Rogue One features what is hands down the most ethnically diverse main cast of any Star Wars movie, and people of color have been sharing personal stories of what that kind of representation means to them. On Tuesday, Diego Luna, one of the film’s leads, shared a particularly poignant account from a fan who wrote about experiencing the film with her father, who, like Luna, is Mexican. “I wanted my father, with his thick Mexican accent, to experience what it was like to see a hero in a blockbuster film speak the way he does,” she wrote.
“My dad was so happy,” the fan continued. “As we drove home he started telling me about other Mexican actors he thinks should be in movies in America. Representation matters.”
Luna wrote that he got emotional reading the fan’s story, and it’s not hard to see why: Latinos are the most underrepresented ethnic group in Hollywood despite making up approximately 17 percent of the U.S. population. The post is an important reminder of how powerful representation is, especially for groups who aren’t used to seeing themselves on screen—or who are only used to seeing themselves in stereotypical roles. And Rogue One has inspired many such stories: The one Luna posted is reminiscent of comedian and activist Kumail Nanjiani’s reaction to seeing the film, and particularly to seeing Pakistani British actor Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook, who plays a pivotal role in saving the Rebellion:
Hopefully, reactions like these—plus Rogue One’s incredible financial success, which now totals more than $800 million worldwide—will help inspire the creators at Lucasfilm to continue to make even more inclusive Star Wars movies, ones that prove the galaxy belongs to not just the straight, white, chosen few but to people with disabilities, gay people, women of color, and all of us.
