ST George Lucas Quotations Regarding the Sequel Trilogy -- No Discussion

NOTE: This thread is not here for discussion of any topic; it is here ONLY for specific quotes from Lucas himself and NOTHING else. There will obviously be some variance between one poster and another, but the formatting for quotations should generally follow this example:

On the general chronological relationship of the ST to the overall Saga as then envisioned, discussed in an interview with Lucas, held in the study of his San Anselmo editing facility in Marin County, California on Monday, 29 May 1979, by Alan Arnold for his book Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of The Empire Strikes Back, Del Rey, 1980 (p. 247-248):

 

Note: This thread is open so that anyone can post their Sequel Trilogy relevant Lucas quotes here, as described above. But as noted, this thread is NOT for discussion about the quotes or about Lucas. Posts that are not for the purpose of adding new relevant quotes will be removed.

 

Don't forget to post the Lucas quotes you have in here! Just please follow the guidelines above.

 

From Wiki:

"It's like a saga, the story of a group of people, a family" (Lucas in 1980).

"The other one — what happens to Luke afterward — is much more ethereal. I have a tiny notebook full of notes on that. If I’m really ambitious, I could proceed to figure out what would have happened to Luke" (Lucas in 1980).

In 1980, at the time of the release of The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas was saying there were seven further Star Wars films he wanted to make. He said he had "twelve-page outlines" for those films.[25]

In an interview with Steranko in Prevue magazine published in late 1980, Lucas described how the expansive scope of Star Wars had started with an overlong screenplay:

"So, I took the screenplay and divided it into three stories, and rewrote the first one. As I was writing, I came up with some ideas for a film about robots, with no humans in it. When I got to working on the Wookiee, I thought of a film just about Wookiees, nothing else. So, for a time, I had a couple of odd movies with just those characters. Then, I had the other two films, which were essentially split into three par1ts each, two trilogies. When the smoke cleared, I said, 'This is really great. I'll do another trilogy that takes place after this.' I had three trilogies of nine films, and then another couple of odd films. Essentially, there were twelve films."​

​

He then added that he had

"eliminated the odd movies, because they really don't have anything to do with the Star Wars saga. ... I'm just going to keep it pure. It's a nine-part saga that has a beginning, a middle and an end. It progresses over a period of about fifty or sixty years with about twenty years between trilogies, each trilogy taking about six or seven years."[4]​

​

In this interview, Lucas also stated that he had "titles and ten-page story outlines for each of" the nine episodes.[4]

In an interview with Starlog magazine published in September 1981, Lucas confirmed that he had the nine film series plotted, cautioning

"but it's a long way from the plot to the script. I've just gone through that with Return of the Jedi, and what seems like a great idea when it's described in three sentences doesn't hold together when you try to make five or six scenes out of it. So plots change a lot when they start getting into script form."

At a 1997 "Special Edition" press conference Lucas remarked,

"Everyone said, 'Well, are you going to do sequels to the first three?' But that was an afterthought; I don't have scripts on those stories. The only notion on that was, wouldn't it be fun to get all the actors to come back when they're 60 or 70 years old and make three more about them as old people."[15]​

​

In a 1997 issue of Star Wars Insider, Lucas said,

"The whole story has six episodes.... If I ever went beyond that, it would be something that was made up. I really don't have any notion other than, 'Gee, it would be interesting to do Luke Skywalker later on.' It wouldn't be part of the main story, but a sequel to this thing."[28]​

​

This was confirmed in an interview Lucas gave to Vanity Fair, published in its February 1999 issue. "When you see it in six parts, you'll understand," he said. "It really ends at part six." He added, "I never had a story for the sequels, for the later ones."[35][36] In 2008, after all six films had been released, Lucas clarified that it was the resolution of the Anakin Skywalker-Luke Skywalker storyline that represented the saga's end: "The movies were the story of Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, and when Luke saves the galaxy and redeems his father, that's where that story ends."[37]

In 1999, when asked about the possibility of someone else making Star Wars films, Lucas said, "Probably not, it's my thing."[35][36]


In a 2008 interview in Total Film, Lucas more categorically ruled out anybody else ever making the sequel trilogy - or other future Star Wars features. Asked if he was happy for new Star Wars tales to be told after he was gone, Lucas replied:

"I've left pretty explicit instructions for there not to be any more features. There will definitely be no Episodes VII–IX. That's because there isn't any story. I mean, I never thought of anything. And now there have been novels about the events after Episode VI, which isn't at all what I would have done with it. The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story. Once Vader dies, he doesn't come back to life, the Emperor doesn't get cloned and Luke doesn't get married..."[38]​

Speaking after Disney's 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm, Lucas (sitting alongside new Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy), said, "I always said I wasn't going to do any more, and that's true, because I'm not going to do any more. But that doesn't mean I'm unwilling to turn it over to Kathy to do more."

