I have a lot of feelings about that wonderful John Boyega interview. A lot of frustration, that a thing I like as a fan wasn’t a great experience for actors I admire and respect while they were making it.

And that racists got to those talented young people still infuriates me.

Ultimately, I’m really grateful that I got into Star Wars BECAUSE OF actors like Boyega and Oscar Isaac, and their characters and performances still mean so much to me.

Then a year later I got to see Diego Luna in the same world, in a role I adored and felt was very nuanced.

But Cassian Andor had to die, because none of those characters were in A New Hope.

Like Hikaru Sulu being gay in Star Trek Beyond, marginalized people existed in the never-before-read margins of our favorite classic stories.

That’s still meaningful to me.

But then!! Star Trek: Discovery gave us two gay characters, and it was set even ten years BEFORE the original series!

And then!! Like Agent Carter, Luna’s Cassian Andor was given a Disney+ series and I was genuinely ecstatic. I never thought I’d see him again.

So I’m pissed that I saw a lot of people tweet today: “I’m done with Star Wars.”

After Boyega’s story, I get it. But I’m also pissed people aren’t willing to stay and fight to make the thing they love, better.

I would kill to work on Cassian Andor.
To me, that’s the solution:

I am never not going to love Star Wars. I will always support my favorite actors careers. I’ll always do both.

I’m not giving up what I love to the racists who have been happy to keep me out since 1977. Fuck them.

The solution: hire more diverse creators to tell these stories.

I’m overjoyed that Latino representation is pretty great in Star Wars right now.

Cassian Andor. Mandalorian. Star Wars Rebels. Poe Dameron. DJ in the Last Jedi.

But it can of course be 100% better. And it can be more LatinX, not just dudes.

I’m also still pissed that I got some pushback when I *suggested* Kelly Marie Tran could come back in a Rose Tico Disney+ show.

I just want these wonderful characters to have the same opportunity for nuance that Rey and Kylo Ren got. That’s all.

Star Wars, as a brand, is in a real new and interesting place right now. Way different than 1983, when it was first “over.”

What if great storytellers were able to tell exciting stories with these new characters in a way Luke/Han/Leia never got to do? Disney+ is a game-changer.

I’m just frustrated that we have so much more work to do, and some fans were saying they’re “done.”

I almost feel betrayed, as through white fans got to have amazing, nuanced, perfect Star Wars but *now* they can bounce.

I’m still here. We still have more to do and see.

There are massive systemic problems in entertainment and Star Wars should be leading by example. I hope someday it does.

I’m excited about the future of pop culture, and excited about new stuff we’re going to get, too.

And I hope talented PoC get to do work they love.

I hope I get to do more work that I love, too.

And always say “fuck racists.”