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Credit: DisneyIf you’re a member of the “new Star Wars is bad, old Star Wars is good” brigade, you’ll be pleased to hear the latest rumor to emerge from the franchise.
It’s been nearly 50 years since audiences first visited a galaxy far, far away, but the demand for new Star Wars content isn’t going anywhere any time soon. While critics and fans weren’t exactly bowled over by the franchise’s latest cinematic outing, Star Wars: Episode IX – Rise of Skywalker (2019), its efforts on the small screen have proved much more successful.
The likes of The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka have all proven popular on Disney+ in recent years, to the point that The Mandalorian is now being touted as the franchise’s route back to theaters in 2026.
For many fans, however, even the best Star Wars shows don’t hold a candle to what came in the ‘before’ era – by which we mean the years before The Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm. Despite the fact the Star Wars prequels were widely ridiculed by critics in the noughties, some consider any project overseen by Star Wars creator himself, George Lucas, superior to anything that’s come since.
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In the 12 years since Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney (making him the company’s single largest stockholder), he’s remained largely distant from the creative side of the franchise. He served as a consultant for Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) and later commented on the creative differences that emerged between him and Disney during the film’s production.
“They wanted to do a retro movie,” the Star Wars legend said in a PBS interview shortly after the film’s release. “I don’t like that. They weren’t that keen to have me involved anyway, but if I get in there, I’m just going to cause trouble because they’re not going to do what I want them to do.”
He added: “I don’t have the control to do that anymore, and all I would do is muck everything up. And so I said, ‘OK, I will go my way, and I’ll let them go their way.”
Lucas later apologized for his comments towards Disney and seems to be on much warmer terms with the company today. The Star Wars and Indiana Jones creator attended the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland alongside CEO Bob Iger and franchise stars Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) and Harrison Ford (Han Solo).
But if the latest rumors are to be believed, he may be about to do much more than that.
In a recent interview, Roger Christian – who won an Academy Award for his work as a set director on Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) and also worked as a second unit director alongside Lucas on Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) – confirmed that he’d heard Lucas is returning for a brand-new Star Wars project.
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“I think he’s coming back, you know, I’m pretty sure now that he’s doing a series,” he told YouTuber Star Wars Theory. “I think that they’re now bringing him into the fold. From what I hear, ’cause there’s a Star Wars live-action series coming.“
To clarify, this is just a rumor for now. However, considering Christian’s links to both Lucasfilm and Lucas himself, it’s interesting that he’s so confident about Lucas’ return.
Back in 2015, Lucas made it very clear that he was done with Star Wars and defined it as a “breakup.“ While he admitted he has more stories left to tell, he added, “I am 70. And I don’t know whether I’ll be here when I’m 80. You know, every 10 years, the odds get less.”
Related: Disney Says Goodbye to George Lucas
Now that he’s 79 years old, it sounds like a tall order to expect Lucas to jump back into the Star Wars universe for a whole new trilogy.
A live-action series does, however, seem slightly more realistic. Considering the recent news that Disney is still yet to make a profit on Star Wars since purchasing Lucasfilm, it makes sense that it could possibly want the brain behind the franchise back for one last adventure.
Not everyone in the Lucas camp seems as likely to collaborate with Disney again, though. Earlier this week, Lucas’ ex-wife, Marcia Lucas – who also served as an editor for the franchise – blasted the state of Disney’s Star Wars sequel trilogy.
Related: ‘Star Wars’ Is Done With Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker
“J.J. Abrams is writing these stories—when I saw that movie where they kill Han Solo, I was furious,” she said. “I was furious when they killed Han Solo. Absolutely, positively, there was no rhyme or reason to it. I thought, ‘You don’t get the Jedi story. You don’t get the magic of Star Wars. You’re getting rid of Han Solo?'”
Some fans would argue that Lucas has a point. However, with Ford himself advocating for Han Solo’s death from day one, we’re willing to give Disney this one.
Inside the Magic reached out to Lucasfilm for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Would you like to see George Lucas return to the Star Wars franchise? Let us know in the comments!