Diego Luna Just Reminded Everyone Why On-Screen Diversity Is So Important
"Representation matters.”
The latest Star Wars movies, Rogue One and The Force Awakens, have been lauded for featuring culturally diverse casts.
They’re also super fun films. Seriously, they’re just excellent, go and check them out if you haven’t.
Rogue One’s cast includes the Mexican-born Diego Luna in a main role, Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen and British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed.
In an interview with Esquire last year Luna commented on the film’s diversity. “Audiences want to feel represented, want to be able to empathise with the characters and the stories they are seeing on the screen. And this is exactly that,” he said.
“I think the smartest part of this whole thing is that it’s a modern approach to the universe of Star Wars. It’s making a comment on the world we live in today.”
Today Luna again reminded everyone how important on-screen diversity is by tweeting an emotional post by a fan who took her Mexican father to see the film.
I got emotional reading this! #RogueOneStarWars pic.twitter.com/kfNXxYxWWI
— diego luna (@diegoluna_) January 4, 2017
“I wanted my Mexican father, with his thick Mexican accent, to experience what it was like to see a hero in a blockbuster film speak the way he does,” the post said.
“My dad was so happy. As we drove home he started telling me about other Mexican actors he thinks should be in movie in America. Representation matters.”
Luna tweeted “I got emotional reading this!”.
Rogue One has raked in more than US$800 million at the box office so far, smashing the myth that audiences aren’t interested in diversity on-screen.