Did Lucas get out while the gettin was good?

DarkHelmet

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
After I've had time to let TLJ settle in my stomach, I think Lucas knew there wasn't much left to do in his galaxy.

Its pretty clear Disney has no idea where to go with the franchise now. I personally don't need to go through another evil empire and rebellion. Been there done that.

The original trilogy characters were cream of the crop and everyone else is a cheap substitute. Kylo Ren is a descent villain but still sub-par to Vader.

Lucas is laughing all the way to the bank (again).
 
After I've had time to let TLJ settle in my stomach, I think Lucas knew there wasn't much left FOR HIM to do in his galaxy.

Corrected that. Clearly, GL was done with this. There is plenty of material for other creators to play with, explore, and continue the universe. It doesnt all have to be about the Skywalkers or Jedi or even rebellions and empires. Nor should it be.
 
Lucas is no amateur to storytelling. He studied the greats and that's why the OT was so successful. That being said, I think he instinctively knew there was nothing new and refreshing he could do in his galaxy. He already took the classic heroes journey and made it his own. I'm fairly confident new movies will be a character mess like TLJ was. Yes, they will make some eye candy, but I doubt they'll make long lasting characters. Hell, they can't even sell the current characters in the stores.

Without purpose, there's no reason for a character to exist. Just look at Finn.




Corrected that. Clearly, GL was done with this. There is plenty of material for other creators to play with, explore, and continue the universe. It doesnt all have to be about the Skywalkers or Jedi or even rebellions and empires. Nor should it be.
 
Outside of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Willow, Red Tails and Radioland Murders, what else did Lucasfilm pump out?
 
That strange animated film that no one saw.

I completely disagree with you on your take on Disney Star Wars. You may not have liked TLJ but many people did, it' s no worse than the PT anyway... IMO. Many modern day film makers will want a crack at the SW universe, you may like some - you may hate some. The three OT movies had very different tones between them, many hated Empire on release, and Jedi suffers from a softening of the universe, but we love them as a trilogy.

I enjoyed the heck out of TFA, was pleasantly surpised by R:1, and was a bit perturbed by TLJ, on second viewing some questions went away for me, now I want to know where they take it from now.
 
I saw one interview where he said something like "Why would I want to make more SW movies when the fans hated the last three?" I'd say fans is too broad because a lot of us liked them despite the flaws.
 
I would love to know what the story outlines for 7, 8 and 9 that George had laid out and were rejected.

There nothing stopping GL creating another saga and just smash Disney at their own game.

i pray every night we get a book of the basic story he had planned
 
Not going to happen, which is a shame. The first marching orders for episode 7 had jaws on the floor, and none of it survived as intended. Bastardized and watered-down in a few spots, but nothing of substance.

George was 68 when he sold, with a little one on the way, new family to plan for, work and home space to shore up, and over 1100 people that he ultimately felt responsible for the well-being of, at least in business terms. I doubt he foresaw some of Disney's actions, but he also completely failed to protect and safeguard certain projects. Mad as he reportedly was when things turned, he had washed his hands of it all in favor of some very real responsibilities and needs. And yeah, the backlash and fan-splaining of the '90s and '00s was more than enough for him not to want or need to pursue film in SW-space any longer. KK had the reins, tho he trusted Disney too much. He owes no one a thing, and going off to secure his family and maybe tinker from time to time and meet his own expectations is much more responsible.
 
10-20 years ago the reason GL was giving for not wanting to do a sequel trilogy was "each trilogy has taken a decade of my life." That, plus the negative reaction to the prequels, was probably enough to make him want to sell SW. I imagine he was thinking, "It all has to go somewhere after I die. I don't want to do anything else with it. I might as well get the cash now."
 
People always forget he donated most of said cash so it wasn't about the money.

I'm aware of that. But it doesn't mean GL wasn't interested in getting the money in order to make those donation choices.

I'm not ragging on him for this. Of all the people who have gotten access to several billion dollars, he is certainly one of the better ones.

I do think the money was a secondary motivation. I think he wanted SW to end up in the hands of a company of his choice. He probably also realized that there was a worldwide desire for more SW. He didn't want the job of continuing it anymore and the fans had made it clear that they weren't happy with his work on it anymore.

For somebody like him it would be very hard to just sorta let go. He talked about the sale like a relationship breakup and I think that's what it was. After you've had a very serious close relationship with someone you cannot just back it down to halfway. It's all or nothing. I'm sure GL found it easier to relinquish all control of SW than to start sharing control with others.
 
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