George Lucas, 80, returned to Cannes for the first time since 1971, that’s when he premiered “THX 1138,” this time he receiving an honorary Palme d’Or.
The 80-year-old filmmaker spoke about his career to a packed audience at the Debussy Theater. Obviously, he mainly talked about ‘Star Wars’ (via THR), defending the prequel trilogy, and lamenting how Disney didn’t use his ideas after he sold Lucasfilm to them in 2012 for $4 billion.
Needless to say, he’s not thrilled with the direction Disney has taken his former franchise, and that he might be the only one to know how to make these films.
“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,” said Lucas. “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 doesn’t sound too happy with where Kathleen Kennedy & co. have taken the franchise. There have been a few reports pointing towards Lucas not being particularly impressed by “The Force Awakens,” calling an act of “retro” filmmaking. He even gave subtle hints of his dissatisfaction by quipping in an interview that selling Star Wars to Disney felt like selling his kids to slavers.
Disney CEO Bob Iger, promoting his tell-all book, admitted that Lucas was struggling to let go of Star Wars and felt personally let down because Lucasfilm didn't develop his own ideas for the Rey/Ren trilogy. The negative behind-the-scenes dramatics culminated to a head when Lucas finally saw “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Just prior to the global release, Kathy screened The Force Awakens for George. He didn’t hide his disappointment. "There’s nothing new," he 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."
Apparently Lucas really liked ‘Rogue One’, which is still the best Star Wars movie produced by Disney. That film’s director, Gareth Edwards, has stated that Lucas “really liked the film” when he privately screened it for him.
There’s been zero indication that Disney are willing to bring Lucas back into the creative fold for their future Star Wars films, but if I were them, I’d think about including him. He’s the mastermind behind the ideas and millions of fans would get back on the train if it meant that Lucas approved the direction.
The film arrives unrated, set to screen in 2,000+ theaters this weekend, but is already plagued by disastrous early reviews, amounting to a 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes.