George Lucas Defends 'Star Wars' Prequels by Reminding Everyone They Were Made for Kids

Before fan backlash over Star Wars: The Last Jedi, many turned to George Lucas's prequel trilogy, consisting of The Phantom Menace (1999), Attack of the Clones (2002), and Revenge of the Sith (2005), to bestow their hatred on. After years of defending his second Star Wars trilogy, Lucas is clearly getting tired of explaining himself.

With Phantom Menace turning 20 this year, Lucas talked to StarWars.com about his prequels and what he thought of all the backlash all this time later. When on the subject, Lucas simply explained his intentions were to make movies for kids, not critics, and that's all he's ever tried to do with Star Wars.

"The films were designed for 12-year-olds. I said that right from the very, very beginning and the very first interviews I did for A New Hope. It’s just that they were so popular with everybody, that everybody forgot that," Lucas explained. "Then when I came back to do Phantom Menace, it was 20 years later. So if you were 10 years old when you saw A New Hope, you would be 30 years old when you saw Phantom Menace. So you weren’t a kid anymore. I think you were kind of embarrassed, and what you thought was a really fantastic movie for a 12-year-old wasn’t that great for a grownup. I think that was the main cause of the fall of Episodes I, II, and III. Believe me, it took a beating."

Now, the Skywalker story Lucas introduced to us 40 years ago will be coming to a close with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, hitting theaters on Dec. 20.

[h/t: Syfy]