OFFICIAL NEWS Disney didn’t Use George Lucas’ Ideas for The Force Awakens.

Jedi MD · Nov 21, 2015

I think it is bittersweet. On one hand I have the utmost respect for George and the galaxy he created. I grew up on the OT and fell in love with all things Star Wars. I had just graduated college when TPM came out and I was excited to see the prequels. While I don't think they standup to the OT I did enjoy them. The story and vision he created touch kids even today. My to girs love Star Wars and its not just because of my love for it. They asked about it their own and that is when I showed it to them. I showed them the OT first and like me when I was a child, they instantly fell in love and wanted to see the PT. They like the PT too. My 9 yo even read a biography (one written on a kids level) on George Lucas. He should always be held in high regard for all time because of his creation of Star Wars

That being said, I'm also glad that we are getting Star Wars from a new set of eyes. In any profession we tend to lose a step as we get older and I'm glad we won't truly see that from George. While I don't think the PT was as bad as some do, I definitely don't think they were as good as the OT. My fear would be that George would not be able to bring the ST back up to par with the OT. Now that new eyes are being put on this franchise I do not have that concern. I think that they are going to include the the spirit of what George created in this trilogy. Star Wars is going to surge again. Because of this the legacy of George Lucas will flourish.

While I will miss George's involvement, I think it is for the best for Star Wars and for George and because of that I think it will be the ones who benefit the most.

Old Biff from the Future · Nov 21, 2015

Episode VII was nearly something like TWILIGHT if it happened. It seemed George wanted in centered around grandchildren in their teens. That could be the reason why George keeps asking J.J. and jokingly hinting about that.

Anyhow, here's the thing everyone keeps talking about with regards to LUCAS's vision for the his ST.

"He shared his story outlines with Disney during their courtship phase. But after the deal was done, “Disney and Kathy decided they should consider other options,” as Abrams (not then involved) diplomatically put it. He said Lucas’s treatments had centered on very young characters—teenagers, Lucasfilm told me—which might have struck Disney executives as veering too close for comfort to The Phantom Menace and its 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker and 14-year-old Queen Amidala. “We’ve made some departures” from Lucas’s ideas, Kennedy conceded, but only in “exactly the way you would in any development process.”

Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/star-wars-the-force-awakens-vanity-fair-cover

Force238 · Nov 21, 2015

Since we are discussing GL's ideas for SW7, I think it may be of interests to point out the following link to a rumor about Michael Arndt's script (which presumably reflect GL's ideas). Emphasize that it's just a rumor.

http://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2014/04/rumor-possible-star-wars-episode-7-plot.html

AstromechRecords · Nov 21, 2015

Force238 said: ↑

Since we are discussing GL's ideas for SW7, I think it may be of interests to point out the following link to a rumor about Michael Arndt's script (which presumably reflect GL's ideas). Emphasize that it's just a rumor.

http://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2014/04/rumor-possible-star-wars-episode-7-plot.html
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We have to keep in mind that Arndt worked for GL, he gets a main story credit, so TEEECHMIXSLLLY, GL's entire story was never thrown out of the window.

Darth Sidious · Nov 21, 2015

I wonder whether or not the Starkiller superweapon is a Lucas idea.

snowspeeder · Nov 21, 2015

Just wanted to add I'm not anti-prequel or anti-Lucas. He has the right to an opinion, like we all do. Star Wars belongs to Disney now for better or worse. Personally I like the idea of fresh faces and new writers. New stories.

mecano · Nov 22, 2015

Rieekan said: ↑

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/star-wars-the-force-awakens-vanity-fair-cover
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I thought that at this point it is well known that he denied the rumor stating that it was about young people around 20

MagnarTheGreat · Nov 24, 2015

Summary (omissions and corrections welcome):

Bob Iger: We thought from a storytelling perspective [that the George Lucas story treatments] had a lot of potential.
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http://www.businessweek.com/printer...-bought-lucasfilm-and-its-plans-for-star-wars

Jett Lucas: I already know what happens.

Q: Spill [it].

