It's May the 4th and Star Wars hashtags are all the rage on Twitter. Along with posts that celebrate the films or advertise the arrival of all nine Skywalker Saga titles on Disney+ is a more complicated topic: Star Wars' lingering problem with issues of representation. #DoBetterStarWars is trending, too, as story-minded and socially-conscious fans see the holiday as an opportunity to address Lucasfilm and Disney head-on about changes they'd like to see made between the last phase of Star Wars and the next.
A number of Twitter users are still rankled by how the Sequel Trilogy played out and are using the hashtag to complain of the supposedly shoddy planning that led to Episodes VII-IX feeling too disconnected. However, the majority want to speak to the franchise's treatment of women and people of color.
Star Wars has long found itself in a cultural and political limbo of sorts. George Lucas's own politics shaped the two trilogies he oversaw. Those films are widely thought to be reactionary to America's involvement in Vietnam and Iraq. The Original Trilogy made Leia Organa one of the most iconic female characters of all time. It granted her more agency and authority in the '70s and '80s than women in film often get now, but it also relegated her to a sex symbol in a space bikini.
Episodes IV-VI left something to be desired in terms of racial diversity. Things got worse in the Prequel Trilogy. Though Lucas added Mace Windu, finally giving fans a black Jedi, he also included problematic alien races like the Gungans and the Toydarians, who reeked of reductive stereotype. Episode I-III's thin characterizations of Padme and Shmi, as well as its few female characters otherwise, didn't help.
The Sequel Trilogy tried to course-correct with John Boyega's Finn and then Kelly Marie Tran's Rose Tico (as well as a more ethnically and gender diverse background cast). In the end, neither character fulfilled their initial promise. Many fans were underwhelmed with Finn's arc. There were implications he could have been Rey's love interest or even Poe's, not to mention strong hints that he was destined to become a Jedi himself. There was even the subtextual storyline that stormtroopers like Finn are apparently enslaved children trained as soldiers. All of this was left on the table and Finn did little more than become allegiant to the Rebellion and tag along.
More of #DoBetterStarWars's ire is reserved for Star Wars' treatment of poor Rose, the first woman of color to have a major role in a Star Wars film and the moral heart of The Last Jedi. Fans argue the team behind The Rise of Skywalker caved to pressure from toxic corners of the fandom and sidelined the altruistic mechanic, to the film's detriment. After internet harassment on a massive scale forced Tran off of social media, Rose had only 76 seconds of screen time in Episode IX and didn't factor into the plot.
Some commenters saw even deeper into the Rose erasure. "I'm sure it's only a coincidence that Rose Tico being a working class POC rising up against the tyranny of a fascist regime is the 'most hated' character in Star Wars," wrote ADarkly83.
Several fans tweeted about the misogyny they perceive not just from the films, but from the fandom at large. @cardiganvixen wrote, "There were women I believed in […] Leia. Ciena. Rey. Amilyn. Rose Tico. Star Wars started to feel like it had a place for me. It doesn't feel like that anymore."
Rey's power was another point of contention. Some predominantly male fans have been critical of Rey's strong connection to the Force and her early ability to use that power without what they consider to be proper training. Defenders of Rey take issue with how The Rise of Skywalker explains away her innate ability with her familial connection to Palpatine. Others lamented that there's still an unfair double standard, in general, when it comes to the galaxy's female heroes.
While plenty of Reylos use Twitter to express their regret that the new trilogy's two leads didn't get their happy-ever-after, a few are trying to raise awareness around the issue of Ben Solo's mental health. The character has become an inspiration to those who have suffered abuse and survived difficult circumstances. These fans see his death as a slap in the face, in which imperfect people are somehow more disposable and perhaps even undeserving of life after the point of their redemption.
By some measures, Star Wars is trying to do better. So far, The Mandalorian seems to be doing right by its characters, with new players like Cara Dune and Grand Moff Gideon sitting well with fans. That series will reportedly add a live-action Ahsoka Tano to its cast list in its second season, which has already been and will surely continue to be a widely discussed topic on Twitter.
With the Skywalker Saga complete, the future of Star Wars is uncertain, but one thing remains true: its devoted fan base is as diverse and opinionated as ever.