George Lucas Shares His Opinion on Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Photo Credit: Joi Ito

Last weekend, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed that George Lucas had seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and she said said that "he liked it". Now, Lucas shares his thoughts in his own words.

Vulture met the franchise creator at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in Washington DC. Lucas was being honored for his lifetime achievements in arts and culture. While the legendary filmmaker was walking down the red carpet, Lucas was asked what he thought about the film, and he said:

"I think the fans are going to love it. It's very much the kind of movie they've been looking for."

It sounds like Lucas is aware of what fans liked about Star Wars, but notice that he didn't say that he liked it. This probably means this isn't the kind of film that he would have made, which is a good thing. When Lucas talked to Vanity Fair about how he and Disney went their separate ways because the studio didn't want to take the Star Wars franchise in the direction that Lucas wanted. He said:

"The issue was ultimately, they looked at the stories and they said, ‘We want to make something for the fans.' People don't actually realize it's actually a soap opera and it's all about family problems – it's not about spaceships. So they decided they didn't want to use those stories, they decided they were going to do their own thing so I decided, ‘Fine.'"

You can read more about his thoughts on experimental films and his problems about fans' criticisms here.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will hit theaters on Dec. 18.