Just be clear, George Lucas did say that he liked ‘The Force Awakens’.  But when he was recently asked about his approach to the film versus the direction Disney chose to go in, he was less than enthusiastic.  Back when the deal was being brokered to sell Lucasfilm LTD to the entertainment giant, Lucas had already approached Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill to reprise their roles for a film he had previously declared would never get made.  He’d also cooked up his own story ideas which were kept under such tight wraps that only a handful of Disney executives were allowed to read them.

When Disney actually moved forward with conceiving the new films, Lucas’ ideas were used to line a trashcan.  And as a result, we got J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ which by nearly all accounts is a certified crowd pleaser.  I said “nearly.”

Discussing his reaction to what Disney and Abrams had in store, Lucas said:

“They wanted to do a retro movie. I don’t like that. Every movie I work very hard to make them completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships, make it new.”

Contrary to Lucas’ desires, one of the facets of the new movie that has most pleased fans is the fact that it pays homage to the original movies, particularly ‘A New Hope’ while introducing a new generation of good vs. evil conflict.  And, Lucas ended up liking it, despite the fact that it wasn’t a 100% original concept.

We’ll never know what “new planets” or “different spaceships” Lucas would have subjected audiences to.  The only thing that is known about his plans is the fact that he planned to focus on more goddamn kids younger characters à la nine year-old Anakin and 13 year-old Padme in ‘The Phantom Menace’.  True, ‘The Force Awakens’ did introduce some younger lead characters, but at least they were old enough to… well, you know, not suck.  (Plus, we’ve seen what Lucas accomplishes when he tries to add something “new” to things.)

Honestly– and this is just my opinion– I’m not sure why anyone keeps asking Lucas anything.  He sold Lucasfilm LTD years ago and had nothing to do with the new movies.  It’s kind of like how people keep asking Stan Lee about Marvel Comics projects when he hasn’t been involved with Marvel in decades and contrary to popular belief, didn’t create EVERYTHING in the Marvel Universe.  (He barely knows who Wolverine or the Guardians of the Galaxy are.)

Lucas has made his contributions.  He crafted the original trilogy, which had it’s weak spots but became one of the biggest pop culture brands ever.  He also made the prequels.  So, perhaps you should take your seat, sir.

What do you think?  Is ‘The Force Awakens’ a little too retro?  Should they have focused more on creating something brand new?  Did you at any point while watching think, “You know what this movie needs?  More children!”?

Source: Cinema Blend