In a recent appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, George Lucas, the legendary creator of Star Wars, made headlines once again with pointed comments about The Walt Disney Company’s handling of his iconic franchise. Speaking candidly, Lucas expressed his frustration, saying, “I was the one who really knew what Star Wars was… who actually knew this world, because there’s a lot to it. The Force, for example, nobody understood the Force.” He lamented that many of his original concepts have gotten lost since he sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012. “When they started other ones after I sold the company, a lot of the ideas that were in [the original] sort of got lost. But that’s the way it is. You give it up, you give it up,” Lucas added.
Lucas’s criticism is not new. Back in 2015, ahead of the release of The Force Awakens, he famously referred to Disney as “white slavers” in an interview with Charlie Rose, expressing that he felt deeply connected to the films he created and was dismayed by the direction Disney took the franchise. Disney CEO Bob Iger also touched on this strained relationship in his book, The Ride of a Lifetime, where he detailed Lucas’s feelings of betrayal when Disney chose not to follow his outlines for the sequel trilogy.
In an insightful conversation with a student at The East Harlem School at Exodus House in 2020, Lucas was asked about the future of the Star Wars universe in the context of changing societal norms. He admitted, “I don’t know, I mean. I kind of lost control of Star Wars, so it’s going off in a different path than what I intended.” He maintained that the first six films are true to his philosophies, suggesting his ethos transcends time and is rooted in history and philosophy.
As Disney prepares for new series like The Acolyte, it seems like Lucas’s original vision might further be sidelined. Amandla Stenberg, a star of the upcoming series, mentioned that the show explores the Force in “a very expansive” way, quite different from the more rigid conceptions seen in the Galactic Republic era. “That provides us the opportunity to maybe explore the different way this character relates to the Force,” Stenberg highlighted in an interview with Empire.
What do you make of George Lucas’s latest remarks on Disney’s stewardship of Star Wars? Do you think his frustration is justified? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Don’t forget to share the story and get the conversation rolling!
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* Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger.
