LONDON, March 7 (UPI) — Mark Hamill thinks it’s entirely possible his Star Wars character, Luke Skywalker, is gay.
The 64-year-old actor discussed his character’s sexual orientation with The Sun after The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams hinted at gay characters in the Star Wars universe.
“I just read online that J.J. is very open to that,” Hamill acknowledged. “Now 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,” he said. “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.”
Abrams told reporters he’s open to a gay character in Star Wars at the US-Ireland Alliance Oscar Wilde Awards in February. He will executive produce the next movie in the franchise, Star Wars: Episode VIII, with Rian Johnson (Looper) as director.
“When I talk about inclusivity it’s not excluding gay characters, it’s about inclusivity, so of course,” Abrams said. “To me, the fun of Star Wars is exploring the possibilities, so it seems insanely narrow-minded to say that there wouldn’t be a homosexual character in that world.”
Hamill will reprise Luke in Episode VIII and is expected to have a major role in the new movie. The film co-stars Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, and opens in theaters Dec. 15, 2017.
“It’s two hours of me and Mark Hamill staring at each other,” Ridley joked of the sequel to MTV News last week. “Me and Mark have been rehearsing a lot and it’s really amazing … It’s such a good story. Seriously. Luke is so cool in this one.”
Hamill first played Luke in Star Wars (1977) and went on to star in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). He had a brief appearance in The Force Awakens (2015) and will voice the Joker in the animated movie Batman: The Killing Joke.
