George Lucas Retires From Star Wars

In a lengthy New York Times interview posted Tuesday, George Lucas talked about his final major film Red Tails, feuds with the fanboys, the definitive end of Star Wars, and his own future in filmmaking. After a long and incredibly fruitful career as a blockbuster filmmaker, Lucas, now 67, is finally retiring.

While Lucas made sure to "leave himself a clause for a fifth Indiana Jones film" after his final film Red Tails is complete, he will be “moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff.” Lucas will instead devote the rest of his life to return to the types of experimental art films he made while a student at USC film school in the 60s.

Since 1997, LucasFilm has released edition after edition of Star Wars re-edits, prequel films, and a blitz of licensed merchandise. The fanboys couldn’t get enough, but at the same time complained to no end, particularly about changes Lucas made with the original trilogy, such as blinking Ewoks or making Greedo shoot first. When asked about the possibility of any new Star Wars films, Lucas responded bluntly, “Why would I make any more when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are.”

That being said, all six Star Wars films are set for theatrical re-release in 3D this February.

[New York Times / Photo: Betsy Weber on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)]

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