Although George Lucas was keen to sell the Star Wars franchise, it looks as though he originally wanted to make Episode VII himself…
But would it have been any good?
In an interview with USA Today, the legendary Star Wars creator revealed that he considered making Star Wars VII before selling to Disney.
“Lucas already started to develop the next three Star Wars films,” they explained. “But he knew a third trilogy was a 10-year commitment at least. He at first expected to finish Episode VII, release it in May 2015 and then sell the company afterward.”
Of course, when Lucas sold the franchise to Disney, many fans were glad to see the back of him. After all, this was the man who created the prequel trilogy, and perhaps a new direction was exactly what the franchise needed.
But while he was keen to kick start a new trilogy, we all know it didn’t turn out that way…
Instead, George Lucas sold the multi-billion dollar franchise before he could commit to the upcoming Star Wars VII. And it seems that Disney come along at just the right time.
“It’s better for me to get out at the beginning of a new thing and I can just remove myself,” he explained. “The time is more important to me than the money.”
Of course, this also has a rather happy side effect – George can now watch Star Wars with fresh eyes for the first time in his life.
“The only thing I really regret about Star Wars is the fact I never got to see it — I never got to be blown out of my seat when the ship came over the screen,” he explained. “The next one, I’ll be able to enjoy it like anybody else.”
But is he already enamoured with The Force Awakens? Not quite…
While fans all across the world held their breath for the release of the first official trailer, it looks as though Lucas wasn’t really bothered. And he recently admitted that he hadn’t even seen the trailer.
“I don’t know anything about it,” he said. “I haven’t seen it yet… I like going to the movies and watching the whole thing there. I plan to see it when it’s released.”
It may sound as though he’s not really interested, but perhaps it’s more the case that he’s more than a bit stuck in his ways. After all, this is an old-school filmmaker from one of the greatest periods in cinema history. Perhaps he really would rather see it on the big screen.
But has he seen it by now? It’s hard to imagine that the creator of Star Wars would not want to know how the franchise is doing without him. And with some interesting new directions, I would love to know what he thinks of the new lightsaber… amongst other things.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens heads to cinemas on 18 December 2015.
Do you think Star Wars VII would have been great with Lucas at the helm? Are you glad he sold the franchise? Let us know in the comments below…
