The "Star Wars" universe is working toward inclusivity.
Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker in the film franchise, recently told The Sun in the UK that his character could be gay. He reached that conclusion after reading an interview The Daily Beast did with "The Force Awakens" director J.J. Abrams. The director said it would be "counterintuitive" to exclude gay characters from the "Star Wars" universe.
"I just read online that J.J. is very much open to that," Hamill told The Sun. "In the old days, you would get fan mail. But now fans are writing and asking all these questions: 'I'm bullied in school ... I'm afraid to come out.'"
To fan questions about Skywalker's sexuality, Hamill responds: "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."
This isn't the first time the actor has talked about the possibility. In January, he responded to a fan's Twitter direct message asking whether Skywalker could be bisexual. His answer said: "His sexuality is never directly addressed in the films. Luke is whatever the audience wants him to be, so you can decide for yourself."
After "The Force Awakens" opened in theaters in December, some fans speculated that Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron and/or John Boyega's Finn could be gay.
In the interview with The Daily Beast, Abrams said "of course" he wanted to include gay characters in "Star Wars," even though no explicity gay character has been in the franchise's past films.
"When I talk about inclusivity it's not excluding gay characters," he said.
"To me, the fun of 'Star Wars' is the glory of possibility," he added. "So it seems insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive to say that there wouldn't be a homosexual character in that world."
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