‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ Trailer Debuts With Multicultural Cast

Star Wars fans… watch this trailer debut of ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,’ aka Star Wars VIII. See anything different, see anything that stands out? The whole cast is basically diverse! I believe it is the first time a Star Wars film has introduced a full lead diverse cast. 

Let’s go through some cast members:

Felicity Jones – Female
Diego Luna – Mexican
Donnie Yen – Chinese 
Forest Whitaker – African-American 
Mads Mikkelsen – Danish
Riz Ahmed – Pakistani 
Jiang Wen – Chinese
Ben Mendelsohn – Caucasian
Alan Tudyk – Caucasian

This is a landmark moment because the Star Wars brand, for the most part, has always been a “white brand” reaching a global multicultural audience. But from the looks of it, executive producer J.J Abrams bought in that the “white brand” isn’t the ONLY way to make blockbuster money. A “diverse brand” can also make money, evident by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens“, J.J Abrams’s brush with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical “Hamilton” and FOX’s “Empire“. He’s literally decimating the myth that diversity doesn’t work in Hollywood, that diversity doesn’t mean placating media and cultural organizations with ethnic quotas. He’s literally putting diversity face-first on Hollywood’s most important legacy franchise as a statement. This is the way it had to be, a powerful white director/producer, from the inside, who convinces his fellow white decision-makers to get on board. He’s the catalyst and the future looks bright, just like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Synopsis: Lucasfilm’s Rogue One, which takes place before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope, tells the story of unlikely heroes who have united to steal plans for the dreaded Death Star.