Jett Lucas: Ohhhh that can't happen.
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Jett Lucas: Who doesn't want to see Han Solo cruise through on the Falcon again? But at the same time, maybe he's teaching his son how to drive on it. I don't know.
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Q: What are your hopes for the new Star Wars movies?

Lucas: Well, I hope it's successful. I hope they do a great job. The original saga was about the father, the children, and the grandchildren. I mean, that's not a secret, anyway, it's even in the novels and everything. And then the children were in their 20s and everything and so it wasn't [The] Phantom Menace again. But, so, I'm hoping--and they've taken it in a different direction--and I'm hoping... I'm excited to see--they didn't use my stories [..], I have no idea what they are doing.
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Kathleen Kennedy: This is a generational family saga and that fundamentally has been very important to us to continue that.

Kathleen Kennedy: And the drama inherent in that is the tension between good and evil.
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Kathleen said it was by the way is the 'family' in the important elements of Star Wars. Asked what will be involved family members of former fans familiar characters in this film, 'be-I will' and wry smile. Stayed to answer the 'Skywalker clan in all star wars has done.'" (Bing translation May 2015)
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http://www.cinematoday.jp/page/N0072989

J. J. Abrams: Disney and Kathy decided they should consider other options [than the Lucas story treatments before I was involved].
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Bruce Handy: [Abrams] said Lucas’s treatments had centered on very young characters—teenagers, Lucasfilm told me.
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Kathleen Kennedy: We’ve made some departures [from Lucas's ideas] [but] exactly the way you would in any development process.
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Kathleen Kennedy: I talk to [George Lucas] and see him frequently. And I’m telling you, every time I say, ‘Is there anything you want to know?’ And he’s like, ‘No, no, I want to be surprised.’
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http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/05/star-wars-the-force-awakens-vanity-fair-cover

Kathleen Kennedy: The Saga films focus on the Skywalker family saga. The stories follow a linear narrative that connects to the previous six films. The Force Awakens follows Return of the Jedi and continues that generational story. The Anthology films offer opportunities to explore fresh characters, new storylines and a variety of genres inside the Star Wars universe.
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http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201510/m2/Page.action?pg=30#pg30

Kathleen Kennedy (2:06): The fact that that opportunity was afforded me, it's really put me in a position to make decisions that affect a lot of the women that I work with today, that I think has made a huge difference. I mean, the fact that I can sit in a meeting and say, "I think the protagonist should be a woman," I think that those are the kind of changes that are really really important in our business...
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Kathleen Kennedy (8:14): Well one of the things, I mean the fact that the company was bought by the Walt Disney Company has been amazing because they very much support the fact that we are trying to grow in the workforce a number of women in executive positions and in all positions inside the company and with the movies that we're making and with the protagonists that we're putting in the stories. And so I got a huge amount of support with that. But we have 50% of our executive team are women. And six out of eight of the people in my story group are women. And I'm sure there's a lot of people that would be surprised that we're making Star Wars movies and the majority of the people involved in the development of those stories are women. And I think that it's making a huge difference in the stories that we're trying to tell.
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Q: What role did you play in also helping to shape the new female lead character in the new movie?

Kathleen Kennedy (10:40): Well it's one of the first things J.J. [Abrams] and I talked about and that we talked to [Walt Disney Studios Chairman] Alan Horn about. It was a very early decision and a choice and something that we worked a long time developing.
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Kathleen Kennedy said:

We had discussions based off of George's treatments, and then when J.J. and Larry came into the process, there were new ideas being discussed, which is normally what would happen in a development process. We didn't have a script, we didn't have an extensive treatment of any kind, so we were still trying to find the story for the movie, so it's not as though something was just read and then set aside, and everybody said, 'Oh, we don't want to do that, we're going to start on this new thing.' Everything emanated from what George had created with the original movies, and then some of the things he was talking about in this brief synopsis. We carried on from there.
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December 11, 2015

Kathleen Kennedy said:

