George Lucas Shakes 'All White Men' In 'Star Wars' Criticism, Reminds People The Characters Are Mostly Aliens

I love me some George Lucas, and by that I mean the idea of George Lucas. The man has been walking around with a beard and flannel shirts decades before the douche at your local craft brewery, and he hasn't changed one bit since selling the massive empire he built on the back of one little sci-fi movie called Star Wars that came out in the late '70s.

That's awesome.

However, as much as I think Lucas is a perfect example of a great American success story — a kid from Modesto makes a movie with a Wookie; makes billions of dollars — the man has not been immune from criticism.

We're not talking nerd rage over making Greedo shoot first or putting a window-washing droid in Attack of the Clones (go look that one up if you don't remember, it's bizarre), the wokesters have taken shots at Lucas over the years.

Their complaint? Well, I hope you're sitting down for this one: they think there were too many white dudes.

Lucas addressed this recently at Cannes (which I believe is pronounced "can;" as in, "Hold my beer, will ya? I have to go to the…) and pointed out something about the universe he created that some people seem to forget: most of those who inhabit it are aliens.

The legendary filmmaker spoke to Variety before being presented with an honorary Palme d’Or. Good for him. Usually, you have to make a crappy pretentious movie to get one of those!

"They would say, ‘It’s all white men,'" Lucas said about some of the criticisms he's heard over the years. "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."

Well, this here is a novel idea from Mr. Lucas.

George Lucas on his way to get an honorary Palme D'Or, still rocking flannel. You love to see it. (Photo by Dominique Charriau/WireImage)

Star Wars Taught A Simple Lesson People Seem To Have Forgotten Or Ignored

He's right, first and foremost the humans in those aren't necessarily humans the way we know them, and their in-universe history isn't the same as ours. 

If you think about it, race plays no role in Star Wars. Characters are who they are, regardless of race, ethnicity, or how much fur they have. 

Therefore, there was no diversity for the sake of diversity in that world. There's no scene where they look at the squadron of X-Wing pilots sent to attack the Death Star and someone starts critiquing their diversity:

"Uh, this squadron of X-Wing pilots looks a little too white and straight, don't you think?" 

"Y'know what, You're right. And I apologize for overlooking this because of my Alderaanian privilege." 

"Sorry, about Alderaan, by the way…"

"It happens. Anyway, Porkins; why don't you stay here… actually, on second thought, we could use a fat g-- I mean, a ‘person of size’ up there too. So, on second thought, you go and tell Red Five to take a seat. Maybe send Bothan up there or something…"

Nope, not in there. Not in the movie. Instead, they got the most kickass X-Wing pilots they could find. Race was not a factor.

That used to be what we were shooting for, and I think to a bigger extent than we're given credit for, the overwhelming majority of people do exactly that.

It's strange how at times the Star Wars universe is more idyllic than our own, and they've got lasers that can blow up entire planets.

Good on Lucas for having that insight after all these years and still being willing to tell the critics that they missed the point.