Speaking ahead of receiving his Honorary Palme D’or tomorrow night at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, George Lucas hit the stage for an in-depth conversation and dived headfirst into some difficult questions, defending the two third of the saga that he oversaw from 1977 to 2005.
George Lucas is greeted by cheers at his Cannes Film Festival conversation ahead of receiving an honorary Palme d’Or. pic.twitter.com/UrpesiEioL
— Variety (@Variety) May 24, 2024
“They would say, ‘It’s all white men,’” Lucas said of the films’ critics. “Most of the people are aliens! The idea is you’re supposed to accept people for what they are, whether they’re big and furry or whether they’re green or whatever. The idea is all people are equal.”
However, Lucas did explain that the ones who were discriminated against the most were droids.
“That was a way of saying, you know, people are always discriminating against something and sooner or later, that’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “I mean, we’re already starting with AI, saying, ‘Well, we can’t trust those robots.’”
He also tackled issues of racial and sexual discrimination in his two trilogies.
“In the first one, there were a few Tunisians who were dark, and in the second one I had Billy Williams, and the [prequels], which they were also criticizing, I had Sam Jackson. He wasn’t a scoundrel like Lando. He was one of the top jedi.”
Lucas also responded to criticism about the depiction of women in the “Star Wars” films, saying: “Who do you think the heroes are in these stories? What do you think Princess Leia was? She’s the head of the rebellion. She’s the one that’s taking this young kid who doesn’t know anything and this boisterous, I-know-everything guy who can’t do anything and trying to save the rebellion with these clowns … And it’s the same thing with Queen Amidala.”
He continued, “You can’t just put a woman in pants and expect her to be a hero. They can wear dresses, they can wear whatever they want. It’s their brains and their ability to think and plan and be logistical. That’s what the hero is.”