Chapter 890: Must There Be a Black Lead?

Star Wars fans were ubiquitous in North America, the fandom having practically evolved into a cultural inheritance. Even teenagers born in the nineties and the new millennium could fluently recount the intricate relationships between the franchise's various characters. In a way, it was like Journey to the West to the people across the Pacific Ocean—the influence of Star Wars in North America was undeniable.

Duke was very sure of this, just as he knew that a film could not rely solely on nostalgia.

One phenomenon could not be ignored: over ninety-five percent of older Star Wars fans would march into theaters during the film's first week of release. They would enthusiastically buy tickets, but they would only watch it once. Furthermore, having experienced the hardships of life, these older fans wouldn't go crazy buying Star Wars merchandise!

As everyone knew, the true profit of a massive Hollywood blockbuster lay in its merchandise!

Who were the ones watching the film repeatedly, throwing dollar after dollar at the box office? Teenagers!

Who were the ones frantically buying all sorts of toys, action figures, and posters, wishing they could haul the entire line of Star Wars products home? Teenagers!

Who would allow the Star Wars culture to be passed down, enabling Duke's Lucasfilm to rake in obscene profits every few years? There was only one answer: teenagers!

"Even though Star Wars: A New Hope premiered back in the 1970s and the first generation of fans is now gray-haired..."

Duke stood at the head of the conference table, his voice firm and resounding. "But the largest consumer base for this project is still the teenage demographic!"

Katherine Kennedy and Charles Roven both nodded slightly. The others agreed with Duke's assessment, and George Lucas was no exception.

In Hollywood films, he who wins the family market wins the world, and the core component of that family market was teenagers.

"Sorry, George..."

Duke smiled faintly at George Lucas. "I'm afraid I won't be able to use your proposal."

George Lucas didn't mind. "It's fine."

His relationship with Duke was exceptional, after all, so he didn't particularly mind that this young man he liked so much had almost completely overturned his vision for the future direction of Star Wars.

Duke turned to the other side of the conference table and spoke to Robin Grande, who had returned after finishing work on the Harry Potter Series. "Robin, you're in charge of casting. The production team needs to hold a large-scale audition. The lead actors chosen must be young enough, and ideally, they should be relatively unfamiliar faces to the audience."

The script had long been distributed to the core members of the team. Duke had also revealed early on that he intended to create a "youth version of Star Wars" and shape a female Jedi Knight into the protagonist.

This was all to pander to the primary market: the teenage audience.

"The female lead is a sixteen- to nineteen-year-old girl," Duke instructed Robin Grande. "The other main male character is the same age. The actors' appearances must meet the requirements."

This was the most basic prerequisite for playing the film's male and female leads. If these conditions weren't met, Duke wouldn't cast them, no matter how outstanding their acting or other skills were.

Duke nodded to Tina Fey. She immediately handed a document outlining the basic requirements for the young actors to Robin Grande and the others.

Robin Grande glanced over it. For him, this job wouldn't be difficult, as Duke's demands weren't complicated.

"1. A 16- to 19-year-old girl, independent, humorous, and thin."

"2. A 16- to 19-year-old girl, strong, smart, and thin."

"3. A male around 20 years old. Witty and clever, thin, but not conventionally handsome."

"4. A 26- to 29-year-old male, handsome, confident, and thin."

"5. A male around 70 years old. Possesses strong opinions and a resilient character; doesn't need to be too thin."

"6. A male around 40 years old, a military type, and thin."

"7. A male around 30 years old, smart and witty. Doesn't need to be too thin."

These were the seven main characters for the new Star Wars.

"Duke..." Robin Grande looked up from the document. "I have a suggestion you might consider."

Duke gestured for him to continue.

"The primary female lead will definitely be a white girl."

That much was beyond doubt. Robin Grande suggested, "If possible, it would be best to cast the male actor playing opposite the female lead as a Black man."

"I think that's a viable proposal," Charles Roven agreed.

Sitting back in his chair, Duke mulled over the suggestion. Casting a Black male lead was indeed a clever commercial move. Although anti-discrimination slogans rang loud and clear in North America, racial disparities were still massive. Furthermore, one fact could not be ignored: the number of people of color in the United States was constantly growing, even showing a trend toward surpassing the white population. Using a Black actor would satisfy the so-called political correctness while also pandering to minority audiences.

"I don't think we need to go out of our way to choose one..."

In truth, Duke knew very well that using a Black actor for such a role would also bring certain negative effects, and he honestly felt no particular inclination toward Black actors.

