San Francisco, California - Star Wars shot back at accusations of making the franchise "political" after it released a special comic book cover to celebrate Pride Month.

The cover for Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #24, created by artist Jan Bazaldua, features two female characters, T'onga and Losha, who are partners.

Responding to a Twitter user online, who accused the franchise of "making Star Wars political," the official account defended the existence of queer characters.

"1. Queer characters existing isn't political," it wrote.

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"2. Star WARS is literally in our name."

Pride Month runs from June 1 to June 30.

The two companies behind the current Star Wars franchise, Lucasfilm and Marvel, have teamed up to celebrate "a time dedicated to uplifting, honouring, and supporting the LGBTQIA+ community's impact in the world."

As part of its 2022 celebrations, Star Wars is showcasing covers "variants" for its comic books, each created by LGBTQ+ artists and featuring LGBTQ+ characters of the Star Wars galaxy.

All covers also feature a rainbow burst and a classic Star Wars logo with a rainbow trail.