Although he’s achieved legendary status as the creator of one of the most successful franchises of all time, George Lucas has much less influence onStar Warsnow than he once did. Even with his smaller role, the creator still makes his opinions heard when it matters, as Dave Filoni learned while working onThe Mandalorian.
While most people’s minds go to the originalStar Warstrilogy when they think of Lucas, he was much more involved with the prequel trilogy that came twenty years after the first three movies. Lucas wrote and directedStar Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope, but only wroteThe Empire Strikes BackandThe Return of The Jedi. In contrast, Lucas wrote and directedThe Phantom Menace,Attack of the Clones, andThe Revenge of the Sith. Lucas' involvement has only decreased sinceRevenge of the Sith; in 2012, Lucas announced he would no longer makeStar Warsmovies, and later that year, Disney bought the rights to the material and began working on the sequel trilogy. Since 2012, theStar Warsfranchise has expanded greatly, and while Lucas hasn’t worked directly on any of the projects, he’s been sure to stay involved if he can.
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During the production ofThe Mandalorian, Lucas visited the set and, according to Jon Favreau, gave series creator Dave Filoni a few critiques while he was there. Favreau revealed in an interview withEmpire Magazinethat during his visit to the set, Lucas offered his opinions as to how shooting should go. “George [Lucas] comes in and he’s like a martial-arts teacher… How many set-ups did you get? You’re not shooting fast enough!'” Favreau said. Favreau was sure to emphasize that Lucas' comments came from a place of respect. “He would give Dave [Filoni] a hard time in a very playful and caring way,” he said. “He has nothing but tremendous care and respect for Dave. I think he sees Dave’s creative life as an extension of the relationship that they had.”
Despite Lucas' concern,The Mandalorianhas become one of the most successfulStar Warsprojects in the franchise’s history. While the third season of the show wasn’t received as well as the first two, the show has continued to pave the way for other shows to tell other characters' stories, likeThe Book of Boba FettandAhsoka. Critiques of the show also haven’t led to fans writing its quality off entirely, unlikewhat happened with theStar Warssequel trilogy.
ThoughStar Warshas continued mostly without him, it’s undeniable that every piece of success the franchise earns is due in large part to Lucas and the team that made the original trilogy of movies. Whether Lucas will ever decide to re-involve himself in the franchise is unknown, but so far it doesn’t seem likely. However, there’s always a chance that the creator could return to the franchise sometime in the future to give life to another of his ideas.
The Mandalorianseasons 1-3- are available to stream now on Disney Plus.
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