Last week, it was revealed thatStar Wars franchisecreatorGeorge Lucashad finally seenStar Wars: The Force Awakens. But we only got to hear what the man thought second hand from Lucasfilm boss and producerKathleen Kennedy. She claimed that he ‘really liked it’. Now,Vulturehas caught up with the man for a direct quote. But he doesn’t offer the praise you might expect.
George Lucashas a chip on his shoulder when it comes toStar Wars: The Force Awakens. Once he sold the property to Disney and LucasFilm, they notoriously kicked him to the curb, and tossed out all the ideas he had for a future sequel. A lot of fans think that is for the best. And about this latest installment directed byJ.J. Abrams,Lucasmakes the bold claim that fans are about to get what they’ve always wanted. He states the following.
“I think the fans are going to love it. It’s very much the kind of movie they’ve been looking for.”
George Lucaswas at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington on Sunday, where he refused to openly admit that he actually liked the movie. In recent interviews,George Lucas, who directed the first movie and the entire prequel trilogy, compared his current relationship to theStar Wars franchiseas a ‘divorce’. And he claimed that the new film would likely ruin his vision.George Lucassold Lucasfilm to Disney back in 2012, and both parties washed their hands of each other.Lucasalways had plans forStar Wars 7-9, but all of those ideas were tossed in the trash once his company traded hands. And he was not invited to help out with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in any way. But now, he has been invited to both the London and Los Angeles world premieres of the movie. And he’s accepted that invitation.
Leading up to the film’s December 18 release, the creator of this universe has appeared ambivalent about the whole thing. And it’s clear that he didn’t agree with the direction the story was headed. Speaking with CBS last month, he had this to say about turning in ideas for thenew trilogy.
“Ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, ‘We want to make something for the fans’. People don’t actually realize it’s actually a soap opera and it’s all about family problems - it’s not about spaceships. So they decided they didn’t want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing so I decided, ‘fine. … I’ll go my way and I let them go their way.'”
Some fans have wondered ifGeorge Lucaswill publicly endorse the movie. Or any of the upcoming spinoffs. That hasn’t happened yet, but we can expect to hear from the man himself when he is interviewed on the red carpet for the premiere happening in Los Angeles on December 14. It was only earlier this week that he claimed not to have seen the movie. He said this about eventually screening it.
“I gotta go to the wedding. My ex will be there, my new wife will be there, but I’m going to have to take a very deep breath and be a good person and sit through it and just enjoy the moment, because it is what it is and it’s a conscious decision that I made.”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t screening for the press, and only the cast and crew have seen the movie.Steven Spielbergclaims to have seen it three times already. And of course, the top brass at Disney were the first to see an early cut. We should start hearing the first critic reviews on December 14th, after it screens for the first time. But we’re not sure what kind of embargo journalists attending the event will be held under. Perhaps we’ll never know howGeorge Lucastruly feels about the new movie. At least, not until it officially comes out.
