George Lucas is a perfectionist, and fans can easily see that with the revisions he made to his Star Wars movies after they were released. Nothing is more frustrating for a fan than buying a copy of the film and realizing it’s not the same one that played in theaters.
The director is also fond of altering his films for re-releases, which means it’s no longer the original version. Interestingly, he is aware of this practice and how much fans despised it.
George Lucas And His Fascination With Making Changes In Star Wars Movies
While speaking with supervising sound editor Matthew Wood via Star Wars Interviews, he revealed he has no idea if George Lucas would ever stop making changes in his movies.
The Episode I DVD has some longer scenes in the podrace, Episode II was slightly different than the theatrical. He is always improving things he had done before.
Apart from the prequel trilogy, Wood said they tried to remaster the original trilogy in 1997 for the Special Edition, and Lucas was happy about the latest remastered version because he was finally able to do what he couldn’t in 1997.
In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the filmmaker addressed his controversial habit of making changes in his films.
Changes are not unusual — I mean, most movies, when they release them, they make changes. But somehow, when I make the slightest change, everybody thinks it’s the end of the world.
It really does feel like that for some fans, but Lucas argued that his job is “to try to make the best possible movie it can be.” He assured fans that Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was only converted to Blu-ray, and they “haven’t made any changes other than the 3D.”
George Lucas Defends Star Wars Special Editions
In a rare 1999 interview with George Lucas for Issue 78 of Cinefex via Twitter, he explained what those special editions are for.
The special editions were a means of researching and testing what I was going to try to do on this film. I had to do that. But at the same time, I was able to make those movies be more the way I wanted them to be.
I…worked on the concept for an article for years…and…he just…he came out and said it in an interview 20 years ago. #GeorgeLucas #StarWars pic.twitter.com/LxUqfmtI1g
— Drew S. (bsky: @doubleofive.com) (@doubleofive) July 17, 2019
It seems like old habits die hard for Lucas. He defended that the changes he wanted to make did not involve or alter any story issues, and it was only a matter of scope. “There were a lot of things about the original films I found frustrating because to me the illusion was too thin,” he stated.
Long story short, the original versions of his movies were prototypes of the projects he wanted to make. This is why he kept tweaking them to perfection. His thought process would go from creating the original version of the project to later picking out the issues in it. He would develop and make the necessary changes, and when he’s satisfied, they will be released as special editions.
Star Wars movies are available to watch on Disney+.
