Star Wars theory reveals the heroic origins of an overlooked character
Have we seen Vel before?
Star Wars doesn’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation. Fans can ship Finn and Poe all they want, but the representation in the actual films was limited to a one-second kiss immediately followed by a reaction shot from an alien slug.
Andor looks like it’s going to do some image repair with Vel, the leader of the Aldhani faction of rebels. She appears to be in a relationship with fellow rebel Cinta, but could there be more to her character than we think?
Redditor u/TheGoblinRook suggests that Vel and Commander D’Acy from The Rise of Skywalker are actually the same person. The reasoning? “Age, looks, and orientation.” It would be cool for a character to secretly be one of the higher-ups we see working with General Leia Organa in the sequels, and there is a slight resemblance.
However, age-wise there’s a bit of an issue. There’s about a 40-year gap between the events of Andor and The Rise of Skywalker. Conservatively estimating that Vel is 30 years old (actress Faye Marsay is 35), that would mean Commander D’Acy would have to be at least 70. Considering D’Acy is played by 50-year-old actress Amanda Lawrence, that doesn’t exactly match up.
But even if this theory doesn’t hold up to close scrutiny, it still says a lot about Star Wars. 33 percent of this theory is built upon the fact that both these characters are interested in women. Presumedly, there’s more than one blond lesbian in the galaxy, but because queer people have been so invisible in this world, the coincidence that the two of the three characters look vaguely alike is too tempting to connect.
Commander D’Acy kisses her wife at the end of The Rise of Skywalker.
Cinta and Vel in Andor
If Star Wars included more queer characters, there’s no way sexual preference would factor into a fan theory, but it’s so rare that the chance of these characters being two different people is honestly kind of understandable.
Hopefully, as we see the Rebellion blossom, we’ll see the kind of people it attracts, people who dream of a better world not only politically but socially. Hopefully, that means a world where they’re allowed to love who they want because right now it seems like a lot of Star Wars’ queer characters are in hiding.
Andor is now streaming on Disney+.
