New Willow casting makes LGBTQ+ history at Lucasfilm

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Talisa Garcia will reportedly play royalty in the Disney Plus spin-off

Talisa Garcia
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Talisa Garcia has been cast in the Disney Plus spin-off series Willow, making her the first openly trans actor to appear in a Lucasfilm production.

According to Deadline, Garcia will portray a queen, the mother of Tony Revolori’s unnamed character. It’s also a landmark moment elsewhere, as Garcia’s casting marks the first time a trans actor has played a cis character in a Disney Plus movie or series.

This follows on from other milestone steps at Disney, including Raya and the Last Dragon’s Patti Harrison becoming the first trans actor to voice a character in a Disney animated movie.

As of writing, those include Indiana Jones 5 – starring Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge – and multiple Star Wars projects. The Mandalorian season 3, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Andor, and movies from both Kevin Feige and Taika Waititi in a galaxy far, far away are just some of what we have to look forward to from Lucasfilm over the coming years. Its next release, the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, has recently shifted release dates to May 27 – though will release its first two episodes at once.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.