George Lucasknows that most fans do not like his prequel trilogy. He directed all three movies, including 1999’sStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, 2002’sStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clonesand 2005’sStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. And despite the fact that a lot of people believe he ruined the franchise, he did want to return forStar Wars: Episode VII. But Disney didn’t quite see eye-to-eye with his vision. In a new interview withCBS This Morning, the creator of the vast and powerfulStar Wars universerevealed why he decided to break-up with his belovedsci-fi series. This is what he had to say, explaining that his vision did not meet that of Disney’s.
“The issue was, ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, ‘We want to make something for the fans.’ People don’t actually realize it’s actually a soap opera and it’s all about family problems - it’s not about spaceships. So they decided they didn’t want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing so I decided, ‘Fine…. I’ll go my way, and I let them go their way.'”
Only one fan has seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and he is no longer with us to say whether or not Disney made the right decision. But from the looks of the trailers, photos, TV spots and teasers that we’ve been bombarded with over the past few weeks, it seems as though Disney made a smart decision. At the forefront of things, Star Wars 7 looks a lot more likeStar Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes BackthanStar Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. And most fans seem to be in agreement that this is a good thing.
When Star Wars: The Force Awakens first started to move forward at Disney and Lucasfilm, there was some speculation that the studios would utilize George Lucas’ long drawn out plans for the continuation of the series. But as he revealed early in the process, Disney decided to toss all of his ideas about Luke Skywalker’s retirement era in the trash. And as of now, we don’t really know what the father ofStar Warswas truly planning for his cast of iconic characters. Though, it has been said byMark Hamillthat Luke was to assume the role Obi-Wan played in A New Hope. We don’t yet know if that still stands somewhat true.
Over the years, George Lucas has made it clear that he was creating the films he wanted to make. And he didn’t really care about the fans. That’s evident in how many times he’s gone back to tinker with the original trilogy, adding in, what many believe, to be unnecessary special effects. Further in the interview, George Lucas explains why he couldn’t stick around any longer.
“All I wanted to do was tell a story. It started here. And it went there. It’s all about generations. It’s about the issues of fathers and sons and grandfathers. People think it’s aspace opera. It’s a family soap opera. They weren’t that keen to have me involved. I decided, if I get in there, I’m just going to cause trouble. Because they’re not going to do what I want them to do. And I don’t have the control to do that anymore.”
Do you think George Lucas should have been involved at some level? Or are you happy to see the man finally removed from this scenario? He does seem a little misty about the whole thing. But in the long run, he appears to have made the right decision. Of course, we won’t truly know until Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theatersthis December. And the shell-shock of it all will probably require you to view it multiple times before you’ve come to your own conclusion about all of this.
