‘Star Wars’: Some Fans Are Glad George Lucas Didn’t Make the Sequels
The Star Wars Skywalker saga came to an end this past December with the release of Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. Now Disney turns the page and moves into a new era of Star Wars.
One person who won’t be involved in any new Star Wars films (at least not as of now) is George Lucas, the person who came up with the idea for the entire universe in the first place. Lucas also didn’t play much of a role at all in the sequel trilogy.
Let’s take a closer look at why some fans are glad that’s the case.
The original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy
Lucas was the creative mind responsible for the original Star Wars trilogy, released from 1977-1983. Those films were revolutionary for big-budget films. One could argue they changed the way Hollywood movies were made.
While Jaws before it paved the way for the modern blockbuster, the number of films and franchises since that have tried to imitate Star Wars have been countless.
While Lucas was the driving force behind all of them, he wasn’t the director for all three. He ceded the director’s chair to Irving Kershner and Richard Marquand in the ensuing sequels to the original. After Return of the Jedi came out in 1983, fans wouldn’t see Star Wars on the big screen for another 16 years.
The prequel ‘Star Wars’ trilogy
The Star Wars prequels came out from 1999-2005. That film series followed the exploits of a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. They began with Anakin as a young boy, only for him to slowly and inevitably descend to the dark side of the Force.
Critical and fan reactions at the time were mixed. While fans seemed to enjoy the overall story and the final film, the series as a whole fell flat for many due to its wooden dialogue.
The prequels led to something of a Lucas backlash with the fans. A highly beloved and successful Clone Wars animated series began following the prequels, but no further films came about until Lucas sold his entire property to one of the biggest companies in the world.
Why some fans are glad George Lucas didn’t make the sequels
According to Polygon, in 1976 Lucas told Mark Hamill he planned to make 12 Star Wars movies, with Hamill returning to play Luke in an Obi-Wan-type role for the sequels.
That never came to fruition, however, as Lucas sold the rights to the franchise to Disney for billions. Disney moved forward without consulting Lucas on the plot or story for the new films.
Some fans argue that’s a good thing. While Lucas was responsible for much of the genius behind the original films, many argued that the prequels were subpar. There’s even been some revisionist history of the prequels, noted by one fan via a Reddit thread discussing Lucas and the fans:
“But, from what I can tell, the only reason many fans like him is only so they can use him as leverage to hate the ST [sequel trilogy].
They also use the example that George Lucas didn’t like the ST to hate on it, and that is perfectly valid. GL did not like the ST.
But the reason for that is because the ST was made for fans! So people say they dislike the ST because it dishonors the fanbase, and it does the exact opposite! It panders to them!”
The Star Wars sequels may have been underwhelming, but they attempted to deliver plenty of fan service. Some fans believe Lucas wouldn’t have made the sequels any better.