..........

There appear to be some other quotes we can get from some Time magazine and Atlantic Monthly articles, but you need to subscribe to see it. See the reference section on the Wiki ST page.

 

George Lucas at Celebration 3 on Jedi "ghosting" : You have to know certain people on the other side in order to make that part happen....."

http://www.ccbanana.com/clips/ccbananakinlucas.mp3

Funny clip!!

 

"In the end, the Emperor does exactly what Ben did, he can also transform himself." - George Lucas quote during story conference, Making of The Empire Strikes Back, page 24.

 

From Wikipedia:

"The main theme of the trilogy would be moral and philosophical problems, such as the necessity for moral choices and the wisdom needed to distinguish right from wrong, justice, confrontation, and passing on what you have learned" (Lucas in 1983 and 1989).


Expanding on that just a little:

"In the sequel Luke would be a sixty-year-old Jedi knight. Han Solo and Leia would be together, although Lucas says, "They might be married, or not. We have never actually discussed marriage in this galaxy. I don't even know if it exists yet. Who knows what relationship they will have? I mean, they're together, let's put it that way." The sequel focuses mainly on Luke, and Lucas says Mark Hamill will have first crack at the part if he is old enough.

"The third [trilogy will] deal with moral and philosophical problems," Lucas said in 1983. "In Star Wars, there is a very clear line drawn between good and evil. Eventually you have to face the fact that good and evil aren't that clear-cut and the real issue is trying to understand the difference. The sequel is about Jedi knighthood, justice, confrontation, and passing on what you have learned." [Worrell, Icons: Intimate Portraits, 1983]

Source: http://www.secrethistoryofstarwars.com/completehistoryofthesequeltrilogy.html

In 1980 Lucas revealed to Time magazine that the sequel trilogy would revolve around "the rebuilding of the Republic," and in 1983 stated to that magazine that thematically it would be about "the necessity for moral choices and the wisdom needed to distinguish right from wrong,"

Source: http://www.secrethistoryofstarwars.com/completehistoryofthesequeltrilogy.html


The last three episodes involve the rebuilding of the Republic. Only two of the main characters will appear in all nine films, and they are the robots, Artoo Detoo and Threepio. Says Lucas: "In effect, the story will be told through their eyes." [Time Magazine, May 19th, 1980]

Source: http://www.secrethistoryofstarwars.com/completehistoryofthesequeltrilogy.html

Starlog, July 1981:
"Starlog: Is there going to be character continuity among all three trilogies?
Lucas: No--possibly the robots, but they weren't originally designed to go through the whole...nobody was designed to go through all three [trilogies]. I'd like to see the robots go through them, but I don't know whether they will."

 

This quote is undated but allegedly from the early 1980s:
“The other one [ie, the sequel trilogy] — what happens to Luke afterward — is much more ethereal. I have a tiny notebook full of notes on that. If I’m really ambitious, I could proceed to figure out what would have happened to Luke.”

Source: http://thestarwarsdefender.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/what-will-new-star-wars-be-about.html

 

Starlog, issue 127, February 1988:

Starlog: Will you return to the Star Wars universe?

Lucas: Hopefully, I will someday be doing the next three Star Wars, but I'm not sure when. The next three would take place 20 or 30 years before the films they're celebrating here today. I'll do the first trilogy first. There are nine [films] floating around there somewhere. I'll guarantee that the first three are pretty much organized in my head, but the other three are kind of out there somewhere.

Starlog: Why didn't you give Luke a girl?

Lucas: You haven't seen the last three yet.

 

Okay, based on what I've been reading so far, this one time I feel the need to break my own rule about no discussion (with the kind permission of the mods) and make a modification or two to the operating rules here - but after this, I intend (and expect the rest of you also) to go right back to following the no comments or discussions commandment:

First, I've been seeing more than one person use Wikipedia as a source for some of the quotations here, and I frankly don't think that's the right way to go with this: one, it's just lazy on our part, and if we're not prepared to do the research we shouldn't be doing this at all; two, Wikipedia is subject to constant change, and that one time someone goes to refer to it may be the time someone's messed with that Wiki page; three, Wikipedia does indeed have pretty good scruples in sourcing information, but it can't always be counted on to specify the EXACT source, and I feel that without knowing exactly where and in what forum Lucas said something, we're not getting ALL the information. The way to go with this is to go back to printed sources, whether Starlog interviews (as I'm seeing here now; thank you, Echo Base), or from books (even the more modern Rinzler books qualify in the absence of older sources that say the same thing; but the older source should ALWAYS be the preferred option, and the printed source should always be preferred to the online source).

