George Lucas Says Retiring Was a “Big Deal” Because He Still Had 3 STAR WARS Movies to Make

George Lucasrecently talked about his decision to retire from filmmaking and devote his time to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which has just opened its doors in California. The museum houses an impressive collection of artwork and pop culture history, including plenty of material from the galaxy Lucas created.

During an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Lucas explained that choosing the museum meant giving up more than simply making movies. He still had three more Star Wars films he intended to make.

"Well, I'm 82, so there is a limit. When I did this, I decided to retire from making movies, which was a big deal because I had three more Star Wars to make.

“But, I realized that I was running out of time, and I did want to make this museum. And I'd spent a lot of time developing digital technology for the movie business. You know, all art depends on technology."

Those three movies would have been Lucas' own Star Wars sequel trilogy, and his ideas were very different from what audiences eventually saw. His plans included Darth Maul returning as a major player, operating as a crime syndicate boss in the post-Return of the Jedi galaxy.

That version of the story never made it to the screen. Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, and the studio developed its own sequel trilogy beginning with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, followed by Star Wars: The Last Jedi in 2017 and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.

It's fascinating to think that Lucas reached a point where he had to choose how he wanted to spend the time he had left, especially when one of the things he was giving up was another three Star Wars movies.

Instead, he put that energy into the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a project that brings together the art, storytelling, technology, and imagery that have interested him throughout his career.

Considering how much Lucas helped push filmmaking technology forward through Star Wars and his other projects, the museum feels like another extension of the things he's spent decades exploring.

Meanwhile, Star Wars continues without him. One of the franchise's next major projects is Ahsoka Season 2, which arrives on Disney+ on January 20 and will dig further into ideas that originated during Lucas' time working on Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Dave Filoni recently discussed the return of the mysterious Mortis gods in Season 2 and Lucas' role in creating them.

"It was so surprising when George [Lucas] created these archetype god characters. What were we examining there in Clone Wars? What was the metaphor? A lot of it is about power, and what you do with power, and how you wield power. For a Jedi, I think it's a natural story path to get into these questions."

Lucas may have retired without making his final three Star Wars films, but his ideas are still woven throughout the franchise. It's hard not to wonder what his sequel trilogy would have looked like, especially with Darth Maul rising as a major underworld power.

I have no doubt it would’ve been better than what we ended up getting.