Summary

• George Lucas has critiqued the lack of innovation in The Force Awakens.
• Lucas felt specifically disappointed with The Force Awaken's plot and visuals.
• The Force Awakens may have catered too much to fans, causing a lack of originality and innovation.

Star Wars movies and TV shows, the sequels are some of the more disappointing—there seemed to be nearly unlimited potential for this era of Star Wars, yet the movies ultimately fell back on old ideas.

This was certainly part of George Lucas' grievance with The Force Awakens, as he, like many viewers, critiqued the high number of similarities between this movie and A New Hope. However, Lucas' criticism of the sequels, The Force Awakens in particular, went far beyond just the plot points the sequel trilogy's first movie repeated. Rather, George Lucas had very specific issues with The Force Awakens, from its storyline to its visuals—and I have to say, I agree.

Related

10 Sequel Trilogy Problems That Frustrated Me During My Skywalker Saga Marathon

I finally had a chance to marathon the entire Skywalker Saga, and while it was insanely fun, certain sequel trilogy problems were hard to ignore.

Posts 6

George Lucas Wasn't Just Talking About The Plot

Close

Star Wars make it clear that he hasn't been entirely pleased with the direction the franchise has taken since he sold the rights to Disney. Regarding The Force Awakens in particular, Lucas has indicated disappointment that the movie didn't take greater, more innovative risks and, in Lucas' view, lacked originality. Interestingly, this seems to have been directly linked to the Disney acquisition, at least in of Lucas' perspective.

George Lucas felt The Force Awakens followed the original trilogy's arc and details so closely because it was made for fans.

Specifically, George Lucas felt The Force Awakens followed the original trilogy's arc and details so closely because it was made for fans. Presumably, this felt quite distinct from how Lucas felt he would have handled the sequels—after all, Lucas was no stranger to making controversial decisions in his Star Wars movies in the name of innovation. This was certainly the case for prequel trilogy concepts such as midi-chlorians.

In truth, this very well may have been the case. It's not difficult to imagine that Disney wanted to have a slam dunk first movie, which could easily have led to repeating (intentionally or not) so much of the original trilogy. However, George Lucas felt this lack of innovation went beyond just the story. Rather, Lucas has also highlighted the visuals and the uses of technology in The Force Awakens as being unoriginal.

George Lucas Is An Artist, Not A Writer

It makes sense that George Lucas would take issue not just with a repeated plot but also with a lack of innovative visual effects, imagery, and uses of technology. For Lucas, Star Wars has always been about creative, new, and exciting ideas. From the very beginning, this franchise was breaking the mold, and it continued to do so even as it was met with backlash and criticism in the prequel trilogy era. In fact, Lucas has been quick to acknowledge where the sequels succeeded, and he has praised Star Wars: The Last Jedi for its beautiful visuals.

Lucas' perception of The Last Jedi is also one generally shared by audiences, who, even if they disliked the story, agree that the movie is visually stunning. Clearly, George Lucas isn't just lashing out at the sequels because they were made by Disney; he has proven very willing to acknowledge what Disney Star Wars has done well. Rather, George Lucas took issue with Star Wars: The Force Awakens because it failed to deliver innovation and originality, and, ultimately, he wasn't wrong.