George Lucas will be forever remembered as the man who invented Star Wars with his 1977 film Star Wars (later retitled: – Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope).
However, the director averted his gaze from the franchise when it came to the subsequent sequels. Veteran actor Mark Hamill, who portrayed the role of Luke Skywalker in the franchise, wished that Lucas had continued like Steven Spielberg did with the Indiana Jones franchise.
Mark Hamill Wasn’t Able To Work With George Lucas Again
It was 1977 when Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and, George Lucas joined hands for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. After the film’s success, Lucas left the director’s chair and went back to the storyboard.
The other two films of the trilogy were directed by Irvin Kershner and Richard Marquand respectively. In 1999, George Lucas returned to the director’s seat with Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, and other actors to create the film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
Sadly, Mark Hamill did not get the chance to work with George Lucas again. In an interview from Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine #3 (via StarWarsNet), Hamill revealed his thoughts on working with George Lucas.
I wish I knew what I know about George now when I did the first Star Wars because he’s a very introspective fellow and can be sort of intimidating when you really don’t know him. I was sorry he didn’t direct any of the other Star Wars films.
He further continued and compared George Lucas with Steven Spielberg and the Indiana Jones franchise.
But, I was kind of sorry George didn’t continue in the way Steven Spielberg did with the Indiana Jones movies. But I can understand that.
Well, even legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick had some harsh words for Lucas since he didn’t want to direct films anymore. But, on the other hand, Hamill understood why Lucas avoided the director’s chair like the plague.
The fact is, people were robbed of some very great movies and projects that George Lucas could have directed but it wasn’t the case. Mark Hamill revealed that directing movies was not the best part for George Lucas.
George Lucas Avoided The Director’s Chair
As the interview further continued, Mark Hamill lamented about the fact that George Lucas didn’t want to direct Star Wars films anymore (Note: This interview was way before Lucas directed The Phantom Menace).
Hamill, pointing that Lucas avoided the director’s chair like the plague, stated that he might have figured out why. George Lucas didn’t like directing actors as much as he liked the post-production of a film.
I don’t think that directing actors is George’s favourite part of the filmmaking process. I could be wrong, but I think he seems to enjoy the other elements better: the post-production, editing and so forth.
Unfortunately, the past cannot be changed and eventually, George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney some years ago. Even Lucas himself had words of regret when he saw what had happened to the Star Wars franchise in recent times.
The director retired after selling the Star Wars franchise and continues to live a relaxing life with occasional criticism for the current Star Wars projects and series.
The Star Wars franchise is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
