Simon Pegg is never one to mince words about the “Star Wars” franchise. Whether he’s criticizing the Prequel Trilogy or talking about the current state of fandom, Pegg has lived his life as a fan and now is someone that has met with George Lucas, J.J. Abrams, and Lucasfilm, which leads him to draw different conclusions about the galaxy far, far away. And in a new interview, he talks more about the state of “Star Wars” and why he feels the latest trilogy of films is “missing” Lucas’ unmistakable touch.
READ MORE: Simon Pegg Regrets Being A Toxic Fan Himself And Says “None Of It Matters, None Of It”
Pegg recently appeared on the Adam Buxton Podcast, and among the various things he spoke about, the topic of “Star Wars” came up, as it often does in interviews with the star. And since you can’t talk about “Star Wars” without bringing up Rian Johnson’s controversial entry in the franchise ‘The Last Jedi,’ the actor described his feelings about the film, and focused on the troubling state he sees “Star Wars” fandom at in 2018.
“There was an odd thing with [‘The Last Jedi’] in that the people who didn’t like it were sort of being gaslighted by the people that did like it, who were just dismissing their complaints about the film as being fanboy butthurt. And yet, the whole thing is just eating itself in a hideous cultural soup,” Pegg explained.
He continued, “It’s a shame because it’s just a film.”
Pegg also talked about his own thoughts about ‘The Last Jedi,’ and while he didn’t go into specifics, he did have one major takeaway — “Star Wars” just isn’t the same without George Lucas.
READ MORE: Simon Pegg Says Engaging With Toxic Fandom Is “A Waste Of Time…And Life!”
“I must admit, watching [‘The Last Jedi’], the overriding feeling I got when I came out was, ‘I miss George Lucas.’ For all the complaining that I’d done about him in the prequels, there was something amazing about his imagination,” said Pegg.
But that isn’t to say that everything Lucas touched was gold. As Pegg has spoken about at length over the years, he doesn’t have much fondness for the Prequel Trilogy, and he thinks he knows why that is.
“Those first three [‘Star Wars’] films were the product of real collaboration,” he discussed, mentioning how producers Gary Kurtz and Alan Ladd, Jr. contributed to the Original Trilogy. “Then with the prequels, it was like, ‘Do what you want!’ And without someone to steer him in the right direction, it did overflow into slightly muddled kind of less elegance.”
Bringing it back to the new trilogy, Pegg admits, “But I do feel like his voice is missing from the current ones.”
The actor, of course, famously cameoed in the J.J. Abrams-directed ‘The Force Awakens,’ but it’s unclear if the director will bring back Pegg ‘Episode IX,’ which hits theaters on December 20, 2019.