Now, I’m aware that this title is quite the oxymoron. There is no George Lucas in the Disney era. There is only George Lucas and then the moment he sold Lucasfilm to Disney on October 30 2012. This past week, thanks to his appearance and award in Cannes, there has inevitably been a lot of talk about Lucas and his thoughts on the direction the saga has taken.
But what, if any, involvement has George had in the projects since he sold his toy chest for others to play in? Some of the answers might surprise you. I did some digging and found everything I could.
For clarity, from the mouth of Lucas himself – only last week, he says that the last film he worked on was 2015’s Strange Magic. On that animated feature film, he served as executive producer and wrote the story. (This raised an eyebrow from me personally. The reason being last year’s Indiana Jones – more to come on that later)
The Sequel Trilogy
Clearly the most heartbreaking element of the sale to Disney for George was the abandonment of his detailed story ideas he left regarding Episodes VII – IX. Bob Iger has talked about this a lot in his book and Lucas has always been vocal on the issue that his story treatments were simply thrown aside. When the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm was announced, it was originally stated that Lucas would serve as a ‘Creative Consultant’ on the films. That seemed to quickly evaporate, however, and there is no evidence to suggest that Lucas was at all on set for any of the sequel trilogy or had any story input at all. So, for the record, Lucas’ involvement in the sequel is nothing. I, for one, would be fascinated to see his stories in full but for now we’ll have to settle for titbits from interviews here and there and I doubt Disney will ever release them.
Rogue One
Here we come to one of my favourite stories from the production of this film. The first standalone to come from the galaxy far, far away, this film had a lot riding on it. Lucas was clearly interested as there’s photos showing him having a tour of the art department and visiting during the pre-production phase of the film and being on set briefly. Gareth Edwards tells an infamous story of Lucas being shown around the props department and Edwards joked that “whatever Lucas liked, went in the film.” One such prop was that of the Imperial Hover Tank Pilot helmet. Edwards states that originally this helmet was not going to make it into the film as there was no room for it, but Lucas loved it. This story came to light early on during the publicity rounds for the film and so much so, in fact, that when I picked up the 3.75 action figure of the Hover Tank Pilot myself, I quickly named him the Lucas Trooper.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
When Ron Howard came on board to take this film in a different direction than what it had been, Lucas came on set swiftly. He was originally going to swing by and ‘say hi’ for a few minutes, according to Kathleen Kennedy. Lucas did not say for five minutes, however, he stayed for five hours. Lucas and Howard go way back to American Graffiti and have stayed friends. (Lucas even asked Howard if he wanted to direct Episode I) Lucas also seemed to have a vested interest in this project as Larry Kasdan has stated he was interested in a film about a young Han Solo BEFORE the Disney sale. Lucas contributed to this film by witnessing the scene where Han and Qi’ra are aboard the Millenium Falcon and they’re in the closet of Lando’s attire. Originally, Han was hanging Lando’s cloak back up. “That’s not what Han would do, he’d do this,” says Lucas to Howard. Lucas quickly gathers the swagger of Han Solo and demonstrates that Han wouldn’t be bothered to hang the cloak back up but simply toss it away. The moment worked. Howard kept it in and so we sort of have a moment of George ‘directing’ a scene. That’s a bit of a stretch but it goes to prove that the person who knows these characters best is still Lucas himself. Every time I watch this film and this moment unfolds; I grin from ear to ear knowing that The Maker himself had some influence.
The Mandalorian
Lucas had no direct influence on this show but, much like with Solo and Rogue One, was clearly interested enough to visit the set and potentially just hang out. Lucas’ interests with this show would have clearly been ‘The Volume’ technology used in the filming. While having no creative involvement in the show, such is the legend of Lucas himself, he can still affect the story of Star Wars. Dave Filoni has revealed he’s still in regular contact with his former master and spoke to George when episodes of The Clone Wars or The Mandalorian were airing. Filoni stated that George was enjoying The Mandalorian but had a concern. The concern was that Grogu needed training. He needed a Jedi mentor. Filoni clearly listened as who can forget what happened in the Season 2 finale – ‘The Rescue.’ So, by some loose stretch, Lucas was responsible for the grand return of Luke Skywalker.
Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny
This one is baffling. Look on the credits of the film and you’ll see the words:
Executive Producers
George Lucas
Steven Spielberg
When I first saw this, I thought that perhaps Lucas had visited the set, been in the editing room or even had a minor influence on the story. After a lot, and I mean a lot, of digging I can find zero evidence to suggest that Lucas had any involvement in the film at all. Spielberg himself seemed to have earned his producing credit by signing off on the story and being somewhat involved during pre-production but, alas, Lucas’ name seems to be there for ceremonial credit only. He attended the premiere and as stated earlier, Lucas says that the final film he worked on was Strange Magic. And so, much like the sequels, Lucas did not work on this film in any capacity.
George Lucas is retired from filmmaking. He is not working on any new Star Wars show, despite what some clickbait videos would have you believe. He is, however, hard at work on the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art which is due to open in 2025. It was great to see him at the Cannes Film Festival and he’s recently celebrated his 80th birthday.
For those, perhaps like me, still struggling to accept that Lucas won’t ever be involved in any Star Wars again – I’ll leave you with this quote from his last day of filming Episode III. Everything had wrapped and perhaps expecting an emotional goodbye for the end of an era, Lucas simply said to the cast and crew, “When you’re together, you’re together. When you’re not, you’re not.”
We’ve seen the last of George Lucas and his vision for Star Wars. But then again, have we?
Star Wars: Detours anyone?
- Hardcover Book
- Revis, Beth (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 48 Pages - 12/03/2024 (Publication Date) - Random House/Star Wars (Publisher)
