After receiving the Palm of Honor at the Cannes Festival, the director takes the opportunity to tell a little about the origins of his most universal creation.
May 25, 2024, 18:50
Updated May 25, 2024, 7:56 p.m.
Marcos Yasif
I am the boy who will tell you all the latest news in film and television in 3DJuegos. I am passionate about science fiction, fantasy, superheroes and film curiosities, those little behind-the-scenes stories of the directors and actors we have been following since we were little. My favorite saga? Star Trek. My favorite character? Superman, although lately a little more John Wick. One last thing, I promise not to bore you too much in my topics. LinkedIn
This month is pretty special for Star Wars fans. Around this time 25 years ago, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was released in theaters, a film with which George Lucas He rescued the franchise by seeking to tell the origins of several of its most relevant characters while at the same time launching into the hunt for new viewers. It devastated the box office, but his work was not exempt from criticism that the filmmaker wanted to respond to now.
Taking advantage of his time at the Cannes Festival, where he was applauded by colleagues and other guests after receiving the Palme d’Or of Honor, the American filmmaker wanted to take stock of his career by making a space stop, as it could not be otherwise, in the Star Wars universe. He spoke about his origins, ensuring that he always thought of these films to be enjoyed by children, in his original trilogy and in his prequels. The following statements have been collected by Javier Zurro for ElDiario.
“Star Wars has always been a movie for 12-year-olds. It was always intended that way, for kids during the Vietnam War. (…) We were taking to the streets for civil rights (…) and I thought I wanted to do something very powerful for children.. I said, ‘I want to make a movie for 12-year-old kids who are going through puberty and who don’t know what they’re doing and why they’re here and asking themselves a lot of questions.'”
They criticized Jar Jar… and C3PO
The problem came when those kids grew up and they stopped agreeing with the idea that future Star Wars releases would continue to pivot on younger viewers, starting with an Episode I that was trashed by critics and “those who were ten years old when they saw Episode IV.”
“They said it was a children’s movie and that they didn’t want to see a children’s movie, they wanted to see an adult movie. That Jar Jar Binks was terrible. Just the same thing they said about C3PO, which was irritating and that will throw him out of there. And then the Ewoks, which they called teddy bears designed for small children. This is a movie for children and Star Wars has always been for kids“.
It can be said that time has proven him right and today many of the children who saw The Phantom Menace in theaters claim the film. Who knows if if we had opted to evolve the saga with the age of its original viewers, the Star Wars universe would still be as relevant today as it was 45 years ago.
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