With more than nine excruciating months left untilStar Wars: The Force Awakenshits theaters this December, fans will be introduced to the first LBGT character in theStar Warscanon with an upcoming novel entitledLords of the Sith, written byPaul S. Kemp. The novel, set for release on April 28, will feature a character named Moff Mors, a lesbian Imperial leader who has made several very serious mistakes and spends a majority of the book trying to “prevent absolute failure.“Shelley Shapiro, the editor of theStar Warsnovels at Del Rey, offered the following statement about diversity in theStar Warscanon.
“This is certainly the first character in canon. But there was a gay Mandalorian couple, so it’s not brand new. It’s not something I really think about, it just makes sense. There’s a lot of diversity-there should be diversity inStar Wars. You have all these different species and it would be silly to not also recognize that there’s a lot of diversity in humans. If there’s any message at all, it’s simply thatStar Warsis as diverse (or more so because they have alien species) as humanity is in real life and we don’t want to pretend it’s not. It just felt perfectly natural.”
The “gay Mandalorian couple” referenced byShelley Shapirowas featured in the Expanded Universe novelsLegacy of the ForcebyKaren Travis. There was also a lesbian character in the 2003 video gamenights of the Old Republic, and the MMORPG gameStar Wars: The Old Republicalso allows for same-sex relationships, but these games and Expanded Universe novels are not considered part of theStar Warscanon.
It isn’t known how large a role Moff Mors has in theLords of the Sithnovel, or if there are any plans to introduce LGBT characters in futureStar Warsmovies. What do you think about the first LGBTStar Warscharacter? Let us know what you think below, and stay tuned for more details on theStar Warsmovies and novels. In the meantime, you can check out the novel cover forLords of the Sithbelow, before it debuts on April 28.
