Ever since selling Lucasfilm to Disney, George Lucas has mostly stayed out of the limelight. “Star Wars,” the franchise that was his baby for decades, is now out of his hands, and the filmmaker has largely been selective out the words he’s chosen when talking about the new movies.
“I think the fans are going to love it. It’s very much the kind of movie they’ve been looking for,” Lucas said diplomatically about “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” shortly before it opened. Around the same time, Kathleen Kennedy relayed that “he really liked it,” though Lucas himself has never really said those words. At least not in public.
Once again, the man who brought us the Force is speaking through an intermediary when it comes his thoughts about “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” According to his rep Connie Wethington, Lucas thought the movie was “beautifully made” and “in speaking with director Rian Johnson after viewing was complimentary.” Wow, let’s not get too effusive there!
It’s probably hard enough to see the characters and world you created given over to a whole new team of moviemakers, so we’ll cut Lucas a bit of slack. It’s probably not fun to keep being asked about “Star Wars” when you no longer have any involvement.
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” opens on December 15th. [THR]