After some major deals and a dose of new blood, the “Star Wars” franchise has finally reached the point where scores of new developments can be tracked with nary a mention of George Lucas within. Instead, J.J. Abrams continues to meet with every massive name around for potential roles in “Star Wars: Episode 7," but it wasn’t too long ago when a hint to the direction of the franchise came from one man alone, and today we’ve got a look back at that quaint time.
Before the Special Edition versions of the original “Star Wars” trilogy were released, Lucas sat down with critic Leonard Maltin for an extended interview spanning over the three films’ VHS releases. Bask in the nervous energy from Maltin and the strange cutaway shots to Lucas’s unreactive face, but more importantly catch a few stories that perhaps you haven’t heard—the relationship between Ewoks and Wookiees in “Return of the Jedi,” why “unpredictable” remains the word to best sum up his work, and his anxiety with the rough cut of the film, to name a few.
This being the mid-’90s, the pair naturally touch upon the idea of a prequel trilogy, which Lucas was writing all three scripts for at the time. Interestingly, he expresses interest in directing only “Episode I” and seeing if it changes hands from there. Check out all three parts of the video below before we get a sense of how a new take on the “Star Wars” galaxy turns out.