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After the release of the first Star Wars movie back in 1977, director George Lucas earned his spot among the most visionary directors of all time. With Episode IV: A New Hope, he kickstarted a whole universe of characters and plot lines that resulted in the biggest film franchise ever. But after penning five more movies and directing three of these, Lucas stepped back. Now, he has revealed that he originally planned to direct three more Star Wars movies.
Lucas shared this during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning about the brand new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. Given the amount of work behind putting it all together, the director said that he didn’t have the mental bandwidth needed for both the movies and the museum, particularly as an aging creative.
“Well, I’m 82, so there is a limit to—when I did this, I decided to retire from making movies, which was a big deal because I had three more Star Wars to make,” Lucas said. “But I realized that I was running out of time, and I did want to make this museum, and I’d spent a lot of time developing digital technology for the movie business.”
Lucas retired from directing after the completion of the prequel movie Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005), which was preceded by Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) and Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002), both of which he also directed, wrote, and executive produced. Beyond Star Wars, Lucas also penned the story for 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
In 2012, Lucasfilm was sold to Disney for $4 billion, with Lucas handing over complete creative control of the franchise. Since then, Star Wars has spawned three sequel movies plus the feature film The Mandalorian and Grogu, as well as TV shows like The Mandalorian, Andor, and The Acolyte.
If the sprawling Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is any proof, the Star Wars creator hasn’t been sitting idly. Almost two decades in the making, the museum opened its doors on September 22, 2026. The collection recounts the history of visual storytelling across cultures and generations through more than 1,300 works distributed across 35 galleries.
To learn more about the museum and plan your visit, head to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art website.
Sources: George Lucas Says He Had Three More ‘Star Wars’ Movies to Make but ‘Decided to Retire’ From Directing Instead
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