Yahoo Movies Willow queer romance 'never received any resistance,' says series creator Jonathan Kasdan
Warning: This article contains spoilers from Willow episode 1.
The relationship between Disney and LGBTQ+ plot lines in their content has often been a strained one (see: the Beauty and the Beast live action "explicitly gay moment" and the buzzy Lightyear kiss).
But it seems like, at least when it comes to their Lucasfilm properties, they're warming to a more inclusive approach. First, Andor gave us Cinta (Varada Sethu) and Vel (Faye Marsay), who, if not explicitly physically intimate, were very clearly romantically involved.
Now, Willow is ready to finally offer audiences some legitimate queer representation with a central romance between Princess Kit Tanthalos (Ruby Cruz) and her knight errant, Jade Claymore (Erin Kellyman).
The first episode of the new Disney+ series initially offered vibes of something that felt like more than friendship between Kit and Jade, before having Kit surprise Jade with a kiss as she said goodbye to her and prepared to run away from her unwanted betrothal.
By the end of the episode, the two were at odds over Kit's arrogance and headstrong nature clashing with Jade's loyalty and devotion to the crown. But as for where their connection goes from here, we'll have to wait and see.
Creator Jonathan Kasdan acknowledges that this romance (and that kiss) is a big moment for Disney and Lucasfilm, but he's adamant that the plot line wasn't devised as some sort of token representation grab.
"It was a totally organic thing," he says. "It was not a decision that was ever made because we thought we needed queer representation in the show or that that was something we were intent on doing. What was clear was that we wanted to put at the center of this story a daughter for Madmartigan, who was torn between two people. One of those people was this person she was obligated to marry and was not in love with. And the other one was her best friend, who she was [in love with]."
For Kasdan and the writing team, Kit and Jade's identities were most important. Then, it just made sense to build the relationship around who they already were. "It felt very natural — as the pilot was coming together and the question about who these women are and how they empower the next generation — that that best friend would be female, too," he adds. "It never even occurred to us that we were making a choice to do a queer relationship, so much as it was to a story choice to put Kit into this interesting dynamic of friendships and romances."
Amanda Searle/Lucasfilm Ltd.
But what did the brass at Disney (and/or Lucasfilm) have to say about it? Historically, the company has avoided LGBTQ+ content altogether or resigned it to subtext. But Kasdan was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case with Willow.
"I don't know that this is amazing or just true of the times, but it really never received any resistance," he says. "There was support from the Lucasfilm side, and there was support from the Disney side."
"We're living in a moment where, frankly, this is part of the storytelling language," he adds. "You hope that it becomes less and less of an anomaly. Because the show doesn't take place on Earth, it's not quite fraught with the same baggage as a story that is."
As for where things go after that kiss, Kasdan won't spoil anything, except to promise more is coming in ways that are impossible to miss.
"I thought it was done really artfully in Andor, but it's very subtle, and I didn't pick up on it until pretty deep in," he elaborates. "It's exciting to me that we're able to do this. It's exciting to Ruby and Erin, too, that we're able to depict a relationship that feels really authentic and really true to teen romance but is a little different than you've seen in these stories."
Willow is now streaming on Disney+.
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