George Lucas reflects on Disney’s Star Wars after he sold Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 billion in 2012. Over the past decade, both fans and Lucas himself have expressed mixed reactions to the direction Disney has taken with the beloved galaxy far, far away.
Lucas recently opened up about his feelings toward the Star Wars sequels and spin-offs produced under Disney’s leadership in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “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,” Lucas commented. He feels that essential elements of his original trilogy have been lost in translation.
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Despite these sentiments, Lucas acknowledges the necessity of moving on once a creation is handed over, saying, “You give it up, you give it up.” Even though Lucas believes some of the essence of his originals is missing in Disney’s projects, he continues to stay connected to the Star Wars universe.
He frequently visits sets and provides consultation to filmmakers, maintaining a presence in the ongoing expansion of his creation. Lucas worked as a creative consultant on the Star Wars sequel trilogy’s first film, The Force Awakens, and visited the set of Star Wars: Andor. The Star Wars creator was also noted as a fan of Rogue One.
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The Debate About The True Meaning Of The Force
A central theme in Star Wars is the concept of balancing the Force, an idea Lucas has discussed extensively. The Force is the lifeblood of the Star Wars universe, connecting every being. Misunderstandings about what it means to balance the Force have proliferated, especially with interpretations suggesting a balance between the light and dark sides akin to yin and yang.
Lucas refutes this notion. In a 2010 meeting with the writers of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, he explained that the dark side is an unnatural distortion of the Force. “What happens when you go to the dark side is it goes out of balance, and then you get really selfish… when you get selfish, you get stuff. Or you want stuff and when you want stuff, and you get stuff, then you get afraid somebody’s going to take it away from you… Once you become afraid that somebody’s going to take it away from you, or you’re going to lose it, then you start to become angry… And that anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering,” Lucas elaborated.
In Lucas’s view, the light side represents the true nature of the Force. The dark side is a corruption brought on by selfishness and greed. He emphasized that the pursuit of these vices is fleeting and ultimately destructive. This concept was further explored in The Clone Wars. It becomes clear that balance in the Force is not about equalizing the number of light-side and dark-side users in the galaxy. Instead, as highlighted by the events on Mortis, those who embrace the light side act in harmony with the will of the Force, serving as its agents of balance.
The Daughter is often depicted following the will of the Father and working to protect him, suggesting that the light side aligns with the Force’s true nature. In contrast, the dark side represents a corrupting influence that disrupts this balance, turning Force-wielders away from their true purpose.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Star Wars
The original trilogy depicts the heroic development of Luke Skywalker as a Jedi and his fight against Palpatine’s Galactic Empire alongside his sister, Leia. The prequels tell the tragic backstory of their father, Anakin, who is corrupted by Palpatine and becomes Darth Vader.
- Created by
- George Lucas
- Latest Film
- Star Wars: Episode XI – The Rise of Skywalker
- First Episode Air Date
- November 12, 2019
- Cast
- Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , Harrison Ford , Hayden Christensen , Ewan McGregor , Natalie Portman , Ian McDiarmid , Daisy Ridley , Adam Driver , Rosario Dawson , Pedro Pascal
- Where to Stream
- Disney+
- Comic
- Star Wars: Revelations
