There is a Transgender Character in Star Wars!

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Okay, I've written a couple articles about whether or not there are transgender characters in the Star Wars galaxy. We looked at the socio-economics, the politics, family dynamics and even the restroom situation in galaxy far, far away. Despite all of that, there was no clear evidence of transgender characters in Star Wars.

And it turns out this series of blog post was destined to be a trilogy.

Because now we finally have our answer.

Recently I came across an article on Entertainment Weekly's website, titled "BB-8: Creating the Roly-poly Droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens." In it, designers talk about how the physical BB-8 was actually a puppet onscreen, and CGI was used to remove the rods and other things that animated the characters.

Then, they discuss the character. I personally love BB-8. Unlike the headstrong and almost foolhardy R2-D2 of the original trilogy, BB-8 is much more timid, like a little puppy. Unlike R2 who bosses people around, BB-8 uses coy persuasion to get people to do what it wants. It's amazing that filmmakers could create two non-human, non-emoting characters and yet make them so distinct in their own ways.

And then, I came cross the following quote from Neil Scanlan who headed up the Force Awakens creature effects shop:

"I’m still not sure, dare I say, whether BB-8 is male or female, BB-8 was female in our eyes. And then he or she became male."

There you go. Not only is BB-8 hilarious and adorable and a fun addition to the Star Wars galaxy. BB-8 is transgender. There is a transgender character in Star Wars and he's an awesome new character. See, I knew we could trust J.J. Abrams.

And now BB-8 totally needs an Oscar. Let me see how much a full page ad in Variety costs.