# Stupid Star Wars question - are the "humans" homo sapiens? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592 "2025-06-13T16:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/22 "2025-06-13T18:25:06Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > It all makes sense once you learn that we are not descents of apes, but are actually [Golgafrinchan.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Restaurant_at_the_End_of_the_Universe) Or possibly [mutated Pak Breeders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protector_(novel)). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/23 "2025-06-13T18:33:03Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Watching Andor, I find it curious that the humans all speak with British accents. Even including an occasional Scot. Just seems a tad odd. For what it’s worth, usually (but not always) the Imperials in Star Wars speak with English accents, and the Rebels (and people from the fringes of the galaxy) speak with American accents. In the original film, Leia uses an English accent in the early scenes, when she’s talking with Vader and Tarkin (and acting as a Senator); once she’s rescued by Luke and Han, that accent is gone. If we assume that the disappearing accent wasn’t a mistake, then it implies that Leia “code-switches” between how she speaks with Imperials and the government, and with the Rebels. Also, in the _Clone Wars_ cartoon, it was canonically established that most Twi’leks speak with French accents. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/24 "2025-06-13T18:51:35Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Same as how aliens all speak English with contemporary, 20th/21st century accents and use slang and metaphors that are the exact same thing as us modern folks use (eg: in LOTR, the orcs say “looks like meat’s back on the menu”, implying the existence of orc restaurants with orc sit down service and orc waiters). Or the existence of orc mess halls, at least. [![](https://www.radomes.org/museum/showimage.php?name=documents%2FHighlandsMenu1956inside.jpg) ](https://www.radomes.org/museum/showimage.php?name=documents%2FHighlandsMenu1956inside.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/25 "2025-06-13T19:08:43Z")
At the risk of becoming _that guy_, it should be obvious that “along time ago in a galaxy far, far (extra far!) away” aren’t humans. Using humans for the main characters is just shorthand. The dominant species are cast with humans, because it gives the viewer an idea of the power and racial dynamics ("We don’t serve their kind! " and where is Chewbacca’s medal, (aliengod)dammit!). They speak English because no one is going to read subtitles. Initially there were even English words on some displays, and Arabic numerals, but Lucas retconned that away. [![](https://cdn.retrojunk.com/article-images/d58_bccfd88bad.jpg) ](https://cdn.retrojunk.com/article-images/d58_bccfd88bad.jpg) Oh wait, I mean this one, 1977: [![](https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/star-wars-episode-iv-a-new-hope-original-tractor-beam-controls.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=750&h=422&dpr=1) ](https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/star-wars-episode-iv-a-new-hope-original-tractor-beam-controls.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=750&h=422&dpr=1) vs the retooled films: [![](https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/star-wars-episode-iv-a-new-hope-aurebesh-tractor-beam-controls.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=750&h=422&dpr=1) ](https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/star-wars-episode-iv-a-new-hope-aurebesh-tractor-beam-controls.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=750&h=422&dpr=1) ---
**Author:** ![yendis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ed8c4c/32.png) [@yendis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yendis)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/26 "2025-06-13T19:14:28Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I’ve always liked what Asimov says in the foreword to _Nightfall_, a book about an alien world with five suns: Vernor Vinge incorporates this idea brilliantly into the novel ‘A Deepness in the Sky’. Everything is explained and described in a way that makes sense to the reader but it is made clear, for clever plot related reasons, that reality is far stranger. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/27 "2025-06-13T19:21:58Z")
Jimmy Steart, the opening to 1950’s film _Broken Arrow_ Tom Jeffords: This is the story of a land, of the people who lived on it in the year 1870, and of a man whose name was Cochise. He was an Indian - leader of the Chiricahua Apache tribe. I was involved in the story and what I have to tell happened exactly as you’ll see it - **the only change will be that when the Apaches speak, they will speak in our language**. What took place is part of the history of Arizona and it began for me here where you see me riding. Maybe Lucas should have put that in the crawl… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/28 "2025-06-13T19:22:13Z")
One non-canon explanation I’ve seen in fan circles is time travel; they aren’t just in another galaxy, they lived “long ago”. And since they aren’t sure of their homeworld, their ancestors appearing thoguh some sort of time-traversing wormhole or the like then forgetting in the ensuring tens of thousands of years where they came from works perfectly well for, say, some fanfiction writer wanting to fuse Star Wars and another sci-fi franchise together. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/29 "2025-06-13T20:35:41Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > it was an analogue of “A long time ago, in a kingdom far far away” This. "Once upon a time, Goldilocks met three bears who lived in a house, had furniture, ate porridge, and spoke.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/30 "2025-06-13T20:38:37Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > "Once upon a time, Goldilocks met three bears who lived in a house, had furniture, ate porridge, and spoke. ..and had lightsabers. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/31 "2025-06-13T20:44:01Z")
😁 > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > > spoke. > > ..and had lightsabers 😁 ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/32 "2025-06-13T21:40:39Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Goldilocks met three bears who lived in a house A house with no indoor plumbing. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/33 "2025-06-13T22:00:05Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > (It took me an embarrassing amount of years to realize that it was an analogue of “A long time ago, in a kingdom far far away” I assume that is because at this point everyone’s heard the opening line of Star Wars over and over again to the point where it’s a cliche. I assume that in 1977 everyone would be, “Oh, it’s like that fairy tale opening, but with ‘galaxy’ instead of ‘kingdom’” because that’s the cliche they’d know. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/34 "2025-06-13T22:16:23Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I had thought George Lucas was supposed to have been uber anal about creating complete histories and back stories. Nope. At one time he planned to cast “little people” as Luke and family, for instance. > **[Nanism](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Nanism#Behind_the_scenes)** > > Nanism was a medical or genetic condition that resulted in an abnormally short adult height. An individual affected by nanism was referred to as a dwarf. The term "dwarf" was also used inaccurately to describe species the average stature of which was... Unless Darth Vader was also 3 feet tall, that would have changed the story arc a bit. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/35 "2025-06-13T22:26:42Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Nope. At one time he planned to cast “little people” as Luke and family, for instance. “Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?” “Uh, no shit, Sherlock.” ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/36 "2025-06-13T22:39:35Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > And apparently they all speak the king’s English. Actually, they were speaking the queen’s English, an old language that evolved into the king’s English we know today. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/37 "2025-06-13T23:01:22Z")
The characters were space aliens from a distant galaxy. Lucas hired humans to _portray_ space aliens. And had them speak English so the audience could understand the dialog Why is this difficult for anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/38 "2025-06-13T23:36:31Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > how did the humans get there? Well, you see, Melkor disrupted the Ainur’s song, so Eru Ilúvatar raised his hand to sound a new theme, and the second time he did that, Man was created. Or was that a different fantasy world? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/39 "2025-06-14T11:44:12Z")
Thanks all. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/40 "2025-06-14T12:42:08Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > almost all filmed sci-fi, regardless of what the backstory purportedly is, either have humanoid aliens in a bunch of face paint and prosthetics and straight up unadorned humans Oddly enough, there are almost no unadorned humans; there is a common species which looks almost like humans wearing foundation, contouring and other television makeup, though. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2025, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592/41 "2025-06-14T13:15:48Z")
And almost all members of that species are more attractive than members of our species. They are also wittier, cooler in a crisis, & have better diction than we do. With better hair. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-star-wars-question-are-the-humans-homo-sapiens/1019592.md?page=3)