Filmmaker George Lucas created the Star Wars franchise, a global pop culture phenomenon that remains popular even today. The first installment in the franchise was released in 1977, with Lucas staying at the helm of affairs until 2012 when he decided to sell the franchise to Disney.
During an interview, Lucas revealed his desire to spend more time with his family as one of the reasons he decided to step away from the galaxy far, far away. However, Lucas had another reason that impacted his decision to sell the rights to the epic space opera saga instead of simply stepping away. Here is why George Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney.
George Lucas revealed the real reason he had to sell Star Wars to Disney
George Lucas directed 1977’s Star Wars, which was a major commercial success, leading to the director expanding the story into an epic space opera saga. Lucas remained the spearhead for the franchise through its original and prequel trilogies.
However, Lucas decided to step away from the franchise after some initial work on a proposed sequel trilogy. Instead of being at the helm of affairs, Lucas sold the franchise along with Lucasfilm to Disney, with the latter producing the much-maligned sequel trilogy.
I’d still be working on Episode IX. In 2012, I was 69. So the question was, ‘Am I going to keep doing this for the rest of my life? Do I want to go through this again?’
Lucas made the above statement in an interview (via IndieWire) with archivist Paul Duncan, explaining the reason he wanted to step away from the responsibility of shaping another trilogy in the franchise.
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.
Lucas made the above comment, revealing that his habit of micromanaging wouldn’t let him truly retire.
The filmmaker admitted that he contemplated having someone else run the production but decided in favor of selling the company as the former option would likely have resulted in him trying to micromanage the production despite hiring someone for the job. As a result, Lucas’ desire to spare more time with his family and avoid micromanaging led to the franchise’s sale to Disney.
George Lucas hoped he would’ve had more of a say in the Star Wars sequels
Given that Lucas spent more than four decades shaping the franchise, it is easy to understand why Lucas had to sell off the company to enjoy his retirement. However, the filmmaker had always expressed hopes that he would someday craft a sequel trilogy.
In the same interview, Lucas admitted that he had some ideas for the sequels, which he had shared with Disney. However, under the new leadership of Lucasfilm, the company chose to go in a different direction.
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.
Lucas made the above statement, lamenting that he did not have much of an input in the sequels produced under Disney, which were widely divisive and provided diminishing box-office returns.
Ultimately, Lucas’ words are proof that had he not sold the company, he would have found a way to be more involved with the production of the sequels. Therefore, he wouldn’t have been able to spend more time with his family, making it the right choice for Lucas to leave the galaxy far, far away behind.
The Star Wars movies and shows are streaming on Disney+.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
