After over 30 years of revolutionizing cinema, George Lucas is retiring from commercial film-making.
Lucas is quoted as saying “I’m moving away from the company, I’m moving away from all my businesses, I’m finishing all my obligations and I’m going to retire to my garage with my saw and hammer and build hobby movies. I’ve always wanted to make movies that were more experimental in nature, and not have to worry about them showing in movie theatres.”
While Lucas will remain co-chairman and CEO of LucasFilm, Kathleen Kennedy has been named as his co-chair and will oversee day to day operations of his STAR WARS empire.
As one of the richest men in the world, Lucas can afford to move away from STAR WARS and just have some fun. For as much as he is derided in the fan community for the changes he made to the Original Trilogy, much of what we consider blockbusters today would not exist if it were not for him.
Kathleen Kennedy has been a longtime friend to both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, having produced quite a few films including JURASSIC PARK, E.T., and the INDIANA JONES films.
What does this mean for the potential fifth INDIANA JONES movie? It remains unknown at this point. It could still happen without Lucas, which may mean we would get a chance to see Frank Darabont come back to the series.