George Lucas Expected Disney To Give Him More Power In The Creation Of The Sequel Trilogy
After Disney acquired Marvel back in 2009, it was no brainer for Disney to acquire the Star Wars property as they bought it from Lucasfilm for 4 billion dollars back in 2012. However, the decision was painful; according to George Lucas himself giving up control to his iconic Star Wars property was “very, very painful,” as we have learned from Paul Duncan’s interview that is referenced in the newly released book The Star Wars Archives: Episode I-III 1999-2005. The material finds Lucas being honest about his decision to prioritize his family over his film franchise.
The book was made with full cooperation with Lucasfilm, and George Lucas himself narrated his own story. This second volume is taking the reader through the making of the prequel trilogy from 1999’s Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, and 2005’s Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. The book also features an exclusive interview with George Lucas and his collaborators. It is illustrated with script pages, concept art, production documents, posters, stills, storyboards, and on-set photography. Paul Duncan is a film historian whose Taschen books include The Charlie Chaplin Archives, Taxi Driver, Film Noir, The Godfather Family Album, and The James Bond Archives.
In the interview, George Lucas told Paul Duncan,
“At the time, I was starting the next trilogy; I talked to the actors and I was starting to gear up. I was also about to have a daughter with my wife. It takes 10 years to make a trilogy – Episodes I – III took from 1995 to 2005. I’d still be working on Episode IX. In 201, I was 69. So the question was, ‘Am I going to keep doing this for the rest of my life? Do I want to go through this again?’ Finally, I decided I’d rather raise my daughter and enjoy life for a while.”
George Lucas was also contemplating not putting Lucasfilm up for sale, but instead having a third party run the production of the sequel trilogy. If Lucas decided to do so, then he would not have been able to enjoy life or even raise his daughter as he was planning. As Lucas put it, “That isn’t retiring.” He continued:
“On ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’ I tried to stay out of the way, but I couldn’t. I was there every day. Even though the people were friends of mine and they did great work, it wasn’t the same as me doing it. It was like being once removed… I’m one of those micromanager guys, and I can’t help it. So I figured I would forgo that, enjoy what I had and I was looking forward to raising my daughter. I’ve spent my life creating ‘Star Wars’ – 40 years – and giving it up was very, very painful. But it was the right thing to do. I thought I was going to have a little bit more to say about the next three because I’d already started them, but they decided they wanted to do something else. Things don’t always work out the way you want. Life is like that."
Check out Paul Duncan’s tweet.
Why did George Lucas sell Lucasfilm in 2012? He tells me why in this extract from my new book The #StarWars Archives Eps I-III. My unboxing video here: https://t.co/M907YGZsjm pic.twitter.com/MEPRStOil8
— Paul Duncan (@kershed) December 3, 2020
In Lucas’ original ideas before Disney decided to go in a different direction for the sequel trilogy, Darth Maul would have returned to the franchise as the main antagonist and Princess Leia would have been the trilogy’s “Chosen One” character.
The Star Wars Archives: Episode I-III 1999-2005 is now available for purchase through Taschen.