"Whether they are of Asian or Latino descent, they can all be considered as alternatives," he added.

They were also minorities. Finding a Black actor to play another, less important role would be enough—enough to comfort the fragile, glass-like hearts of the Black community.

Just like with the Oscar awards, if some blockbusters didn't cast Black actors, they would face protests from Hollywood and various Black organizations across the United States. So, didn't deliberately swapping in Black actors equate to discriminating against actors of other ethnicities?

Duke was not the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Over the years, he had never let a Black actor serve as the true protagonist of his films, nor would he indulge the Black community with so many bad habits the way the Oscars did.

He was absolutely certain that if he used a Black lead for this film and didn't use one for the next, numerous Black organizations would definitely whine and complain about him. His time was precious; he had no time to bicker with these people, and when the time came, anything he said would be twisted as inappropriate.

When the prep meeting ended and Duke was leaving, he accepted an interview with a reporter arranged by Warner Brothers.

Facing Warner's media, Duke revealed a bit more information, speaking in detail about his reservations during the scriptwriting process for Star Wars 7.

"When audiences first watched Star Wars in 1977, they were completely unfamiliar with the film's worldview and story. They didn't know who Princess Leia was, they didn't recognize Han Solo, and they didn't know whose father Darth Vader was. It was a beautiful and unfamiliar world. But now that we are creating the story for the seventh installment, it's very difficult to break these established preconceptions," he said.

Regarding the reporter's question about the plot progression of Star Wars 7, Duke replied, "I will respect the previous stories, but I won't stick to the old routines."

Furthermore, Duke revealed that he would be prudent with his use of CG effects. He would discard the Star Wars Prequel trilogy's method of overusing computer CG, instead reintroducing the practical robots and miniature model special effects that fans constantly reminisced and raved about. He would supplement these with modern CG technology, organically combining them to truly serve the story itself.

"Ever since the prep for Star Wars 7 was confirmed, die-hard Star Wars fans have constantly reached out to the company, to me, and to George Lucas himself through various channels, pleading, 'Don't rely too heavily on CG effects anymore; we miss the old Star Wars films.'"

Facing the reporter's microphone, Duke spoke directly, "My team, Lucasfilm, and I actually discussed the potential negative impacts of overusing CG effects a long time ago. In order to better let the special effects serve the story itself, and also to satisfy the demands of our hardcore fans, Star Wars 7 will return to traditional effects like miniature models and real robots, supplemented by necessary computer effects."

Duke was basically telling the truth here. Star Wars 7 would indeed have fewer computer effects shots, but this was only in comparison to his past films, which easily featured over 2,000 visual effects shots. Duke had never been a conservative man. He knew what kind of effects Star Wars fans wanted, and he was even clearer on how to achieve that effect near perfectly using the most time- and labor-saving methods.

In terms of cinematography, for instance, the HD format digital high-definition filming method George Lucas used in the Star Wars Prequel trilogy was heavily criticized by fans. From the day Star Wars 7 was greenlit, many media outlets and veteran fans had been appealing for Duke to go back to shooting the film on 35mm film stock.

Indeed, Duke chose film stock, but not the relatively outdated 35mm format. Instead, he opted for the IMAX version of 70mm film. Furthermore, he intended to shoot this movie with IMAX Cameras as much as possible from start to finish. If he could achieve this goal, Star Wars 7 would be the first commercial film in history to be shot entirely on IMAX.

Factoring in Harrison Ford's salary, which could reach $20 million, Duke's original plan was that Star Wars 7 would only need a production budget of $200 million. The additional $50 million investment that came later was entirely preparation for the IMAX filming plan.

If necessary, Duke could also inject additional funds through personal investment.

All preparations were proceeding in an orderly fashion. In particular, the effort to invite the veteran actors from the original Star Wars trilogy to return was going quite smoothly across the board, save for the rather difficult negotiations with Harrison Ford.

Specialty actor Kiran Shah, who had played an Ewok and a tortured power droid in Jabba's Palace in Star Wars 3: Return of the Jedi, quickly signed an acting contract. Warwick Davis, who played the Ewok that first discovered Leia in Return of the Jedi, was also confirmed to join the cast...

Moreover, after Star Wars 7 was greenlit, many star-level fans contacted Duke through various means, wanting to cameo in the film—even if it meant having no lines and no pay.

The most famous among them were British comedy actor Simon Pegg and the new generation's James Bond actor, Daniel Craig.

This would also serve as a promotional hook for the film later on, and Duke verbally promised to give them suitable roles.