In honor of tonight’s release of Star Wars: Episode VII, we thought we’d revisit our Diversity Gap Study on sci-fi and fantasy blockbusters. Star Wars is shaping up to be not only one of the biggest movies of the year but also potentially one of the biggest movies of all time, with ticket sales already shattering records.
For Star Wars fans, there is much to celebrate. And for fans of diversity in Hollywood, even more so: the film features British-Nigerian actor John Boyega as one of the leads. Boyega has been getting a lot of buzz since his role was announced (along with some racist comments from the Dark Side – par for the course when it comes to diverse casting of franchises, it seems), and is joined by Guatamalan-American actor Oscar Isaac, who also plays a major role. Lupita N’yongo will also star as an alien pirate, though we won’t see her face.
Director JJ Abrams acknowledged the importance of casting diversely, telling 60 Minutes, “When we started casting the movie, it felt incredibly important to me that the movie look like the world in which this movie is being released.”
Given some of the great diversity in TV and films over the last year, the casting of Star Wars may not seem revolutionary. But historically, in the context of the top-grossing sci-fi movies of all time, it is still huge. Take a look:
Here are some key statistics based on the top 100 domestic grossing sci-fi and fantasy movies:
• 8% of films star a protagonist of color • Of the 8 protagonists of color, all are men; 6 are played by Will Smith and 1 is a cartoon character (Aladdin) • 0% of protagonists are women of color and just 14% of protagonists are women • 0% of protagonists are LGBTQ • 2% of protagonists are people with a disability
If Star Wars becomes one of the top-grossing movies in this genre of all time–which it is certainly on track to do–it could put a dent in some of these numbers. And just as importantly, it will give Hollywood yet more proof that audiences are ready and willing to see great blockbusters with diverse leads. Star Wars, all we can say is: May the force be with you.
sleepywitness reblogged this from deweydell25 rubberfacedgoon reblogged this from flootzavut
bigmouthlass reblogged this from flootzavut
flootzavut reblogged this from vexingly-verbose and added: aabluedragon liked this
ivory-birb reblogged this from thelordofpaninis
thelordofpaninis reblogged this from amiekaufman
boyoshock-infinite liked this
starstruckducktragedy liked this 
poepill liked this 
starryeyed221 liked this caraaverna liked this
littlepurplepanda reblogged this from bi-trans-alliance
maychild liked this
nvmjimin liked this
shesaidclud reblogged this from theunnovelist
interstylistic liked this
borednschooled reblogged this from kalistozenda darthstarkiller liked this
celesteennui liked this
setphaserstofandom liked this
valoniya liked this
my-writing-reference-pile-up reblogged this from theunnovelist
eisforenigma reblogged this from theunnovelist
candi-all-the-time-blog reblogged this from theunnovelist
nessimonster liked this
amewinterswriting liked this
a-girl-named-chester liked this
obrien-martell liked this
theunnovelist reblogged this from leeandlow
marainnanoland liked this
vodkacran liked this
badwolfstarktheloser reblogged this from win-gar-di-um 
pink-lightsabre liked this tubooks posted this