Star Wars editor slams sequel trilogy, and The Phantom Menace

Last Updated on September 22, 2021

Star Wars editor Marcia Lucas, who won an Oscar for editing her ex-husband George’s original A New Hope, is making it clear that she is no fan of the direction the franchise has taken in recent years. She takes particular issue with Kathleen Kennedy, a longtime producer who became president of Lucasfilm in 2012, and director J.J. Abrams, who helmed two of the three films of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

Lucas made her feelings known in an interview for the just-published book by late author and Star Wars historian J.W. Rinzler, “Howard Kazanjian: A Producer’s Life.” Speaking on Kathleen Kennedy, Lucas says “I like Kathleen. I always liked her. She was really smart and really bright. Really wonderful woman. Now that she’s running Lucasfilm and making movies, it seems to me that Kathy Kennedy and J.J. Abrams don’t have a clue about Star Wars. They don’t get it.”

Lucas’ displeasure with the sequel trilogy points specifically to the decision to kill off Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Lucas says, “When I saw that movie where they kill Han Solo, I was furious. I was furious that they killed Han Solo.” She went on to say there was “no rhyme or reason” to the story development by making that decision in which Ford’s character is murdered by his son Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).

When speaking on Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Lucas also took issue with the demise of Luke Skywalker in that film. She also didn’t like the character choices surrounding Daisy Ridley’s character Rey. Lucas says, “And they think it’s important to appeal to a woman’s audience, so now their main character is this female, who’s supposed to have Jedi powers, but we don’t know how she got Jedi powers, or who she is.” It should be pointed out that even though this book was just recently published, the interview was conducted before the release of 2017’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker which does reveal where Rey’s powers stem from.

Just to show how blunt Lucas is when referring to the plot of the new films she says, “It sucks. The storylines are terrible. Just terrible. Just terrible. Awful. You can quote me – J.J. Abrams, Kathy Kennedy, talk to me.” This is a classic case of telling us how you really feel.

Lucas doesn’t reserve her disdain just for the sequel trilogy. Elsewhere in the book, the editor admits that she broke down crying after seeing 1999’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Lucas says she “cried because I didn’t think it was good.” Here is her full quote on the matter:

“George is, in his heart and soul, a good guy and a talented filmmaker. I wish he would’ve kept directing other kinds of movies. But when I want to see Episode I, I had a friend who worked at ILM, who took me as a guest to a preview. I remember going out to the parking lot, sitting in my car, and crying. I cried because I didn’t think it was very good. And I thought he had such a rich vein to mine, a rich palette to tell stories with.”

What are YOUR thoughts on Maria Lucas’ Star Wars statements?