‘When I was a child. I spoke as a child and now I am a man,’ Justin Trudeau told Stephen Colbert
But one area of likely common ground with the prime minister is agreeing that The Empire Strikes Back, the 1980 Star Wars prequel to 1977’s A New Hope, is unquestionably the best of the franchise (at least to date).
The topic of Trudeau’s lifelong fascination with George Lucas’ and now Disney’s iconic sci-fi world arose again at the end of the prime minister’s appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Monday night.
“It was better than the Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars, or at least I think so,” a 12-year-old Trudeau, wearing a suit and tie to a movie theatre, responds when a local television reporter asks him how he felt about the final film of the original trilogy.
Reflecting on the Ottawa event, Trudeau noted “There was, like, radio station winners. It wasn’t a real premiere.”
But the Empire statement prompted Colbert to ask if the review holds up after more than 40 years.
“No, the review doesn’t hold up. When I was a child. I spoke as a child and now I am a man,” Trudeau says before finishing, “Empire is the best Star Wars movie.”
Justin Trudeau on The Late Show — cringe or win?
“Too bad there was never a 1 made,” he noted at the time, choosing, like many devoted fans, to ignore 1999’s abhorred Phantom Menace, the first episode of the prequel series.
For Episodes 7, 8 and 9 — all released since he was elected — Trudeau sat down with kids from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario for special screenings of all three.
Around the same time, a young boy at a Maclean’s magazine town hall event asked him if all of Harrison Ford’s hype about the movie was to be believed.
“I don’t know what Harrison Ford said about it, but I can tell you it is as good as I hoped,” he replied.
“I was your age when I first saw Star Wars and like everyone, or everyone I knew of my generation — maybe I just hung out with geeks — it was a life-changing movie and I am very confident that this new iteration of it is going to make everybody very, very, happy,” Trudeau told the boys and the audience.
When The Last Jedi came out in 2017, Trudeau, this time joined by his two oldest children, took in a screening with more CHEO kids, along with some from the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa.
There’s no word on whether his personal ranking has changed since the newest three were released, but he has spoken publicly about other Star Wars property that’s been released since.
“Andor,” he replies, then finds out DiMonte hasn’t seen the 2022 Disney+ political spy drama that has a much-anticipated second season due sometime in 2025.
“Dude! You’ve gotta see it. It is so good. It’s everything that Star Wars could be and should be. It’s thoughtful, it’s gritty, it’s not filled with cameos by a digital Luke Skywalker, it’s just real.”
Perhaps he’s waiting for the promised 2026 Mandalorian & Grogu film before weighing in on their part in the universe of stories.
One thing is for certain, on May 4, 2025, whether he’s still leading the nation, Trudeau will undoubtedly be sending unofficial Star Wars Day greetings to Canadians via social media, like this year’s bit with Christensen.
The bit ends with Trudeau opening a briefcase containing a light sabre — the weapon of Jedi and Sith alike. What colour his blade lights up to be isn’t revealed.
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