'Now, It's All About What the Fans Think' — Star Wars Creator George Lucas Says Hollywood Takes the Wrong Message From Focus Groups and 'Let the Audience Actually Make the Movie'

Legendary Star Wars creator George Lucas has expressed his dissatisfaction with absorption groups, insisting the assemblage “doesn’t cognize what they privation to see.”

Lucas, who stepped distant from Star Wars aft selling Lucasfilm to Disney for $4 cardinal successful 2012, told A Rabbit’s Foot that Hollywood studios present instrumentality the incorrect connection from absorption groups, and fto the assemblage “actually marque the movie.”

“I don’t similar absorption groups,” Lucas declared. “The assemblage doesn’t cognize what they privation to see. If they don’t similar a character, that’s interesting, and arsenic a filmmaker I privation to find retired why. But erstwhile the studios perceive that, they instrumentality the incorrect message. They fto the assemblage really marque the movie. Of course, present they spell brainsick with that. Now, it’s each astir what the fans think. That isn’t however you marque the movie. You marque a movie by uncovering idiosyncratic that knows however to marque movies, that has a communicative to archer and is passionate astir it.”

Of course, the 82-year-old Lucas has acquisition erstwhile it comes to assemblage dissatisfaction with a peculiar character. Star Wars prequel quality Jar Jar Binks suffered a backlash from halfway fans — thing helium has repeatedly dismissed successful interviews by insisting Star Wars is and ever has been a kid’s movie.

“The critics and the fans who were 10-years-old erstwhile they saw the archetypal 1 and 13 erstwhile they saw the 2nd 1 complained that they didn’t privation to spot a children’s film,” Lucas told A Rabbit’s Foot, echoing comments he's made astir his prequel decisions successful the past. “'Oh, that’s terrible. Jar Jar Binks is terrible!' Everyone said the aforesaid happening astir R2-D2 and C-3PO. At the opening determination was a immense propulsion for maine to get escaped of C-3PO, and past successful the 3rd 1 [Return of the Jedi (1983)] radical said the aforesaid happening astir Ewoks. ‘What are you thinking? Get escaped of these teddy bears, we privation to spot an big movie!’”

This isn't the archetypal clip Lucas has criticized Hollywood. In 2024, helium said studios lacked imagination, and accused them of “no archetypal thinking.” He’s besides had a fewer things to accidental astir his beloved franchise successful the Disney era, suggesting Star Wars’ caller bosses got a batch incorrect with the Sequel Trilogy. “I was the 1 who truly knew what Star Wars was,” helium said, “... who really knew this world, due to the fact that there’s a batch to it. The Force, for example, cipher understood the Force. When they started different ones aft I sold the company, a batch of the ideas that were successful [the original] benignant of got lost. But that’s the mode it is. You springiness it up, you springiness it up.”

Then, past year, Lucas said he’d fto spell of his instinct to negociate Star Wars. “Disney took it implicit and they gave it their vision. That’s what happens,” helium said. “Of people I’ve moved past it. I mean, I’ve got a life. I’m gathering a museum. A depository is harder than making movies.”

That’s a notation to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art successful Los Angeles, which includes a showcase postulation he’s been moving connected for 60 years. As for Star Wars itself, the lone confirmed movie with a merchandise day is Star Wars: Starfighter, starring Ryan Gosling and owed retired May 28, 2027.

Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].