The Disney era of Star Wars may be contentious for a lot of longtime fans, but it’s hard to deny its overall impact, especially when it comes to diversifying the galaxy far, far away. The Force Awakens‘ three hero leads are a woman, a black man, and a Latinx man. Rogue One pushed the boundaries even more, featuring a mostly non-white main cast. The Last Jedi introduced us to Rose Tico, The Mandalorian will feature several non-white leading characters–overall, it’s a great time for representation in the Star Wars universe, specifically Star Wars Resistance.
But that doesn’t mean Star Wars is totally knocking it out of the park when it comes to this stuff. They have yet to feature any openly gay characters, for instance. But wait… that might not actually be the case. According to Entertainment Weekly, the executive producers of the Disney Channel cartoon series Star Wars Resistance just confirmed that two of the show’s characters–Orka and Flix–are in fact an openly gay couple, and always have been. This makes them the first openly gay couple in the onscreen Star Wars universe.
At a recent press day for Star Wars Resistance, Drew Taylor–host of the podcast Coffee With Kenobi–asked Athena Portillo, Justin Ridge, and Brandon Auman about Orka and Flix’s status. “I think it’s safe to say they’re an item, absolutely,” Ridge responded. “They’re absolutely a gay couple and we’re proud of that. We love Flix and Orka.”
This is welcome news for fans who have been frustrated by the lack of onscreen queer representation in the Star Wars universe. While we love a good StormPilot fan-fiction, the Finn/Poe thing has never been canon and probably never will be. Likewise, Lando Calrissian is allegedly pansexual, but that’s never really been worked into the films in an explicit way–unless you consider his flirtation with droid L3-37 representation. (L3 is programmed as female, so it’s not exactly queer no matter how you cut it.)
That said, if Star Wars Resistance never actually mentions Orka and Flix’s status onscreen, it may be another example of coding characters a certain way without actually letting them be gay in a meaningful way. However, we have reason to believe that could change next season. In a recent interview with Comic Book Resource, Bobby Moynihan–who voices Orka–said that the upcoming season will explore their relationship more:
“What I always say about Orka and Flix, what I always force in there, when Flix says ‘I love you,’ Orka says ‘I know.’ They love each other. I think you’ll get a little more Orka and Flix, you’ll see them more outside of work [this season]. They’re my favorite little couple. I want to do a family spin-off with them and their robots.”
We’re really excited for this development and hope to see way more Orka and Flix–and their relationship–when the second season of Star Wars Resistance premieres on Sunday, October 6.
Header Image Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm