The best LGBTQ+ Star Wars Characters

While Star Wars is renowned for many things, there is one part of this sprawling universe that way more people should know about today: how beautifully queer it is. 

Since its first movie back in 1977, the Star Wars franchise has expanded into countless blockbuster films, video games, books, and more. Millions of fans have fallen in love with this complex sci-fi world and the myriad of interesting characters that fill its galaxy. And over the past few decades, we’ve been lucky to see the many queer heroes that fill these projects, with the series recognizing the immense diversity its premise entails and showing the countless kinds of people that would realistically fill its stories. 

Let’s take a look at some of those people now and learn how even in a series set in outer space, the best parts of Star Wars are its queer characters! 

Lando Calrissian

Starting off the list is everyone’s favorite smuggler and bad boy of The Empire Strikes Back, Lando Calrissian. 

His inclusion on this list may confuse some long-time fans; the earlier films gave no hints that Lando may be anything but heterosexual. But 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story offered a new look into this fan-favorite character, offering more of his trademark swagger and a deeper look into his personality — like the fact that he is proudly pansexual. 

Screenwriter Jonathan Kasden has clarified that Lando was written as pansexual and that his flirting with beings of every gender wasn’t a playful gimmick, but a concrete indication of the man’s sexuality. Donald Glover (who portrayed Lando in Solo) has voiced his complete support of this depiction, meaning that whenever we see Lando onscreen again, there’s a big chance we’ll see this suave smuggler’s queerness on full display. 

Djobvi Resmia

The animated series Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures has proven a true stand-out for the franchise, with fans of all ages adoring this kid-friendly look into the stringent Jedi order. Starring a group of young Jedis as they study the force, it introduces viewers to a whole group of future heroes that includes Djobvi Resmia, one of the series’ first-ever nonbinary characters. 

Djobvi’s inclusion is monumental not only for Star Wars, but for the entire science fiction genre. Because the nonbinary identity hasn’t received the best treatment in space-centric media; too often the only beings with they/them pronouns are inhuman aliens. With Djobvi, though, audiences get a well-rounded example of this identity, a competitive young child who learns throughout the program that winning doesn’t mean anything if you do it alone. They’re an amazing source of representation for old and new Star Wars fans alike, and they mark a huge development in terms of nonbinary characters in the sci-fi genre. 

Cinta Kaz

The newer Star Wars projects have loved to explore true anti-heroes, individuals fighting for good who aren’t afraid to shed some blood along the way. There are many new characters that fit this archetype, but few are as intriguing — or as wonderfully sapphic — as Andor’s Cinta Kaz. 

Cinta’s life began with tragedy; her entire family was killed by stormtroopers when she was young. This massive loss forged her into the strong, reserved rebel Andor finds her as, with Kaz’s fight against the Galactic Empire eventually bringing her into the arms of her longtime girlfriend, Vel Sartha. It’s through this relationship and her ongoing part in the rebellion that Andor spotlights the often questionable things people must do in the name of freedom. The series shows Cinta grappling with her actions and her trauma, grounding herself in her love for Vel and the many other people she’s met during this conflict. 

While tragic, Kaz’s story offers a comprehensive look into the darker side of this universe. And through her refusal to ever give up, she reveals just how hard a queer person will fight if it means they get to keep their found family safe. 

Commander Larma D’Acy

It’s unfortunate how few of the mainstream Star Wars films feature queer affection onscreen, which is why Commander Larma D’Arcy is such a vital addition to this historic franchise. 

Introduced in The Last Jedi, D’Arcy was a confidant to General Leia Organa and key member of the Resistance. While a less bombastic hero in this trilogy, each film shows Larma standing at the ready, with every attack against their fleet seeing her jump into action and square off against whatever the Order had in store. She was lucky enough to survive until the end of the war and got to witness the Resistance’s triumph. It was during this celebration that audiences got to see Commander D’Arcy embrace her wife, Lieutenant Wrobie Tyce, giving the Star War’s series its first onscreen lesbian kiss. 

Sister

It is truly a galactic crime how few appearances there are of Sister, the transgender clone, who first appeared in the novel Queen’s Hope. 

A member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Sister was thrust into the Clone Wars and forced to confront not only this conflict but the fear that her gender identity would make her a target. She was thankfully met with a resounding wave of support from the other soldiers — her ‘brothers’ —  who helped their Jedi commanders understand and respect her identity. She even earned the attention of then-hero Anakin Skywalker, with the man comparing Jedis transcending the physical world with their force to her transcending the confines of gender through her identity.  

While she is unfortunately only seen in-person in this book, Sister’s presence is felt throughout the entire Star Wars franchise, with the novel’s comparison of her pride to the force affirming so many trans fans today. She truly is a great example of representation — and we deserve to see more of her!

Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra

In most sci-fi media, we’re lucky to get one LGBTQ+ character as a member of an ensemble — rarely do we see one who gets her own solo comic book, like the badass treasure hunter herself, Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra.

Initially studying to be an archaeologist, the young doctor was shockingly recruited by Darth Vader in the villain’s titular comic series to build his personal droid army. Aphra initially went along with the evil mastermind — gaining insight into parts of him that most people would never survive seeing — before getting arrested and escaping thanks to help from Princess Leia. 

Since then (and after a failed execution attempt by Darth Vader) Aphra has traversed the cosmos, earning her own comic book Star Wars: Doctor Aphra which saw her team up with other anti-heroes to search for the galaxy’s most powerful artifacts. It was in this series that she was confirmed to be a lesbian, with viewers seeing her tangle with old and new lovers alike through characters like the iconic Sana Starros. And while her comic ended in 2024, Doctor Aphra’s legacy continues today, with many fans considering her to be the best LGBTQ+ character in the entire Star Wars canon. 

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