Oscar Isaac Gave Poe's Backstory In Star Wars: The Force Awakens A Tie-In To A New Hope

We're in a brave new world for the "Star Wars" franchise — one led by actors of color, many of them Latinos. For many, "Rogue One" marked a before and after moment in the franchise because of how it starred a Latino actor using his natural accent, opening the door for actors like Pedro Pascal and Rosario Dawson to lead their own shows. 

But it's more than just seeing these actors on screen, it's that they are allowed to have their backgrounds reflect their characters. "Andor," with its themes of rebellion and rising up against oppressive regimes, does resonate greatly with Latino audiences (in no small part thanks to Diego Luna using his role as a producer to channel his background into the role). 

While Poe Dameron was the first time a Latino actor had a prominent role in a "Star Wars" movie, "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" did sadly fall to tired tropes of Latinos as drug dealers (or spice smugglers) in the galaxy far, far away. Before that unfortunate mess of a movie, however, Dameron was a daring, hot, charismatic hotshot pilot and a sort of new Han Solo. Though Oscar Isaac did not get that much screen time in "The Force Awakens," the actor did get to leave a permanent mark on the characters and the larger "Star Wars" canon, even before we ever saw him on screen.

In a 2015 interview with Fandango, Isaac noted that his home country of Guatemala (specifically Tikal) was featured at the end of the original "Star Wars" as the location for the medal ceremony on Yavin 4.

"So I said, 'How cool would it be if that's where Poe was from?!' You know, he's a Rebel fighter, that's where the Rebel base is, why wouldn't he be there? That's an incredible idea."

Actors come up with their own head canon for their characters' backstories all the time, but when Isaac pitched his, the filmmakers took it seriously. Not only did they take it as true, but Isaac's idea actually found its way to the larger franchise canon.

In "Star Wars: Shattered Empire," an official comic book that bridged the gap between Episodes VI and VII, we learn about Poe Dameron's past and how he was born on Yavin 4, the home of the Rebel base at the end of the original film. This in turn meant that Dameron's parents were Rebels, too, which informs Poe's motivation and dedication to the Resistance decades later. The show "Star Wars Resistance" would also later expand on this, showing Poe's role in the Resistance and his recruiting of new people as a result of growing up in the middle of it.

For most, it may be a small thing to view a character's home planet as being a small reference to the real world. Like Diego Luna said when talking about his background influencing his portrayal of Cassian, however, just because it is him playing the character, it doesn't matter whether it's intentional or not — our backgrounds and our experiences always bleed into our work and points of view. Cassian Andor is a richer character because he is played by Diego Luna, and Poe Dameron is much richer because Oscar Isaac dared to ask if they could make his character's backstory a nod to his real background.