Moses Ingram has described Obi-Wan Kenobi as the “most diverse” Star Wars project.
The actor, best known for her role in The Queen’s Gambit, is set to star opposite Ewan McGregor in the latest Star Wars series for Disney+. Ingram will star as Inquisitor Reva, an underling of Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen).
Speaking about the series in a new interview with the Independent, Ingram said: “Obi-Wan is going to bring the most diversity I think we’ve ever seen in the galaxy before. To me, it’s long overdue.
“If you’ve got talking droids and aliens, but no people of colour, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s 2022, you know. So we’re just at the beginning of that change. But I think to start that change is better than never having started it,” she added.
It comes after John Boyega criticised Disney for how his role in the Star Wars sequel triology was “pushed to the side”, alongside other characters played by actors of colour such as Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose.
“What I would say to Disney is do not bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are and then have them pushed to the side,” he told GQ. “It’s not good. I’ll say it straight up.”
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Later, he revealed that those criticisms started a “very honest, very transparent conversation” with Disney that he hoped would inspire a positive change.
Elsewhere in the interview, Ingram revealed that she was warned that racist hate was “a thing that, unfortunately, likely will happen,” by Star Wars’ production company LucasArts. “‘But we are here to help you; you can let us know when it happens’,” they added.
Ingram credits director Deborah Chow for “putting the proper systems in place so I feel safe as we do the work. Of course there are always pockets of hate but I have no problem with the block button,” she added.
Obi-Wan Kenobi airs May 27 and is set ten years after the events of Revenge Of The Sith. The show will follow Jedi Master Obi-Wan’s “greatest defeat as he witnesses the the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader,” according to Disney.