Also, notice I didn't put ONLY the thing he said regarding the ST in my example quotation? That's because context in conversation can sometimes be key to understanding the intended meaning of a given quotation; so whenever possible, try to include the words AROUND what he said as well, IF - and ONLY if - they end up tying into the ST part in a meaningful way. Lucas discussing the overall chronological scale of the saga qualifies, but I do understand that there are also heaps of quotations where that isn't possible. The operating rule should be: if you can do it, do it. If you can't, don't punish yourself for it if you honestly tried.

Additionally, whostheBossk: you made a comment without adding a quotation. Comments invite discussions. We said NO discussions. This is for quotations ONLY.

And finally, can we please put the exact Lucas quotations in quotes boxes? This thread is in part meant to be used as a reference source in other discussions, many of which we're likely in the mdidle of when we're coming here to research something Lucas said; we'd be in a hurry when we're here. For that reason, we need to be able to tell at a GLANCE which are Lucas' words, and which words are ours, and we can't do that if they're not boxed. But Dra---'s idea of putting the dates in bolder letters is a GREAT idea and one I wholeheartedly endorse, for the same reason: it allows for quick and easy location of a fact or data point.

So why do I care about all this minutiae anyway? Please keep in mind that the purpose of this thread is to definitively establish a clearinghouse for everything Lucas SPECIFICALLY SAID about the ST; not what we half-REMEMBER him saying some time somewhere in something we read that we can't remember the name of. People are, and have been, arguing for theory after theory after theory for more than a year on the back of things they REMEMBER him saying, without even remembering where he said it and in what context. This thread is to end that half-remembering of things; if we're going to fight over this or that quote, let's be in agreement that it's what he actually said, and not what we remember him saying, that we're fighting over, 'kay?

 

Posts without quotations have been (and will continue to be) removed.

 

AA: What will the next chapter be?
GL: The next chapter is called "Revenge of the Jedi". It's the end of this particular trilogy, the conclusion of the conflict begun in Star Wars between Luke and Darth Vader. It resolves that situation once and for all. I won't say who survives and who doesn't, but if we are ever able to link together all three [trilogies] you'd find the story progresses in a very logical fashion.
- George Lucas to Once Upon A Galaxy, 1979,

SW: What is the third trilogy about?
GL: It deals with the character who survives Star Wars III [ie, Return of the Jedi] & his adventures.
- George Lucas to Bantha Tracks, Spring 1980

 

I know I'm breaking the rules here, and I expect this post to be removed, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to put assumptions about the meaning of statements into brackets. For instance, when he said "but if we are ever able to link together all three", I always got the impression that he was referring to the three films of the OT rather than the three trilogies. Maybe that isn't right, I don't know, but I think the better approach would be to just provide as much context for the statement as possible and let us draw our own conclusions. Then we can debate the quotes and their intended meaning with as much contextual information as possible rather than using an interpretation.

 

That's a valid point, so we'll leave it here as a guideline. And of course, please remember that any debate about the quotes needs to happen in other threads, not here.

 

More complete version of quote for better context:


GL: There are essentially nine films in a series of three trilogies. The first trilogy is about the young Ben Kenobi and the early life of Luke's father when Luke was a little boy. This trilogy takes place some twenty years before the second trilogy which includes Star Wars and Empire. About a year or two passes between each story of the trilogy and about twenty years pass between the trilogies. The entire saga spans about fifty-five years...After the success of Star Wars I added another trilogy but stopped there, primarily because reality took over. After all, it takes three years to prepare and make a Star Wars picture. How many years are left? So I'm still left with three trilogies of nine films.
AA: What will the next chapter be?
GL: The next chapter is called "Revenge of the Jedi." It's the end of this particular trilogy, the conclusion of the conflict begun in Star Wars between Luke and Darth Vader. It resolves the situation once and for all. I won't say who survives and who doesn't, but if we are ever able to link together all three you'd find the story progresses in a very logical fashion."

