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�Star Wars: The Acolyte� showrunner Leslye Headland expressed her enthusiasm when an interviewer who called the new series �the gayest �Star Wars�� said
she thinks it�s �canon� that the character R2-D2 is a lesbian.

Headland made the remarks during an interview with The Wrap. The 44-year-old filmmaker seemed surprised that infusing the show with LGBTQ themes would be
a big deal. �Is it going to be a talking point?� she asked the interviewer.

�Acolyte� actress Amandla Stenberg chimed in, �Because nerds are gay.�

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

TheWrap�s interviewer replied, �Well, some nerds are very not gay and are
very threatened by gay stuff.�

�Well, that�s true. But in my world nerds are gay,� Stenberg said.

The interviewer asked if this was meant to be a �fun element,� and Headland replied, �No, I don�t think so, and yet people have told me it�s the gayest Star Wars, and I am frankly � into it.�

�I think Star Wars is so gay already. I mean, have you seen the �fits? We�d
be like, �Look how gay this is,� and send each other a reference photo,� Stenberg said.

Headland next shared her thoughts on the sexuality of fictional Star Wars robots. �And are you telling me with a straight face that C-3PO is straight?� she joked.

TheWrap interviewer agreed, saying, �They�re a couple. That�s what I think.�

�I think it�s canon that R2-D2 is a lesbian,� Headland replied.

This isn�t the first time the showrunner has brought up LGBTQ themes in
Disney entertainment. Earlier this year, a video from the 2023 Star Wars Celebration captured Headland saying how �The Acolyte� would be �coded queer� like the animated children�s film, �Frozen.�

�When I saw Frozen as a grown a** woman, I cried through the entire movie,�
she said at the time. �There was just something about the relationship
between the sisters, the like devillainization of the classic kind of fairy tale �bad guy,� you know, the concept of true love being between two sisters and not a heterosexual relationship. It just destroyed me, completely.�

She continued, �And I thought, �Gosh, I would love to make something like
this, for lack of a better term, Disney.� Meaning something that like my parents would have allowed me to see when I was younger as a queer person,
but I would have been able to understand as a queer person. And I think I
would have had a completely different life. And so I really was inspired by
it and was like, �God, I would love to make a story like this.��

In 2021, Headland spoke to The Advocate about having representation on �The Acolyte� and fully intending �to allow her own personal experiences as a
queer woman shine through in the finished product.�

�In the same way that the original �Star Wars� film, �A New Hope,� is about a young man living in Modesto, California, who doesn�t want to take over his dad�s hardware store,� Headland said. �There�s just no way that me being a queer woman is not going to be reflected in my work. I could try not to do
it, but why would I? It just feels like a natural extension of what I do.�


--
Let's go Brandon!

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