Well, here’s the thing. There are certain things they retained and obviously everything George created, you can imagine, every single person involved in this process hugely respects and wanted to know as much as they possibly could about the universe that he was describing. He had specific plot ideas that evolved. He sat down with me in 2012, and now it’s almost 2016, and you know the development process, where you bring writers on and once the story starts to take shape, it evolves. George wasn’t a part of those development discussions, so it was a fairly natural process of evolution. It sounds like we ignored him but that’s not really what happened. [...] the legacy characters play a significant role in this, and I would say and inside the balance that George was talking about to begin with. It was really much more to do with the specifics of the history of the saga. We changed the order of a few things, let’s put it that way. We didn’t make some wholesale change.
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December 17, 2015

J. J. Abrams: <swipes iPad to George Lucas video> <shakes head>

George Lucas: J.J.. What happened to Darth Vader's grandchildren?

J. J. Abrams: Oh George... <shakes head> This is great. You tell me, man. You made all this **** <R2-D2 noise> up.
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George Lucas: Well I'm curious about what happened to Darth Vader's grandkids.
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http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/11/george-lucas-star-wars-jar-jar-binks

George Lucas: The issue was ultimately they looked at the stories and they said 'We want to make something for the fans.' So, I said all I want to do is tell a story of what happened... it started here and went there - it's all about generations and it's about the issues of fathers and sons and grandfathers and... it's a family soap opera. It's called a space opera but people don't realize it's actually a soap opera. And it's all about family problems and that kind of... it's not about spaceships. So they decided they didn't want to use those stories. They decided that they were gonna do their own thing.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-PdhARgL0c

J. J. Abrams: Before I showed up, it was already something that Disney had decided they wanted to go a different way with. But the spirit of what [George Lucas] wrote, both in those pages and prior, is everything that this movie is built upon.
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J. J. Abrams: I don’t know why [George Lucas] isn’t on the poster, but it’s a valid point. I’m sure that that will be a credit in the film. We are standing on the shoulders of Episodes I through VI.
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http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/20/george-lucas-star-wars-force-awakens-breakup

What was it like being back in the Star Wars universe without the guiding hand of George Lucas?
Harrison Ford: George was involved in the development of the script. It had George's genius behind it, and he left us in a very good position to pass things on to a new director. I was very comfortable with J. J., having known him since he wrote Regarding Henry. He was very involved in that production. I felt George had made his choices and I was comfortable with that as well.

Do you feel he was with you in spirit?
Harrison Ford: As the creator of the myth we were tending, his imprimatur was on everything. So yes, if you will, he was with us in spirit.
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Empire magazine (January 2016)

Kathleen Kennedy: "[George Lucas] really liked [The Force Awakens].
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http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/george-lucas-attend-star-wars-845948

George Lucas: “I think the fans are going to love [The Force Awakens]. It’s very much the kind of movie they’ve been looking for.”
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http://www.vulture.com/2015/12/george-lucas-delivers-a-verdict-on-force-awakens.html

Harrison Ford: "I was not expecting it be made, frankly."
"I didn’t ever think about it until George (Lucas) called me a few years ago and said: might you be interested?"
"I said: Might it be good?"
"He said: We’ll let you know when we have a script."

Harrison Ford: "And then JJ became involved and he had his own way with the script and the script became even better. But that’s often the process. One hopes that that’s going to be the process. It’s not that it took an unnatural turn."

Harrison Ford: "I don’t remember any unspeakable dialogue in this case [with The Force Awakens script]."
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http://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...r/news-story/c5d9e3320d6fecca3e7f7e6dec2b6f40

Michael Arndt: Yeah, it was I think May 2012, and I was just sort of doing nothing. I was back in New York and trying to figure out what I was going to do next. I just finished working on The Hunger Games, and I was like, 'Okay, like no more big Hollywood franchises. I’m going to go back and do my own original stuff.' And then [Kathleen Kennedy] called me up and the initial thing was she wanted me to write VII, VIII, and IX together, and I said, 'There’s no way I can do that because it’s just too crazy and daunting.' And then the story that she pitched me was she just said it’s an origin story of a female Jedi. And I was like, 'I’m in. I can’t say no to that. I have to do it.' I went to the ranch and I met with George and we spent a lot of time talking about samurai movies basically. I passed that test, you know? I had spent five years at Pixar and became a big believer in writers helping each other out, so Kathy was just brilliant in having Larry come onboard, having Simon Kinberg come onboard, and have all of us get together and sit down and just start kicking around ideas about what we wanted Star Wars to be. So that was the beginning of it.
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WGA (December 22, 2015)

