J.J. Abrams Defends ‘The Force Awakens,’ But Respects George Lucas’ Criticism That It ‘Lacks Originality'

Disney CEO Bob Iger’s memoir revealed earlier this year that George Lucas criticized “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” for lacking originality. If you remember, Iger claimed that when Lucas saw “The Force Awakens,” directed by J.J. Abrams, “he didn’t hide his disappointment. ‘There’s nothing new,’ [Lucas] said. In each of the films in the original trilogy, it was important to him to present new worlds, new stories, new characters, and new technologies. In this one, he said, ‘There weren’t enough visual or technical leaps forward.’”

In an interview with Rolling Stone, ahead of the release of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” Abrams responded to Lucas’ criticism by saying he “only has gratitude” for Lucas:

“It’s probably a complicated thing for him,” Abrams told Rolling Stone. “To decide you’re going to sell this thing that you created, that was your baby, to anyone — that must be more complicated than signing a check and smiling about it. But he’s been incredibly gracious. He’s been super-generous.”

Abrams continued, “He came over, we had a meeting when we first started working on this [new movie], talked through a ton of different ideas and stories, and heard from him what was important. And we’ve done nothing but try and adhere to some fundamental aspects of the story. It wasn’t a difficult thing to try and do. And again, he was really gracious. So I’m only grateful. Do I wish that [Force Awakens] had been his favorite movie of all time? Yes, I only wanted to do well by him. I would just say that I have nothing but profound respect for the guy and am still truly, even more so now, working on these movies in awe of what he created.”

Abrams does admit that Lucas’ claims about a “lack of originality” in “The Force Awakens” said that he “completely gets the criticism.” But, for Abrams, “The Force Awakens” was to go back to the “classic storytelling” of “A New Hope” to set up the riskier second and third chapters.

“The idea was to continue the story and to begin with this young woman who felt like Luke Skywalker was a myth,” Abrams said. “And to tell a story that was not just history repeating itself, but a story that embraced the movies that we know as the actual history of this galaxy. So that they are still living in a place where there is good versus evil, they’re still living in the shadow of what has come before, still grappling with the sins of the father and the people who have preceded them. This was not about a nostalgia play. It felt, to me, like a way of saying, ‘Let’s go back to a Star Wars that we know, so we can tell another story.'”

“Rise of Skywalker” is opening in theaters nationwide December 20th