You have correctly analyzed the target market for Star Wars! White males have been buying Star Wars stuff since 1977. They have supported the franchise and it is made for them. If they change this too much, they could lose their market support which is risky. It is much harder to acquire a new customer than keep an existing one. That being said they still used a female lead. They could be more diverse still to your point. It was a great movie and a big improvement from The Force Awakens. (I am a white male and have seen it twice already, and prepping to go again lol I will have an indepth post on the movie up soon)
Thanks for your comment! I don't totally agree that white males are carrying the franchise... I know a lot of people (personally and from online articles) who are women and/or people of colour who LOVE Star Wars and already exist as a large customer base. I don't think it's such a delicate thing that adding in some diversity would harm the franchise. I think it's kind of a sad thought to believe that upping representation would somehow alienate white men. Are they so fragile that seeing a little less of themselves depicted in the movies would somehow cause them to abandon such an awesome universe?
But, seriously, thank you for your comment! I enjoy discussing this stuff :) Looking forward to reading your Rouge One post!