Pablo Hidalo, Lucasfilm Story Group:

"But where's the Internet drama in that version [where we didn't throw out George Lucas's ideas for the sequel trilogy]?" (December 12, 2015)

"[Episode VII] started off with [George Lucas's] treatments, which resembled nothing of the EU." (February 28, 2016) "The art of book has a bit [of his story treatments]. Making of book would have more. What you'd expect: no Jaina, Jacen, Mara etc. Chewie alive." (February 28, 2016)

"There's a making of book in the works I'd rather not scoop. But the core idea - a young girl's journey to become a Jedi - is [from George Lucas]." (March 12, 2016)

"fwiw George was at least willing to read summaries of [Jaina and Jacen Solo]." (March 17, 2016)

"2012. And to think a movie trilogy with a female lead was just starting work." (March 17, 2016)

"[He overwrote the EU with the PT, the Clone Wars, and was most likely going to with Ep. 7?] George's starting point for 7 had no Jaina, Jacen, Anakin and Chewie never died. So, yeah." (May 8, 2016)

"[This will only stop, when the original Lucas treatment of EP7 is published?] Well, Chewie was in it, and Jacen and Jaina weren't. So there's that." (May 10, 2016) "[What do you mean? He said his version starred the children of the heroes. Really that different or just different kids?] Jacen and Jaina never existed in George's storytelling, even in treatment form." (May 10, 2016) "[And about Mara Jade?] No. George never thought of Mara as being part of his universe either." (May 10, 2016)

"Question from today, but I thought this was pretty well known: George Lucas never considered Jacen, Jaina or Mara as part of his universe." (May 10, 2016) "[Nor Jaxxon. Though I think he did like Jaxxon better than Mara.] I can believe that." (May 10, 2016) "[Will we ever know what Lucas had in mind for Episode 7?] I would guess once the trilogy's done. But that's a guess." (May 10, 2016) "[Pretty sure George Lucas doesn't consider Rey or Kylo Ren or anyone after he sold LF part of his universe either..?] You'd be surprised. The quest of a young woman to find her place in the Force is the story he left." (May 10, 2016) "[But I thought LF didn't use his stories for the sequel trilogy; and wasn't that kinda Jaina already anyway? ] no, it was a starting point for TFA. And it evolved the way treatments always do." (May 10, 2016) "[I don't think George considers Force Awakens characters as part of his universe either. I don't?] Well, he watched it. And liked it. So there's that." (May 10, 2016) "[Didn't George just say 'The fans would love it'? Maybe privately he said 'He loved it.'] He was at the premiere. He gave it his blessing." (May 10, 2016) "[That's what Kathleen Kennedy said, but George said a different thing at Charlie Rose?] The CR interview was done before he saw it. I was there when he saw it. The audience gave him a standing ovation. Great stuff." (May 10, 2016) "[Lucas didn't seem that 'blessed' especially after calling them all White slavers?] that interview was done before he saw it." (May 10, 2016)

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Ben_Kenobi · Nov 25, 2015

With utmost respect to G.Lucas I'm glad it happened. This is a fresh start. And with the script done by J.J and Kasdan I'm not worried it won't follow the lore. Question is, will they play it safe and rehash a familiar formula to appease the fans or go boldly forward with powerful new direction?

AfroJedi69 · Nov 25, 2015

I think the question fans have to ask themselves is this: "I am I willing to take a chance on a new (non-George Lucas) Star Wars trilogy, or do I settle for just the PT and OT. Because like it or not, George is out and I don't think he's coming back. That's probably the reason why he keeps bringing up the fact that Disney didn't want him around to "muck things up".