 

These first two quotation are from discussions about the prequel trilogy but it shows a little about how Lucas develops the stories in general:


JV: The way I imagine it is that George has this great big leather book, covered in dust, it's the Chronicles of Space and you've written the whole thing already and it's complete in your own mind. Is that right?
GL: No, that's wrong.
JV: You don't have the complete story, mapped out from the start, all those years ago?
GL: No.
JV: Okay, nice one, so you're winging it.
GL: No, I have a little story treatment, a little outline that says this happened here, this happened here and, in the first one I had all the scripts, but I had to rewrite the scripts so they went along because since they became three movies, they had to have different structures and things, but the ones I'm working on now, was the back story which I'd written out, which was this was where he comes from, this was were he comes from, this is what the Clone Wars were about; it's just a little outline that goes right through the plot of the movie and where the characters came from and what they did - it's only about seven or eight pages.
JV: Oh, that's brilliant, all those people that think you've schemed the whole thing up, but in fact, George Lucas, he makes it up as he goes along.
GL: (Chuckles)

- The Big Breakfast, BBC Television, July 16th, 1999


*************

Whenever you do a trilogy, no matter how you do it, the first part is always about the characters. It is like the first act of a play. It says, 'Here are the players. You have the good guys and the bad guys. The bad guys want to get the good guys, and here are the relationships that exist among each of them.' It is not until the second act - or, in this case, the second episode - that the plot really thickens. And it is not until the third act that everything comes to an end and gets resolved.
- Premiere Magazine, May 1999.


*************

GL: Then everyone said, "Well, are you going to do sequels to the first three?" But that was an afterthought. I don't have scripts on those stories. The only notion on that was, wouldn't it be fun to get all the actors to come back when they're sixty or seventy years old and make three more about them as old people. That's how far that has gone, but the first six will definitely get finished.
- The Unauthorized Star Wars Compendium, pages 13-14



*************

Iinterviewer: Will Luke Skywalker ever get married ?
Lucas: Not in the next three, since he is not born.
Interviewer: In the final trilogy ?
Lucas: I don't know. I'm not sure which kind of characters will be in the sequels. Nothing definitive. We'll have to wait and see.
- Youth TV interview, 1997

 

This thread is developing splendidly, thanks to all of you out there, but the Roach's post has made me consider modifying the rules JUST by a hair: Discussions should absolutely NOT be allowed, PERIOD, but brief suggestions about how to make this thread better and easier to use, such as Mystery Roach's, should be allowed on a strictly case-by-case basis, so long as they make for good common-sense guidelines for everyone to follow; the mods should then decide which qualify to be kept and which should be removed - and some of them may not stay up. I leave those decisions in EHT's more-than-capable hands.

With that in mind, I'm obligated to again remind everyone about the quotation box guideline - and just to drive the point home, I'll quote my own guideline IN the quote box:

I trust this visual aid has been helpful to you all. Otherwise, everyone's doing great here. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program...

 

Forceful Lucas defends Phantom Menace

Speaking in London, the Star Wars guru describes critically-panned film as a work of artisitic integrity

• Sean Clarke
• theguardian.com, Wednesday 15 May 2002 10.21 EDT

"Earlier, Lucas let go a potentially revealing slip of the tongue. Expounding on the difficulty of constructing each film as a self-contained whole, he said,"

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2002/may/15/news.seanclarke

 

This one might be a little off-topic as it is not specifically about the sequel trilogy but is an interesting general talk about the worlds Lucas creates:

Source: http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/lucas_interview/ (No date given but evidently some time between ROTS and Indy IV).

 

- Bleeding Cool, March 7th, 2013. Source: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/03...-new-star-wars-before-disney-became-involved/

 

I was surprised to see that the Businessweek article had not been referenced, yet.

"Lucas announced in January that he was engaged to Mellody Hobson, a Chicago money manager, and he has been spending much of his time in her hometown. Even so, he’s attended story meetings for the new film, adjudicating the physical laws and attributes of the Star Wars universe."

http://www.businessweek.com/article...ught-lucasfilm-and-its-plans-for-star-wars#p4

7 March, 2013

 

Note: This thread is being "unstickied" now, but please continue to use it as needed (still no discussion here).

 

Source: Rinzler, J. W. Making of the Empire Strike Back.
Date: Book published 2010.

 

The story of Star Wars is actually recounted by R2-D2... [to a Shaman of the Whills] 100 years after Return of the Jedi.​

​

Source: Rinzler, J. W. Making of Revenge of the Sith.
Date: Aprils 2nd, 2005.