8 men and 4 women. 12 new faces to be set alongside the classic trio (OK, foursome. Sorry Chewie) of Luke, Leia and Han. 3 of them are people of color and if none of them is put in make-up or has their skin color otherwise changed, that means, of what could be a new main cast, with some alliance divide likely between them there would be a ratio of 3 to 1 in favor of the white, predominantly male cast. That seems steep, but in a film series that has rarely had more than one Black person in any one scene, the idea of 3 actors being in the same movie is almost astonishing. The rumors are heavily suggesting that John Boyega will be a hero (unfortunately eclipsing Daisy Ridely as a protagonist. I was really hoping for her to be Leia’s daughter and be the awesome Jedi Leia was in some early version of the story. It could still happen, but we’ll see.) which is great, I just hope that Lupita Nyongo and Crystal Clarke aren’t both antagonists. Maybe one of them. If both were bad, it would feel like too much; as if Mace Windu, Captain Panaka, Captain Typho, Lando, and if the rumors hold true, John Boyega’s characters are the few existing and only good characters in the Star Wars Galaxy who have dark skin.
TrialOfHeroes 