It’s hard to tell, exactly, what George Lucas really thinks about the new Star Wars movies. Lucas is, after all, the guy who created the entire franchise in the first place, but he hasn’t been involved with any of the Star Wars movies Disney has made since they bought the franchise. The latest of those movies The Last Jedi, opens on Friday, but Lucas has already seen it and shared his somewhat vague opinion.
Lucas saw Episode VIII at a recent screening, and a representative told The Hollywood Reporter that the 73-year-old filmmaker said The Last Jedi was “beautifully made.”
She added that Lucas “was complimentary,” when speaking with director Rian Johnson after seeing the picture.
With comments that limited and vague, it’s hard not to interpret them as backhanded, although there’s no concrete indication that was the case. The Last Jedi is, early reviewers have said, “beautifully made,” so Lucas’s praise is valid. The question is whether that’s the only nice thing he has to say about the movie, or just the only quote he said.
This is similar to Lucas’s first comments after seeing The Force Awakens. “I think the fans are going to love it,” he said, according to CinemaBlend. It’s very much the kind of movie they’ve been looking for.” Notice that Lucas didn’t say that he loved it, or, really, anything indicating positive feelings about the movie that he personally felt.
George Lucas and Darth Vader
This is all perhaps a bit unfair to Lucas, who despite having tarnished his reputation with the much-maligned prequel trilogy, is still the Star Wars godfather. Even if the new movies are good, it’s understandable if he’s a little hurt by all the backlash against him, and he has said, on the record, that he’s a little salty that Disney didn’t want any of his ideas for the new movies. Heck, even just the other day, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill said he wished Lucas had been more involved with the new movies. Clearly, there’s some level of lingering weirdness about the creator of Star Wars being ostracized from new Star Wars.
Chances are that you, dear reader, did not invent Star Wars only to have the franchise taken away from you, so you’ll probably be able to enjoy The Last Jedi without any conflicted feelings when it comes out on December 15. (Unless you are George Lucas in which case, hey! Thanks for reading Inverse!)
