Dear George Lucas: I sincerely apologize for every stupid and mean-spirited thing I ever said about you.
The original Star Wars film came out in 1977 and I saw it the second week that it was in theaters. At the time, it was just a little b-grade movie that was fun and entertaining. It was a movie that kids like me could relate to because it was an unapologetic kids movie. I fell in love with it because at the time, there was nothing else like it.
In retrospect, Star Wars was a clunky space western that should have come and gone without much fanfare. George Lucas has admitted that the original cut of the film was horrible, and 20thCentury Fox expected it to be a box office failure. Fortunately, Lucas had the film re-edited by Paul Hirsh, Richard Chew and Marcia Lucas. Also James Earl Jones was hired to redub the voice of Darth Vader. Despite all its technical difficulties and artistic compromises, George Lucas got his little movie into theaters and it slowly became a huge worldwide phenomena.
The Star Wars trilogy, which includes, Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back (preserved by the US Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry) and Star Wars Return of the Jedi are pretty much the heart and soul of the franchise. The prequels that came out a decade later were finically successful, but ultimately panned by the fandom as a huge missed opportunity.
In 2012 George Lucas sold his beloved IP to Disney, a new trilogy was put into production and many fans rejoiced because Star Wars was going to get a fresh coat of paint and become cool again. Star Wars The Force Awakens (directed by J.J Abrams) came out in 2015, made a lot of money, but divided the fandom because it was literally a rehash of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
The next installment, Star Wars The Last Jedi (directed by Rian Johnson) came out in 2017 and despite the fact that it was finically successful, the movie incurred the wrath of the fandom for the narrative liberties that were taken with the character of Luke Skywalker (reprised by actor Mark Hamill), and its refusal to stick to established cannon. Disney and Kathleen Kennedy (President of Lucasfilms) dismissed the criticisms as nothing more than the grumblings of a bunch of racist, woman-hating malcontents. Obviously, the fandom was enraged by said comments and ultimately responded by boycotting the Ron Howard-directed prequel Solo A Star Wars Story. The final installment in the new trilogy is currently being directed by J.J Abrams and it could very well be another box office disaster if the fandom continues its Star Wars boycott.
Many people, myself included, lambasted George Lucas when he made the Star Wars prequels. I said a lot of mean-spirited and hurtful things and for my part, I admit I was wrong and I apologize. As so often is the case, we hurt the ones that we claim to love. I grew up on Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Doctor Who. Science fiction was and still is one of my favorite genre’s …
In my case, I loved Star Wars because it was my Star Wars. I grew up with Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Darth Vader … they were, alongside Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr McCoy, my extended family. So I didn’t appreciate George Lucas putting his prequel vision up on the screen because it wasn’t my childhood Star Wars.
In retrospect, the prequels weren’t terrible movies, but they were a huge missed opportunity. George Lucas made his movies his way … but at least they were legitimate Star Wars stories crafted out of his artistic vision. For all intents and purposes, George Lucas is a modern day Wizard of OZ or Walt Disney. And if you pull back the curtain, Star Wars is a children’s fable made out of smoke and mirrors, ply wood, and lots of CGI effects.
I was mad at George Lucas because he committed, in my mind, the greatest crime a wizard can commit … he couldn’t catch lightning in a bottle a second time. He couldn’t transport me back to yesterday, back to my childhood. Star Wars was a one-ticket ride … and you can never really go home again.
So yet again … to Mr. Lucas, I apologize for my past behavior. And for whatever it’s worth … thanks for all the memories.
