What George Lucas Said About Each Disney Star Wars Sequel
Star Wars creator George Lucas hasn’t had any direct involvement with the franchise since 2012, but what does he think about the sequel trilogy?
When George Lucas sold Lucasfilm Ltd. to Disney in 2012, he walked away from any chance of telling more stories set in a galaxy far, far away. Although he had story treatments and ideas of his own, the Star Wars sequel trilogy was ultimately made without his involvement. Surely, then, Lucas had his own thoughts about the three films.
Beginning with the 2015 release of The Force Awakens and ending with 2019’s Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars sequel trilogy stirred strong opinions among fans. While some praised the nostalgia fuel and the return to more practical effects, others criticized the story and some of the new characters. But what did Lucas himself think about the sequels? Did the films faithfully continue his vision that began in 1977?
Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on March 19, 2024: The Star Wars franchise is officially back to developing new cinematic entries, with a slew of new projects on the slate for the next few years. Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian & Grogu is headed for a 2026 release date, and Dave Filoni’s Heir to the Empire isn’t far behind it. Additionally, James Mangold is currently developing a story set thousands of years before the prequel trilogy, while Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is set to direct a story following Rey Skywalker after the events of Episode IX. With so many Star Wars projects in the works, one must wonder what franchise creator George Lucas really thinks about all the recent additions to his sci-fi world.
George Lucas’ Thoughts About The Force Awakens Were Conflicted
The Force Awakens Trivia:
According to The Numbers, The Force Awakens earned a worldwide gross of $2,064,615,817, becoming the highest-earning entry in the Star War franchise.
Although the initial reception for The Force Awakens was generally positive, George Lucas felt differently. “They wanted to do a retro movie,” he told Charlie Rose in a 2015 PBS interview. “I don’t like that. Every movie, I worked very hard to make them different… I made them completely different — different planets, different spaceships to make it new.” While the film itself is generally praised as the least divisive installment of the Sequel Trilogy, Lucas reserved his harshest criticisms for The Force Awakens, revealing that he was disappointed by its lack of originality, sacrificing boldness for a safe and nostalgic ride down memory lane. Many fans shared his initial criticism, condemning the first installment of the Sequel Trilogy for essentially repeating the storyline of A New Hope.
This sentiment was elaborated upon by Disney CEO Bob Iger in his 2019 memoir, The Ride of a Lifetime, in which he addressed Lucas’ disappointment with The Force Awakens. After watching an early cut of the movie, Lucas had expressed to Iger that “there’s nothing new” and that “there weren’t enough visual or technical leaps forward.” Despite the creator’s feedback, Iger and Disney proceeded with the film in much the same way as planned, ultimately disappointing Lucas with the final cut.
However, that’s not all the filmmaker had to say about The Force Awakens. In fact, not all of his feedback about the film was negative. During a lifetime achievement ceremony in 2015 at the Kennedy Center Honors, Lucas delivered a different verdict. “The fans will love it,” he said. “It’s very much the kind of movie they’ve been looking for.” It would appear that, in some way or other, Lucas recognized The Force Awakens would work for fans of his original films, even if it didn’t quite work for him. To a certain extent, Lucas was correct, as the seventh film in the Skywalker Saga is undoubtedly the best-loved installment of the Sequel Trilogy.