AstromechRecords · Nov 25, 2015

Ben_Kenobi said: ↑

With utmost respect to G.Lucas I'm glad it happened. This is a fresh start. And with the script done by J.J and Kasdan I'm not worried it won't follow the lore. Question is, will they play it safe and rehash a familiar formula to appease the fans or go boldly forward with powerful new direction?
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I've heard from friends who are friends with Jett that he is an attention seeker and don't listen to his every word...please rate me down for this I dare you but it's what I've heard, not really a full fact.

techsteveo · Nov 25, 2015

George sold Star Wars. He could have easily kept the rights and hired writers and directors to make his treatments into movies. But that's not what he did. He sold the franchise and now needs to walk away. Why even bring up the fact that Disney bought his ideas but aren't using them? He sounds a bit bitter and maybe even regretful for selling.

JJ and KK are the ones I feel for here. They have the impossible task of trying to make movies that multiple generations will love. Catching that lightning in a bottle is not easy, especially the third time around.

odmichael · Nov 25, 2015

What would be cool is if we got the plot to George's original story. That would be cool. But I'm not sure when that information will be released. It could be 30 years after all 3 films are made.

AfroJedi69 · Nov 25, 2015

techsteveo said: ↑

George sold Star Wars. He could have easily kept the rights and hired writers and directors to make his treatments into movies. But that's not what he did. He sold the franchise and now needs to walk away. Why even bring up the fact that Disney bought his ideas but aren't using them? He sounds a bit bitter and maybe even regretful for selling.

JJ and KK are the ones I feel for here. They have the impossible task of trying to make movies that multiple generations will love. Catching that lightning in a bottle is not easy, especially the third time around.
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Yeah, I have to agree I think George is bitter about it. Even more so because the films are NOT going in the direction he wanted, and yet fans are excited about it! I'd hate to think he secretly wants them to fail, but he is only human.

MagnarTheGreat · Nov 25, 2015

Flashback to October 2012.

George Lucas: I get to be a fan which is what I was saying before. I sort of look forward to it. It's a lot more fun actually than actually having to go out in the mud-

Kathleen Kennedy: You can actually blog about what we're doing and how we're messing things up and..!

George Lucas: No, no, no... I'd just say, 'gosh, they're out in the snow and it's cold' and hopefully it'll be an inspiring package of entertainment that it's always been, well well well into the future.
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Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

techsteveo · Nov 25, 2015

MagnarTheGreat said: ↑

Flashback to October 2012.

Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
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Well, after just watching part 1 and 2 of these, you can see Lucas thought his movies were going to be made but Kathleen had no intention of making them. Now I am so curious what those treatments would have been like compared to what they made. Someone do some investigation work!

Grand Admiral Kraum · Nov 25, 2015

Ben_Kenobi · Nov 25, 2015

Ironically, I think TFA will be more of a "Lucas SW" film than PT or any of his unused ideas.

AstromechRecords · Nov 25, 2015

Ben_Kenobi said: ↑

Ironically, I think TFA will be more of a "Lucas SW" film than PT or any of his unused ideas.
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Because there using similar beats to The OT/ANH .

Cole · Nov 25, 2015

I'm afraid of Disney being too "safe". I have no problem with George not worrying about pleasing the fans. He's an artist, a storyteller. He can't worry about what fanboys want his story to be...he just needs to tell it. I just hope Disney doesn't move backwards (which kindof looks like is happening). I hope they press forward. Break new ground. I don't need to be reminded of the OT...I've seen it a million times. I think there is a balance that can be achieved, and I hope JJ gets it done. I'm cautiously optimistic...But this recent George stuff has me worried. Like Iger and Kennedy think they can make Star Wars better without Lucas...That's insane!

...But I was wondering...what if Lucas is actually just Mystery Boxing in those interviews....Trying to make people think that Rey is NOT a Skywalker...to make the reveal in EP 8 better.

OFFICIAL NEWS Disney didn’t Use George Lucas’ Ideas for The Force Awakens.

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OFFICIAL NEWS Disney didn’t Use George Lucas’ Ideas for The Force Awakens.

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