MOVIE NEWS – George Lucas has defended the prequels, saying the Star Wars movies have always been “kids’ movies”.

„It was supposed to be a kids’ movie for 12-year-olds that were going through puberty, who don’t know what they’re doing, and are asking all the big questions: What should I be worried about? What’s important in life?” – said George Lucas in Cannes (after The Hollywood Reporter). „And Star Wars has all those things in there. They’re buried in there but you definitely get it, especially if you’re young.”

Lucas added that the prequel films were opposed by “critics and fans who had been 10 years old when they saw the first one” and were reluctant to see a children’s movie.

He also addressed the criticisms of Jar Jar Binks. “Everybody said the same thing about 3-PO, that he was irritating and we should get rid of him,” Lucas commented. “When I did the third one it was the Ewoks: ‘Those are little teddy bears. This is a kids’ movie, we don’t want to see a kids’ movie. I said: ‘It is a kids’ movie. It’s always been a kids’ movie.'”

The next stop for Star Wars will be The Acolyte series, available to watch on Disney Plus from 4 June. It’s a murder mystery set in the “High Republic” era, a century or two before The Ominous Shadows. It will be the first time this era of the Star Wars timeline has been depicted in live-action form. This year also saw the release of Skeleton Crew, an Amblin-style Star Wars series starring Jude Law.

While you’re waiting for The Acolyte, it’s worth searching for the ‘High Republic’ ore and maybe reading what you can to get an idea of what was happening in the galaxy far, far away.

Source: THR