Sexist Jerks Upset That New Star Wars Movie Features A Female Protagonist

Watching the first trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this morning, our hearts swelled. The teaser introduced us to the totally awesome-seeming Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), confirming that this movie will indeed have a female protagonist, like Bechdel test-passing The Force Awakens before it. Unfortunately, this news seems to be a problem for sexist creeps. We should have expected this, but it's still depressing as hell. That's right, some dudes can't handle the fact that there are now two Star Wars movies that feature women in lead roles. There are cries that Disney is now in the business of turning Star Wars into "feminist propaganda." Here's a sampling of some of the shittiness on Twitter.

Then there are the YouTube comments posted below the trailer.

The good news is that there are also plenty of people who, like us, are super excited to meet Jyn.

So who is Jyn anyway? Some background on this movie: Rogue One is the first of Disney's planned Star Wars spin-offs. It takes place before Episode IV and centers on a Rebel plot to steal plans for the Death Star. In the trailer, Jyn is recruited for that mission by Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly). (Yes, that would appear to imply that this movie, too, will easily pass the Bechdel test.) Jyn methods aren't exactly orthodox. When confronted with the laundry list of crimes she's committed, which include aggravated assault and resisting arrest, she responds: "This is a rebellion isn't it? I rebel." Talk about making an amazing first impression. The movie is directed by Godzilla's Gareth Edwards, and features a diverse and stacked cast that includes Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen, and Forest Whitaker. Rogue One is due out in December.