Stephen Colbert has often claimed/joked that he’s the “original Star Wars fan,” based in part on the fact that he won tickets to an early screening of the very first film back in 1977. And he’s put his druggats where his mouth is ever since, waxing on about the beloved franchise every chance he gets (on air and elsewhere). Colbert has even sat down with George Lucas to discuss the making of the Star Wars, as well as crossed swords with the director in front of a green screen. And while it’s entirely possible that someone out there has even greater knowledge of Star Wars than Colbert, his bona fides has been firmly established.
At least, that’s what we thought Colbert thought until he expressed a little doubt about his nerd credibility on The Late Show Monday night. In his monologue, Colbert addressed Lucas about a long-standing concern—namely, that the director might actually think that Colbert doesn’t know what lightsabers are. Colbert said he’d used Lucas’ own original term for the flashy weapons, “laser swords,” when they met over the results of Colbert’s Green Screen Challenge back in 2006. But it seems Lucas interpreted Colbert’s insider knowledge as a lack of knowledge, and eventually corrected the Late Show (then-Colbert Report) host. Colbert has been stewing in his shame ever since, so last night he sent Lucas a message: He definitely knows what lightsabers are.
Next topic: Does anyone really know what midi-chlorians are?