J. J. Abrams Talks George Lucas’ Disappointment In ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

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Director J. J. Abrams discussed George Lucas’ disappointment after watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

When Star Wars creator George Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney, he also provided an outline for a new trilogy of films he developed before the sale occurred. However, once Disney took control of the Star Wars franchise, newly-appointed Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and director J. J. Abrams opted to chart out their own storyline for the sequel trilogy, starting with The Force Awakens.

In his recently released memoir titled  The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned From 15 Years as CEO of The Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger revealed that George Lucas had been disappointed with Star Wars: The Force Awakens as he believed it didn’t offer audiences anything new. During an interview with Rolling Stone, The Force Awakens director J. J. Abrams acknowledged that it must be difficult for George Lucas to hand over the reins of the Star Wars franchise to someone else and added that the filmmaker has been gracious since the sale:

“I’ve only had gratitude for George. It’s probably a complicated thing for him. To decide you’re going to sell this thing that you created, that was your baby, to anyone — that must be more complicated than signing a check and smiling about it. But he’s been incredibly gracious. He’s been super-generous.”

J. J. Abrams added that while they didn’t follow the exact storyline outlined by Georg Lucas during their meetings, the creative team behind The Force Awakens tried to adhere to the fundamental aspects of his sequel trilogy plans. While J. J. Abrams acknowledges that he wishes The Force Awakens had been well-received by George Lucas, he still has a respect for the Star Wars creator, especially now that he has experience working on the franchise himself:

“He came over, we had a meeting when we first started working on this [new movie], talked through a ton of different ideas and stories, and heard from him what was important. And we’ve done nothing but try and adhere to some fundamental aspects of the story. It wasn’t a difficult thing to try and do. And again, he was really gracious. So I’m only grateful. Do I wish that [Force Awakens] had been his favorite movie of all time? Yes, I only wanted to do well by him. I would just say that I have nothing but profound respect for the guy and am still truly, even more so now, working on these movies in awe of what he created.”

Would you have preferred seeing George Lucas stories for the Star Wars sequels unfold on the big screen? Are you excited to see how J. J. Abrams concluded the Star Wars saga George Lucas started in 1977? Let us know your thoughts on Star Wars without George Lucas in the comments!

Here is the official synopsis for J. J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker:

Lucasfilm and director J. J. Abrams join forces once again to take viewers on an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the riveting conclusion of the seminal Skywalker saga, where new legends will be born and the final battle for freedom is yet to come.

Directed by J. J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams. Carrie Fisher will appear as General Leia Organa through the use of previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will be released in theaters on December 19, 2019.

Source: Rolling Stone

Sebastian Peris

Sebastian Peris

Canadian film buff, political junkie, comic book geek, and board game enthusiast.