In a video for Vanity Fair, George Lucas explains why he’s finished with directing Star Wars movies, handing the Star Wars: The Force Awakens duties to J.J. Abrams. This video echoes his sentiments from 2012, when he announced his sort-of retirement, saying he would only do small personal films and perhaps a fifth Indiana Jones. Back then, he also succinctly summarized a good reason to walk away from Star Wars: “Why would I make any more, when everybody yells at you all the time and says what a terrible person you are?”
Three years have passed, but he’s saying pretty much the same thing to Vanity Fair this week. “You go to make a movie and all you do is get criticized, and people try to make decisions about what you’re going to do before you do it. You know, it’s not much fun. You can’t experiment.”
He’s still saying he wants to do small experimental films from here on out, but he couldn’t help but get one last sly dig at his critics when he answered a question about who his favorite Star Wars character is: “Jar Jar Binks.”
Perhaps he can do an experimental film about Jar Jar Binks. Then I’ll have two reasons not to watch it.
In other news, we found a rare photograph of George Lucas enjoying his retirement.
(Via Vanity Fair)