It’s been nearly three decades since George Lucas released his Star Wars trilogy Special Editions. And the acclaimed creator and filmmaking pioneer is still talking about how much hate he received from the public for making the changes he did. While doing press for his new (and amazing) Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the subject of his tinkering with his original films came up again. And once more, Lucas mentioned how many fans found themselves upset with him over the changes. Here’s what he said in an interview with CBS (via IGN) about how he never saw his Star Wars films as finished:
Most movies aren’t finished, they’re simply yanked out of your hands and put in the theaters. So you’re always saying ‘oh, I wish I could have just finished that one piece of thing.’ But it’s not that way. You have a deadline, you’ve got to make the deadline. But then I went back, after Star Wars, and redid all the movies, in terms of finishing them. So that they’re actually finished. And of course, a lot of people got upset about that, because they said ‘you’re not allowed to do that.’ I said ‘fans are doing that. They’re making alternate versions and all kinds of stuff.
Lucas has a point there. If anyone has permission to make Star Wars content of any kind, it’s the franchise’s creator. We think he misunderstands why people were angry, however. It’s not that he made an alternate cut, which is totally his right. It’s that he put the original version in a vault and shut the door. A vault that has remained closed until next year. Because that’s when Lucasfilm releases the original 1977 version in theaters for its 50th anniversary.
Nerdist’s Take: If Star Wars Fan Backlash Led to Lucas Focusing on His Museum, Maybe It Was All for the Best
The backlash from the Special Editions (and especially the prequels) was so bad, Lucas chose to walk away from it, sell Lucasfilm to Disney, and focus on his museum. Even though he recently confirmed he did, in fact, have three more films in mind. (Again, after a decade of saying Revenge of the Sith was the end. The man loves to change his mind). But because he ultimately chose to let go, he was able to build this museum. And it will likely stand far longer than any new Star Wars films are being made. As they say, sometimes things happen for a reason.