George Lucas Reveals Why He Actually Sold 'Star Wars' To Disney

After creating one of the biggest film franchises in history, it was under a lot of assumption that George Lucas would want to retain full control over the Star Wars franchise after the release of the prequel trilogy. So when Lucas sold the franchise to Disney in 2012, there was some speculation about his thought process and reasoning.

At the time that the franchise was sold, it had been about seven years since a live-action Star Wars film had been released (Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith hitting theaters back in 2005). Though fans could still hear new stories from the Star Wars galaxy through the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was on its fifth season with Cartoon Network at the time of the Disney buyout, many were under the assumption that there would not be any new film from the franchise, especially with George Lucas announcing his transition towards retirement at the beginning of the same year.

However, in October of 2012, it was announced that Disney would be acquiring Lucasfilm and all of its properties, a deal worth approximately $4 billion. Lucas was to be listed as a creative consultant for the properties moving forward.

Eight years and five films later, Star Wars seems to be far from the end fans were preparing for back in 2012. Now, Lucas is quoted as describing the acquisition as “very painful” in his interview with Paul Duncan, author and editor of The Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III 1999-2005, which details different aspects related to the production of the prequel trilogy.

In a recent tweet, Duncan featured a page from the book, highlighting portions of his interview with Lucas.

Lucas describes what it felt like to part ways with the Star Wars franchise:

"I've spent my life creating Star Wars -- 40 years -- and giving it up was very, very painful. But it was the right thing to do.”

So if Lucas wasn’t exactly thrilled about letting go of Star Wars, it then becomes a question of why do it in the first place. Though Lucas was having discussions and making plans for the next installments to the series, he ultimately decided that he had a stronger desire to spend time with his family:

"At the time I was starting the next trilogy; I talked to the actors and I was starting to gear up. I was also about to have a daughter with my wife. It takes 10 years to make a trilogy -- Episodes I to III took from 1995 to 2005.

I'd still be working on Episode IX! In 2012 I was 69. So the question was am I going to keep doing this the rest of my life? Do I want to go through this again? Finally, I decided I'd rather raise my daughter and enjoy life for a while.”

Further, Lucas details why he could not simply keep the production with Lucasfilm, allowing another director to helm the projects, referring to his time working on The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi:

“I could have not sold Lucasfilm and gotten somebody to run the productions, but that isn't retiring. On The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi I tried to stay out of the way but I couldn't. I was there every day. Even though the people were friends of mine and they did great work, it wasn't the same as me doing it. It was like being once removed. I knew that probably wouldn't work again, that I'd be frustrated.

I'm one of those micromanager guys, and I can't help it. So I figured I would forgo that, enjoy what I had, and I was looking forward to raising my daughter.”

But relinquishing his major responsibilities of the franchise also lessened his creative pull with the properties. Though he was described as a creative consultant, Lucas says that his role with the Disney productions was not what he expected:

“I thought I was going to have a little bit more to say about the next three because I'd already started them, but they decided they wanted to do something else. Things don't always work the way you want it. Life is like that.”

Though Lucas didn’t get to see his vision for the sequel films fulfilled, it’s reassuring to know that he still sees his decision to step away from the franchise in order to spend more time with his family as a good one.

Written By Tyre Francis

Syndicated From Culture Slate