The creator and soul of STAR WARS, George Lucas, has been venerated and ridiculed since A NEW HOPE landed in theaters over forty-two years ago. Legions of fans praised him for creating a rich and vibrant galaxy filled with Jedi, space pirates, and exotic locales. Many of these same fans lambasted Lucas for his constant tinkering with the original trilogy (Maclunkey anyone?) and the perceived "failure" of the prequels.
When Disney purchased Lucasfilm from George Lucas in 2012 with a money laden Brinks truck the size of the Death Star, it marked the end of Lucas' involvement with the franchise. Disney disavowed his ideas for a third trilogy and went their own way. From a financial and critical standpoint, Disney's decision paid off as the last four films have raked in over $4.5 billion and the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score (SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY) still possesses a 70% approval rating. However, THE LAST JEDI proved incredibly divisive among fans and possibly in an effort to get back to its roots, producer Kathleen Kennedy and writers J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio sat down with The Bearded One before they began to write THE RISE OF SKYWALKER.
In a recent interview, producer and President of Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy had this to say about the meeting with George Lucas:
“We sat down with George [Lucas] for a long meeting before we ever put pen to paper on this final episode, so we had the benefit of his thoughts. We took a lot of notes. For something that’s been here for 40 years entertaining audiences, and something that George initially set out to do with a kind of three act saga with these three trilogies, I think we felt that we should honor and respect that."
Now whether or not any of those "notes" actually made it into the final film, we won't know for sure probably until the DVD commentary track. This does fall in line with previous statements that THE RISE OF SKYWALKER will tie all three trilogies together. I sincerely hope that Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and company took those notes to heart and that they translate onto the screen. While there's nothing wrong with forging your own path (I for one believe STAR WARS needs to evolve in order to survive), it never hurts to go back to the source of the material. Many people are hoping THE RISE OF SKYWALKER will be a course correction from the last film's perceived failings that will unite the fandom. Could George Lucas' contribution have provided guidance? I guess we'll find out next month!
What about you guys? What's your take on this meeting with George Lucas? Does it give you hope? Is it more worthless that a mynock after Thanksgiving dinner? Let us know in the comments below!