'Star Wars Resistance' makers confirms franchise's first gay couple

The makers of Star Wars Resistance, the animated Star Wars spin-off series, have confirmed that two of its characters are gay.

Speaking to the Coffee With Kenobi podcast, executive producer Justin Ridge revealed that Orka and Flix, voiced by come ex-Saturday Night Live cast-member Bobby Moynihan and Community star Jim Rash, are in a relationship.

“I think it’s safe to say they’re an item,” he said. “They’re absolutely a gay couple and we’re proud of that.”

Read more: Disney boss thinks it has released too many Star Wars movies

Orka is a Chadra-Fan, a rodent-like creature from the planet Chad, while Flix is a bird-like Gozzo, for the planet Troiken.

Together, the pair run the invaluable Office of Acquisitions in the series, the shop located on the Colossus, the fuelling station found on the ocean planet of Castilon, in the outer rim territories.

Viewers first began to suspect they were an item in the episode Dangerous Business, in which lead character Kazuda Xiono, voiced by Christopher Sean, is drafted in to run the shop while Orka and Flix visit Flix's mother (check the clip below).

The pair are also referred to as 'partners' in the series, though it would now appear not merely partners in business.

Moynihan, who was also appearing on the podcast expressed relief at the news being revealed.

“Oh, I’m so happy we’re allowed to say it,” he said. “I have had a sentence prepared for a year and a half if someone would finally ask me. I would say, ‘All I can say is when Flix says ‘I love you,’ Orka says ‘I know.’”

Read more: George Lucas ‘couldn’t hide’ Force Awakens disappointment

The Star Wars universe has long come under fire for lacking representation, featuring no prominent LGBT characters.

Though the fact that they are so peripheral in the franchise means that such criticism won’t be going away any time soon.

The show, which premiered last year, is set in the period just prior to the events of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and has featured cameo roles for main Star Wars franchise characters like Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron, Gwendoline Christie's Captain Phasma and Anthony Daniels' C-3PO.

The likes of Joe Manganiello, Lucy Lawless and Elijah Wood have also appeared on the series, which airs on the Disney Channel.

The next chapter in the Star Wars series, Star Wars: The Rise if Skywalker, arrives on 19 December.