10 Things You Never Knew About George Lucas

Throughout our "10 Things You Didn't Know" series, we’ve analyzed a bunch of amazing subjects within the Star Wars universe. Now, it’s time to learn some interesting facts about the One, the creator himself, George Lucas. Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about George Lucas:

10. His Student Thesis Film

His student film Look at Life was his first take on actual filmmaking. This film shows us Lucas’ love for experimental films, and his idea to experiment with a camera, which is what Lucas truly loves. When he made his thesis film Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, he introduced us to his love for the future, his passion for storytelling, and what he can do for almost nothing. This film was the beginning of his fantasy journey, which led to a full length feature simply titled THX 1138.

9. “Faster and more intense!”

This particular line was something the entire cast of the original trilogy always joked about. Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO, and Princess Leia herself Carrie Fisher, always joked about how George Lucas wouldn’t even speak on set. Carrie once said how George almost never gave her any directions, that he would say “faster and more intense” most of the time, but that was it. The actors used to joke about this while filming the original trilogy.

8. Why He Sold Star Wars

During an interview with Charlie Rose, George describes that one of the reasons why he sold Lucasfilm, was because he felt responsible for his company losing a lot of money with the current recent projects he had done like Red Tails and the fourth installment of Indiana Jones. He thought about selling his company because he wanted someone else to step in and give the company and its workers the money they had lost.

7. He Pitched Star Wars to Every Studio

In the early developments of Star Wars, George pitched Star Wars to all the major motion picture studios, and all of them rejected him. Space films didn’t have a good rep during the '70s, and the idea of a boy fighting next to a goat dog and an old space wizard was too childish to some of the studios. George never gave up, and finally, he pitched to 20th Century Fox the idea of Star Wars, and finally got a “Yes!”

6. The Original Name for Star Wars

What if I tell you that Star Wars wasn’t always called Star Wars? Well, this is a true statement. The original name for Star Wars or The Star Wars was The Adventures of Luke Starkiller. This was an original story by George Lucas, with completely different characters, and a similar story, which with many years of thought and development, ended up becoming the story we all love now.

5. His Meaning for Star Wars

To many fans, Star Wars is an epic adventure, or a dark tale in space, yet to Lucas himself is about family. The Skywalker saga has always been a story about family, and the story itself, is about Anakin Skywalker. Star Wars is not only about family, but George also says that Star Wars is a film for 12-year-olds. His Star Wars wasn’t meant to be for adults; Star Wars, in the eyes of George Lucas, was always meant for kids.

4. At One Point, He Said There Would Be No Sequel Trilogy

When the prequel trilogy ended, some fans wanted more. These fans wanted George to continue making Star Wars, and they wanted to him to make Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. In fact, they wanted a sequel trilogy so much, they kept emailing him about it. George said to the fans, that he was very pleased with the ending of Episode VI, and he felt that it was the perfect ending, since the sort has always been about Anakin, and Anakin, had been redeemed.

3. George DID Have A Sequel Trilogy In Mind

In recent years, George has been releasing some information about his sequel trilogy. George’s sequel trilogy would have shown who the Whills are, and explored a microbiotic world. At some point, he even considered having Darth Maul as an antagonist, with Darth Talon as his apprentice.

2. He Was Involved with The Mandalorian

One of the best reasons why The Mandalorian is so good and feels like Star Wars, is because showrunner Jon Favreau had George Lucas involved with the show. Favreau consulted Lucas on some things, which must have helped inform him about how to make the show feel like Star Wars.

1. Ahsoka’s Father

One of the greatest things to come from Star Wars: The Clone Wars is the character arc of Ahsoka Tano. But did you know that Ahsoka isn’t all Filoni’s creation? Ahsoka Tano was created by George Lucas during the development of The Clone Wars movie. Ahsoka was created to make Anakin more likable during the Clone Wars era, and was meant to be killed off. Thanks to Dave Filoni, Ahsoka Lives!

Whether you love or hate any changes George made to the original trilogy, or whether you dislike the prequels or love them, there wouldn’t be any Star Wars without him.

Written By Christopher Giron

Source(s): Charlie Rose Interview, Disney Gallery: The Mandalorian, NME, Polygon, Wikipedia, Wookieepedia

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