Developed in the early ‘70s by George Lucas, Star Wars, as a franchise, has grown to juggernaut heights both in net worth and creative output. Ever since the release of the first film, it has continued to capture the imaginations of countless people across the globe and become more or less synonymous with everyday pop culture. Regardless of its juggernaut impact, it too, has not managed to get away from flaws and misses and landed criticisms, especially for its prequel trilogy.
Directed solely by Lucas, the series of films from the late ‘90s to mid-2000s saw the fanbase get divided over the lore and nature of the movies. A string of complaints flooded the saga during this period as fans of the original three believed it failed to pack a punch that strong.
Yet, over the years, many who did like those new movies stood out in defense. Now, decades later, the creator of the lore himself joined in the debate and added his voice to the latter.
George Lucas believes Star Wars prequel trilogy outgrew its audience
In talks with the media at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, as reported by PremiereFR on X, George Lucas stated that the disapproval from several fans of the prequel movies happened not because of the different tone and style but because the audience “weren’t kids anymore”.
In essence, he said that the world full of droids, aliens, and characters like Chewbacca became popular because they were aimed at a younger audience. When that same audience grew up, they did not understand his take and intentions with the franchise anymore.
I made Star Wars for 12-year-old kids, at the time we were going through a dark period with the Vietnam War and we needed to dream. That’s why fans of the first trilogy didn’t like the prequels – they weren’t kids anymore.
From 1999 to 2005, the acclaimed filmmaker took on the creative and directorial mantle to shape the Star Wars saga as per his vision. While the original three films focused on the Rebellion against the Empire, the prequel series explored the rise of the Empire and Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader.
The new characters coupled with criticisms of CGI, storytelling, and character development of prominent characters made long-time fans wary of the saga’s future. Moreover, Lucas’ world-building, though expanded the franchise, did cause lore inconsistency at times, giving rise to plot holes and angering many further.
The Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm had the creator in a fix
George Lucas stood, and still stands, as the guardian of Star Wars since its inception. However, in 2012, he sold the rights to the franchise and his production house to Disney, a move that also made him the world’s richest celebrity. In the same thread of talks, he opened up that in the process of creating new shows and movies, some pieces of originality did get lost.
I was the one one who really knew what Star Wars was, who actually knew this world, because there’s a lot to it… Nobody understood the Force. When they started other ones after I sold the company, a lot of the ideas that were in [the original] sort of got lost.
The comments highlighted the wave of criticisms that arrived with the sequel trilogy. While shows such as The Mandalorian managed to salvage the lore, films like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, fell to drastically low ratings.
Nonetheless, Lucas has managed to make peace with the new management while looking at his franchise like a child and admitting that “it hurts a little when they grow up and get away from you”.
