Next Star Wars Aims To Avoid Racial Stereotypes

The distant galaxy where the ""Star Wars"" saga unfolds has suddenly become a lot more politically correct.Stung by charges of ethnic stereotyping in ""The Phantom Menace,"" Lucasfilm is seeking a more culturally diverse cast for the next ""Star Wars"" episode.Although George Lucas' script is far from finished, Lucasfilm Casting Director Robin Gurland has met with major talent agencies to outline several new roles. These include a Native American character, said to have a forceful, spiritual nature; an Indian or Hispanic character; and an Asian character, possibly trained in martial arts.Lucasfilm Spokeswoman Lynn Hale told Daily Variety that since she has not seen a script for the second episode, she couldn't comment on specific roles. ""All 'Star Wars' films have international characters,"" she said.Lucasfilm was unprepared last spring for accusations that the alien races depicted in ""Phantom Menace"" reinforced racist stereotypes. Much of the criticism focused on the shuffling, patois-speaking Jar Jar Binks, whose ""simple-minded devotion to his (white) Jedi masters,"" Brent Staples wrote in the New York Times, ""reminded people of Hollywood's most offensive racial stereotypes.""In a statement released to the press at the time, Hale said it was ""absurd"" to interpret ""Star Wars"" as ""a reference to the world that we know today."" Nothing in ""Star Wars,"" she said, ""is racially motivated.""While that may have been true, it has certainly given the filmmakers pause. Hale confirmed that Binks will be back in the second episode, but he'll apparently be surrounded by a panoply of characters that better reflects the franchise's vast multicultural audience. Whether these characters prove to be positive role models remains to be seen.