Outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) — a member of the far-left “Squad” — is demanding that the next Star Wars movie features a black Jedi lead character, saying he will refuse to watch and will even denounce the movie franchise if his demand isn’t met.
The threat to the Walt Disney Company comes as the studio recently announced a new Star Wars movie trilogy in the making from X-Men veteran Simon Kinberg.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who is set to leave Congress in January after losing his primary, made his demand known in an X post on Tuesday.
“If the lead Jedi is not a Black [sic] man I ain’t messing with yall. Yall not about to make 12 Star Wars and have all white leads for all 12. Y’all wilding with that and I hate to say that I would not watch and will spend the rest of my days denouncing this franchise that I have loved,” he wrote.
If the lead Jedi is not a Black man I ain’t messing with yall. Yall not about to make 12 Star Wars and have all white leads for all 12. Y’all wilding with that and I hate to say that I would not watch and will spend the rest of my days denouncing this franchise that I have loved… https://t.co/f2duXRwbg9
— Rep. Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (@JamaalBowmanNY) November 20, 2024
Bowman dismissed online comments bringing up the Mace Windu character (Samuel L. Jackson) from the prequel movies. “Nah man. Lead. Protagonist. Story build around them. That’s it,” he wrote.
Bowman’s demand has prompted much social media ridicule.
“You gonna pull a fire alarm if they don’t obey your retarded demands?” one commenter noted, referring to the fact that Bowman was criminally charged with a misdemeanor for pulling a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building, allegedly to prevent a vote on the House floor.
Bowman is set to relinquish his Congressional seat in January to fellow Democrat George Latimer. His one term in Congress was marked by controversies, including his denial that Hamas raped women during the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
He also ridiculed a House member for hosting Jewish leaders, drawing accusations of antisemitism.
It remains unclear what prompted him to go off on Star Wars.
Under Disney and the leadership of Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy, Star Wars has embraced woke identity politics in a major way, especially in the numerous streaming series that the studio has created under the Star Wars banner.
But it has not gone over well.
The Acolyte was recently cancelled after just one season after fans failed to be drawn into the plotline featuring lesbian witches, gender ambiguous characters, and the claim by the series creator that it is “the gayest Star Wars” ever.
Kennedy has publicly pushed back on accusations Star Wars has become too woke.
“My belief is that storytelling does need to be representative of all people. That’s an easy decision for me,” she told the New York Times.
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