Disney is reportedly considering Amandla Stenberg for the lead role in the upcoming Star Wars TV show, The Acolyte.

Not a name we recognised but Stenberg identifies as non-binary. So Disney is pushing ahead in the diversity race.

Nice. This boundary should be pushed.

But the recent trilogy was properly terrible and all criticisms of it dismissed as bigotry, because the films had good diversity credentials.

This creates several bad associations - between diversity and poor quality, and also between diversity and audience members being unfairly maligned as bigots.

Stenberg's casting is brave but this show can't afford to be another lemon or it will be doing the cause of diversity no favours.

Diversity and Villainy

Disney has been voraciously retconning former female villains, eg. Maleficent and Cruella. Because apparently women can't just be evil.

Not much is known about this new show but "acolyte" in Star Wars vernacular typically refers to a Sith trainee.

Sith aren't lightweights in the evil department. Even acolytes would casually commit heinous acts without hesitation or reservation.

If this lead character is a proper Sith acolyte then this would also be a new one for Disney.

Diversity and Aliens

What species is this acolyte?

There is the possibility that the role is for a single gender species, like Star Trek's J'naii or The Orville's Moclans.

While not something which has been explored on screen, Star Wars has a lot of gender diversity to play with:

Many beings were designated "female" or "male" or were non-binary; at least eleven genders existed. Genders could also change or be chosen, and beings could be genderless. 

Main characters in Star Wars tend to be human, with a smattering of aliens in the background as window dressing. An alien lead character could be a lot of fun.

But Star Trek's The Outcast aired almost three decades ago.

Do we still need the crutch of fictional alien species to explore human topics like gender diversity?

A non-binary human character could be much more impactful.

Or maybe the role Amandla is being considered for is binary, which would be less interesting but still possibly good in the same way that out gay actors in straight roles help to establish that actors act and their sexuality shouldn't limit their perceived suitability for any role.

[ Main Image: Amandla Stenberg in The Hate You Give Us. Credit: Fox via IMDb.com. ]

References

Otterson, Joe (December 8, 2021). ‘Star Wars’ Disney Plus Series ‘The Acolyte’ Eyes Amandla Stenberg for Lead Role. Variety.

Wikipedia. The Outcast (Star Trek: The Next Generation). (viewed December 11, 2021)

Wookieepedia. Gender. (viewed December 11, 2021)