthas and Cinta Kaz. Representation is placing openly gay characters at the center of a narrative where they cannot be ignored. Hopefully, there will be more Vels and Cintas in the franchise’s future.
… Or perhaps an actual affirmation that Luke Skywalker has been gay the entire time, just as we all suspected.
