Star Wars fans are known for being divisive over which Star Wars is the “real” Star Wars. There are the original trilogy fans, the prequels defenders, and people who will argue for the Extended Universe until their dying breath. In recent years, however, Star Wars fans have united on one thing: not many of them like the sequels. This sentiment isn’t limited to the fans, however, as none other than George Lucas has taken the stage at Cannes. Lucas said that a lot of what made the original trilogy good was “lost” in the sequel trilogy, for better or worse.
George Lucas Honored at Cannes: In Defense of the Prequels
The 77th Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, and it’s a practical who’s-who of Hollywood legends. Notable names include Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola, whose newest movie Megalopolis got a Cannes premiere, along with Kevin Costner, George Miller, and Greta Gerwig. George Lucas showed up this year not as a competitor but as an honoree, receiving a Palme d’Or for his contributions to filmmaking. After accepting his award, Lucas sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his methodology, the secrets to his success, and how he feels about Star Wars now that Disney has the reins.
One hot topic was, of course, the often debated prequel trilogy. In defending the prequels, Lucas argued that a lot of the hate aimed at them was from critics who’d lost sight of the fact that Star Wars was meant to be a kid’s movie, specially aimed at children who hadn’t figured out the world yet.
“It was supposed to be a kid’s movie for 12-year-olds that were going through puberty, who don’t know what they’re doing, and are asking all the big questions: What should I be worried about? What’s important in life?And Star Wars has all those things in there. They’re buried in there but you definitely get it, especially if you’re young.”
George Lucas via The Hollywood Reporter
But, you may be arguing to yourself, the prequels were still annoying! What about Jar-Jar Binks? He was annoying outside of it being a kid’s movie! Well, Lucas said that the hate aimed at Jar-Jar after The Phantom Menace was the same as the hate originally aimed at C-3PO, then at the Ewoks, and all of it is still because he says critics are complaining about a movie that’s not aimed at them.
“Everybody said the same thing about 3-PO, that he was irritating and we should get rid of him…When I did the third one it was the Ewoks: ‘Those are little teddy bears. This is a kid’s movie, we don’t want to see a kids’ movie. I said: ‘It is a kids’ movie. It’s always been a kids’ movie.’”
George Lucas via The Hollywood Reporter
Will We See The Original Star Wars in 4K? George Lucas Says No, And He’s Not Budging
One of George Lucas’s other talking points was the question of whether or not he’ll ever release the original Star Wars trilogy from the 70s in 4K. It’s a fair question, given how many remakes and reboots are floating around these days. Lucas himself has even gotten some flak for using modern filmmaking and CGI to make the originals look better than they would have upon release. The new versions of the original trilogy are available on Disney+, but when it comes to releasing the original original trilogy in 4K? Lucas says that’s never going to happen.
“I’m a stubborn guy and I didn’t want people to tell me how to make my movies…I’m a firm believer that the director, or the writer, or the filmmaker should have a right to have his movie be the way he wants it…We did release the original one on laserdisc and everybody got really mad, they said, ‘It looks terrible.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I know it did.’ That is what it looked like.”
George Lucas via The Hollywood Reporter
While fans mourn the loss of seeing the original trilogy in crisp HD, Lucas’s continued insistence on making his movies the way he wants to raises some interesting questions, like if he was so stubborn, then why did he sell Star Wars to Disney? And, now that Disney’s at the helm for the sequels, how does Lucas feel about where Star Wars has gone without him?
The answer is…not great.
George Lucas: “I Was The Only One Who Really Knew What Star Wars Was”
When asked about the Star Wars prequels, which were made after he sold Lucasfilms to Disney, George Lucas told The Hollywood Reporter at Cannes that the sequels are missing what makes Star Wars feel like Star Wars. It’s a sentiment that a lot of fans agree with, though no one’s quite sure if the missing thing is the original actors, the practical effects, or just a vague sense of nostalgia.
Lucas, in the face of the same question, might have told you that the missing part is him and all of the original trilogy ideas that have failed to carry over.
“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…When they started other ones after I sold the company, a lot of the ideas that were in [the original] sort of got lost.”
George Lucas via The Hollywood Reporter
Of course, there’s no going back now, and good luck getting Disney to give up Star Wars when it’s making as much money as it does. Thankfully, George Lucas, who’s now 80, isn’t plotting some grand scheme to get his company back and recognizes that he’s got to live with his decision, saying that “that’s the way it is…you give it up.”
All of the Star Wars films are currently available to stream on Disney+.
