There are some truly unfortunate realities that come with certain franchises. Maybe a certain type of game is less than welcoming to newcomers who just want to have fun. But then there's Star Wars, a franchise so big that it inevitably drew followers who have decidedly unfavorable views on certain groups of people, as Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram was warned.
That isn't some kind of editorial. Lucasfilm itself is well aware of the bigotry problem it faces with an unfortunate number of its fans. Sexism is one problem on its own, even affecting the protagonist of Jedi: Fallen Order, who was originally intended to be a woman. But racism has plagued the fandom for some time, and Lucasfilm decided to get out in front of it with one of its upcoming Star Wars series. At the very least, they decided to pass the buck.
Ingram, who plays Inquisitor Reva as part of the cast of the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series on Disney Plus, recently revealed in an interview with The Independent that Lucasfilm specifically warned her about how actors of color have been treated by a certain subset of the Star Wars fandom, particularly in recent years. "It was something that Lucasfilm actually got in front of, and said, 'This is a thing that, unfortunately, likely will happen. But we are here to help you; you can let us know when it happens.'" It's a grim reality where such warnings have to be made, but it's refreshing to see the studio actively support its potentially more vulnerable actors in this regard, even if they aren't taking action against the people doing the actual harassing.
Star Wars, unfortunately, has a well-documented history of its Black, Asian, and other actors of color suffering harassment from gatekeeping fans. John Boyega notably called out the racist verbal attacks he endured and actively pushed for important discussions about race. Meanwhile, Kelly Marie Tran went through arguably even more vitriolic hate from many of those same groups, even forcing her to leave social media for the sake of her own mental health. It seems as though Lucasfilm knows full well that things haven't much improved since then.
Luckily, Ingram appears motivated even through the inevitable backlash. "I think we have to open up our minds about who can tell what story," she told The Independent. "We are making strides, but bigger strides need to be taken in terms of allowing women of color to be as limitless as white women in our storytelling." She also refreshingly puts things in perspective for anyone who seems to think that a Black woman is somehow out of place in the science-fantasy world of Star Wars. "To me, it's long overdue. If you've got talking droids and aliens, but no people of color, it doesn't make any sense."
It seems like Star Wars still has a long way to go in terms of rooting out petty racist complaints. But if they can't be removed completely, then perhaps making the franchise more inclusive will inevitably force those fans to realize that they have to be more open-minded if they want to keep up with the series they claim to love. Granted, that sounds pretty idealistic. Maybe public shaming of racists and sexists would be more effective.
Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi airs new episodes every Friday on Disney Plus.
Source: The Independent