Star Wars star says franchise 'is gay already' over Disney's 'woke' new series as fans left outraged
The Acolyte star discusses latest addition to series
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Fans of the Disney franchise have once again spoken out against the "woke" agenda they feel is set in the latest edition of the Star Wars saga - claiming they will give up on it altogether.
Since its inception, there have been 11 live-action films and five live-action series but many feels there's been a marked change to the franchise since Disney bought Lucasfilm back in October 2012.
In the latest addition to the ever-growing franchise, The Acolyte premiered on Disney+ with two episodes on June 4 and will drop new episodes every Thursday on the streaming app.
Unlike many of the previous Star Wars live-action series on Disney+, including The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Andor, this series is not trying to fill in the gaps between the films.
The brand new story is set a full century before Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace with new characters. It begins with a mysterious masked woman walking into a noodle shop and baiting a Jedi master.
Creator and Showrunner Leslye Headland and actor Amandla Stenberg, who plays former Jedi in training Osha as well as the cloaked assassin Mae, recently sat down with The Wrap's Drew Taylor to discuss the latest series.
We are happy to report that #TheAcolyte is “arguably the gayest #StarWars” yet. 🌈 Happy Pride Month! 😉 pic.twitter.com/3oJSykc4Kq
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) June 4, 2024
Getting straight to the point, Taylor asked: "I want to ask you both because this is, I would say arguably the gayest Star Wars by a considerable margin. Are you excited, are you embracing it?
"It is pretty gay let's be honest. Leslye, how do you feel? It is going to be a talking point," leaving Headland to let out a loud and intense laugh at the statement.
"Is it going to be a talking point?" she asked before Stenberg confidently turned and stated: "Because nerds are gay."
Correcting her comment, Taylor noted: "Well some nerds are very not gay and are very threatened by gay stuff," leaving Stenberg to gloss over the comment and express: "Well that is true but in my world nerds are gay."
The actress and creator were pleased many thought their series was the "gayest" yet
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Getting back to the point at hand, Headland explained: "People have told me that it is the gayest Star Wars and I am frankly... into it."
Adding onto her point, the Osha actress said: "I think that Star Wars is so gay already, I mean have you seen the fits? We'll be like, 'Look how gay this is' and then send each other a reference photo."
Headland turned to Taylor and asked: "Are you telling me with a straight face that C3-PO is straight?" before he joked: "They're a couple, that's what I think."
"I think it that R2-D2 is a lesbian..." Headland quipped back.
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Many were outraged at the conversation
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A clip of the interview was posted on X, but the interaction left long-term fans of Star Wars annoyed, as one user commented: "I stopped watching Star Wars years ago when they decided to put woke messaging in their scripts."
"Alienating your fan base is not entertainment," another slammed before a third expressed: "Star Wars was lost the day Lucas films was sold to Disney."
Someone else asked: "I won’t go see it. Why does everything have to be ruined by wokeness? It’s just nuts."
"Glad I deleted my Disney Plus a long time ago so I could be far far away from this nonsense" a fifth penned, as another user noted: "Just another reason not to watch these Hollywood movies. They are destroying movies with wokeness."
However, not all reactions were negative as one user excitedly said: "I am really looking forward to the rest of this series! It's new and fresh, something the franchise needs." (sic)