In an open letter addressed to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Bob Iger, CEO of Disney (the studio that owns the Star Wars series), Yehl explains that Leinonen was a “passionate” Star Wars fan, and that “nothing would make him happier than for all the little gay nerds out there to have their own Star Wars character to look up to.”
A fan petition has been set up to ask Star Wars producers Lucasfilm to create the franchise’s first LGBT character in honour of one of the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting.
Yehl also quotes Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams on the subject – “The fun of Star Wars is the glory of possibility.
“This is a universe with Wookies, Jawas, and Hutts, so why can’t there be a visible LGBT character on screen?