When Disney first announced the return of the Star Wars saga, it was originally reported that the new films would be based on stories written by the franchise creator George Lucas. Then it turned out that was not the case. When Disney decided to go in a different direction Lucas apparently decided to divorce himself from the project entirely. The reason for the shift seems to be a fundamental difference in the way each party looked at the story. Disney wanted to make a space opera, while Lucas wanted to make a soap opera.
From Lucas’ new comments, it sounds like Disney did not feel that the creator’s story was going to be a movie that fans would want to see. Lucas was very focused on the story, and what he felt it should be about. He told CBS This Morning that the two visions simply didn’t line up.
The issue was, ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, 'We want to make something for the fans.' People don't actually realize it's actually a soap opera and it's all about family problems - it's not about spaceships. So they decided they didn't want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing so I decided, 'Fine.... I'll go my way, and I let them go their way.'
To his credit, Lucas says that once it was clear that they would not be telling the story the way he would have wanted, he walked away. He knew he would only be in the way. He also says that Disney didn’t really want him there, which may very well have been true. Either way, Lucas knew that hanging around would only make him frustrated, so it was time to leave.
Ultimately what we have here is a classic disagreement about art. Lucas has always felt that Star Wars was his, and that therefore he could do what he wanted with it. Thus, the constant modifications to the original films. There’s another argument, however, that once art is created, it belongs to the people that experience it. That’s where the fans who are still upset they can’t get a Blu-Ray of an unaltered trilogy come from. This isn’t the first time this conflict has caused problems, and it won’t be the last. Check out the interview below.
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Lucas is clearly upset by all this. Dare we say, he's bitter? He’s never apparently gotten over the vitriol that the prequels created in fans. Fans, on the other hand, have a love-hate relationship with Lucas, as well. The prequel problem is real, yet he was the man that made the great movies too, and the passion for them has never diminished. We hope, if George ever brings himself to watch the new movies, that he likes them. They’re happening because of him, regardless of your point of view.
