Although he was considerably concerned within the early growth of “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Power Awakens” (and to a lesser extent with subsequent initiatives), George Lucas appeared a bit torn on his determination after the primary movie within the sequel trilogy got here out. In a 2015 interview with Charlie Rose, he likened the sale of “Star Wars” to a breakup. “These are my youngsters,” he mentioned, referring to the unique six movies (through The Guardian). “They wished to do a retro film. I do not like that.”
Disney’s artistic angle with “The Power Awakens” was clearly meant to evoke the unique trilogy, avoiding the themes and aesthetics of the prequels as a result of ridicule they obtained from each critics and audiences. In the identical interview, Lucas defended the prequels and defined that he prefers to make every mission its personal factor relatively than a throwback. “I labored very onerous to make them fully totally different,” he mentioned, “With totally different planets, with totally different spaceships — you already know, to make it new.”
In later years, although, Lucas appeared to mellow on Disney’s “Star Wars.” He praised “The Final Jedi” as being “superbly made” upon its launch, maybe as a result of it dared to do one thing new within the “Star Wars” universe — one thing many viewers lambasted it for. In 2024, Lucas has additionally thrown his substantial weight as a Disney shareholder — weight he gained by way of the sale of Lucasfilm — behind CEO Bob Iger and the present company administration.