George Lucas had three more Star Wars films planned — and it was not Disney that stopped them
His Episodes VII to IX would have gone into the Force's microbiotic side and brought back Darth Maul with an apprentice called Darth Talon.
Every so often, someone puts the question to George Lucas: why did he bail out of making more Star Wars? Now, Lucas has gone on the record again and given a surprisingly frank answer. Let’s get into what he actually said, what could have been, and a bit of context on what’s next for the franchise.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens took more than $2 billion at the global box office.
Why George Lucas Sold Up
Lucas, now 82, spoke to CBS News recently and finally spelled out why he offloaded Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012. It’s simple, really: he wasn’t getting any younger, and he wanted to get his big museum project built while he still had the energy for it. On top of that, he fancied a bit more family time – which, if you’re running a sprawling space saga, presumably isn’t easy to squeeze in.
Here’s how Lucas explained it during the interview:
‘When 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.’
The museum in question — the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art — has now opened to the public, so it’s not like he was daydreaming about a hobby shed in the backyard. Priorities: galaxy-building or bricks-and-mortar legacy? Lucas chose the latter.
His Abandoned Sequel Trilogy
Lucas revealed he’d already been lining up storylines for Episodes VII, VIII, and IX before handing over the reins. His version would’ve delved weirdly deep into the Force’s ‘microbiotic’ underbelly (yes, really), and put Darth Maul back in the mix as a major villain, this time training up an apprentice called Darth Talon. Luke and Leia would have had some actual responsibility too: Leia patching together a brand new Republic, and Luke busy reassembling the Jedi from scratch.
The reality, as everyone now knows, is that Disney put together its own sequel trilogy a few years down the line. The three films—The Force Awakens (2015), The Last Jedi (2017), and The Rise of Skywalker (2019)—borrowed some ideas from Lucas, dropped plenty of others, and generally left fans bickering about whether they were brilliant or blasphemy, depending on who you ask. The seventh film, at least, absolutely smashed box office records, though the other two were, let’s say, rather more divisive. Not hard to see why Lucas fancied ducking out of that particular storm.
What’s Next for Star Wars
A lot has happened in the Star Wars universe over the last decade—more spin-offs and side projects than you can shake a lightsabre at—but it’s the next cinematic entry that’s really set to make waves: Starfighter, with Ryan Gosling in the lead. That one’s due out 28 May 2027, and you’d better believe there’ll be speculation galore as details start firming up.