Disney Reportedly Wants George Lucas to Return and Oversee Future “Star Wars” Films

(TMU) — To say that the latest Star Wars sequel trilogy series has divided fans would be an understatement.

Indeed, the last two entries in the epic space opera saga—The Last Jedi and The Rise Of Skywalker, respectively—have opened up a new episode in the ongoing battle between not only professional critics and fans, but also fans who defend one or both of the new entries and those who don’t care for the direction Disney-owned subsidiary LucasFilm has embarked on.

Amid the ongoing battle, however, there has been a small yet vocal segment of both critics and fans expressing that they miss series creator George Lucas, who masterminded both the original trilogy and the widely-derided prequel series.

https://twitter.com/regos_istvan/status/1211551046063083521

And according to a new report from entertainment industry news site We Got This Covered, Lucas may be tipped off to return to Disney’s LucasFilm to help oversee new projects envisioned for the beleaguered Star Wars Universe—to “restore balance in the force,” if you will.

The website reports:

“Now, with the recent release of The Rise Of Skywalker, which bookended the nine-part, 42-year-old Skywalker Saga in a dazzling-yet-slightly-unfulfilling fashion, we’re hearing that the original writer-director and brainchild of the Star Wars brand—George Lucas—may well be returning to the epic space opera franchise that he helped build.

According to sources close to We Got This Covered – the same ones who told us [SPOILERS] would die in The Rise of Skywalker and that [SPOILERS] would be revealed as a traitor in the film, both of which turned out to be true – the studio want him back, but want him to work in a more official capacity and more ‘on the record’ this time around. It’s likely this new role will give Lucas significant creative control over the direction of the newer Star Wars films that he oversees, unlike his work on Rise of Skywalker, which Lucas allegedly did as a favor to director J. J. Abrams.”

The rumor may seem strange to those of us who actually survived the 1999-2005 shock and awe that Lucas’s prequels entailed, with its strange mixture of sci-fi parliamentary politics, “midi-chlorians,” wooden acting, and CGI tomfoolery.

The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy by George Lucas. What went right? pic.twitter.com/wog0cURlTW

— SRW.D180223 (@180223) December 24, 2019

And while the website reports that Disney doesn’t necessarily have a writing or directing role in mind for Lucas, they would reportedly want him to potentially “oversee, guide and shepherd” the space opera into the future.

The website adds:

“Our [anonymous] sources … say that Lucas’ new duties will likely not be a hands-on job per se, but more of a flexible executive producer role. Specifically, the studio really want Lucas to work with Kevin Feige and help steer the franchise back onto the right track.”

On a basic level, it does make sense that the Magic Kingdom would want the man who handed over the keys to his empire to return to give it a small tune-up—especially given the lack of fresh ideas in some of the latest films. As critic Mark Kermode wrote about The Rise of Skywalker, many filmgoers are growing tired of the usual “entertaining but rather empty greatest hits compilation of familiar riffs, characters and iconic space hardware.”

However, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up until meatier reports truly confirm that the billionaire Lucas is ready to return from his de facto retirement.

What do you think? Should George Lucas be entrusted with bridging the old and new Star Wars films, or should other fresh faces be entrusted with the saga?

https://twitter.com/merrittk/status/1211714051853684736

By Elias Marat | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com