Saga Who handles Star Wars better? George Lucas or Disney? (Discussion)

Good point!! I would've imagined that Hux could've ordered the troops to open fire and then realized to his disbelief that Luke survived. Actually a real blunder by Rian & co that Kylo was given that line... On the other hand one can't assume that Kylo had full and complete knowledge of Luke's power to project himself that way. His ability to think clearly was obviously also clouded by his emotions.

I disagree - I think Lucas didn't even know what to do with either the can, the worms or the lid when he brought SW back to life in the mid-late 90s. And the Story Group cannot be blamed for honoring Lucas' lack of direction. After EIGHT movies there's still no defined, all-universal concept of the Force... And I guess that was Lucas' intention...

 

Except for Han Solo of course - he eventually got know how the force works. Shame they didn't keep him alive and put him on the Story Group...

 

I'm guessing the Lucas Story Group is a no-show-job. Who knew Disney was controlled by the mafia?

 

Sorry, on my phone, I somehow did not notice that I had a post directly above.

 

After much investigation, several decades worth of material, deep meditation, and triple-run numbers of my midichlorian count, I have at last concluded that Star Wars was best run by the guy who created it and had the broader vision.

 

Who's vision it was to do...nothing for nearly a decade. Not such a broad vision really.

 

This is worth discussing:

 

Lucas handles it better and it isn't even close. It was never realistic to expect Disney to handle it as well. Being a big corporation as it is, it was never in the position to handle it as well. At the very least, the movies were never going to be shot the same way Lucas shot them. It just isn't realistic to expect Disney to force A-list directors to shoot Star Wars with the kind of restraint that is needed. And there is no way they are going to use non A-list directors, not with hundreds of millions of dollars behind the projects and not with all the stockholders they need to please. But I was somewhat surprised they didn't incorporate the music and sound design more into the movies, and of course I was shocked they threw away Lucas's treatments.

 

For all the mistakes he made (and he made plenty, going back to The Star Wars Holiday Special), in the end, I think he handled it better. He certainly had a grander vision for it. If the Walt Disney Company has proven one thing, I think they’ve proven that he was right when he said that that there was no more story left to tell. They can bring back Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia, but the stakes seem smaller, the villains less intimidating and the story too familiar.

 

Before TFA came out, I heard a lot from other user here that Star Wars was a damaged brand and Disney would fix it. According to many in the media, they succeeded. I guess it depends on whether you like the new movies or not. Other than Rogue 1, they do nothing for me. I don't follow comics and books and Lucasarts is up to no good. I don't like Rebels and don't watch them. Even merchandising sales are down and the quality of the toys is worse than it used to be in the prequel era. Fans always accused Lucas of being too greedy... how many continue to think so?

 

As far as films go, Definitely George Lucas.

I might take issue with his decisions in the Prequel Trilogy in particular, but it feels like it all came down to one man's vision. Compare that with to Disney, where there's a committee think-tank/ focus group type of mindset, on top of no real vision or direction. Lucasfilm under Kathleen Kennedy feels quite cynical to me, and after TLJ, shows that they are clearly making it up as they go along.

 

^ I think KK said that herself:

Even Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t have all the answers. “We haven’t mapped out every single detail yet,” she said of the plots for the three sequels. “But obviously everybody’s talking to one other and working together … that collaboration is going to guarantee that everybody’s got a say in how we move forward with this.”

She explained that Abrams has “already talked at length” with “Episode VIII” writer/director Rian Johnson, “because Rian’s about to start shooting ‘Episode VIII.’

Source: https://variety.com/2015/film/news/...-backstory-force-awakens-spoilers-1201655284/

 

& Lucas said:

"Don’t tell anyone … but when ‘Star Wars’ first came out, I didn’t know where it was going either. The trick is to pretend you’ve planned the whole thing out in advance. Throw in some father issues and references to other stories — let’s call them homages — and you’ve got a series".
http://collider.com/george-lucas-letter-lost-damon-lindelof-carlton-cuse/

 

^ Interesting food for thought, but frankly I'm somewhat undecided whether George's letter was genuine or sarcastic, as I personally found the conclusion of LOST to be disappointing and devastating (they even had to reshoot that hospital scene from the end of Season 5, because by the end of Season 5 they still hadn't the faintest clue how to wrap it up and had to re-vitalize the "two brother" concept Jeffrey Lieber originally visualized for the series).

Some people are good with improvisation (e.g. George Lucas), some others are bad.

I think Breaking Bad is a great reference example that planning ahead and figuring out the story before you start shooting has immeasurable rewards and is the right (if not only) way to do it, especially if millions of $ are involved.

 

When the first movie came out Lucas was very pessimistic about its success, not to mention any potential sequels. The studio itself wouldn't have given him the rights to the sequels if they had high hopes either. The prequels had an overall vision and were better planned. Not everything fit perfectly, of course, but that's the nature of the creative process. Disney Lucasfilm knew they were making a sequel trilogy continuing the Skywalker saga so there's no excuse for the lack of vision compared to even the OT.

 

Wasn't Jessie originally supposed to die in the first season though?

 

TBPH I just watched Breaking Bad recently and am not familiar with all the production details, yet.

However, I'm aware that improvisation was supposedly involved. The entire "737 / Down / Over / ABQ" twist was supposedly something not there in the beginning according to an interview with Vince Gilligan, yet I'm still longing for an explanation why the main protagonist's name is "Walter White", as this was the name of a real air traffic controller affiliated with the catastrophic event that inspired this Season Two twist.

But even if improvisation were involved, it never showed. I don't remember how many times I said to myself "Haven't they forgotten about..." only to realize a few episodes later "Wow, they did not!".

Given Vince Gilligan's beautiful hat tip to Babylon 5 near the end of the series (its creator JMS did plan the entire series ahead) - and not The X-Files Gilligan was involved with - to bring this great Science Fiction TV series back to the collective mind and acknowledge its great story arc, I for one could only recommend Vince Gilligan to be considered by Lucasfilm for any new Star Wars trilogy TPTB have in mind.

 

To answer this question honestly, I think we need to distinguish between OT Lucas and PT Lucas, because the general quality (especially writing) and sensibilities of those two trilogies are so different. The OT would never have featured some of the stuff that can be found in the prequels and vice versa. If your position is that the ST represents a shift in tone, style and quality etc. then you have to also accept that the PT represents a similar shift from the OT and therefore it's not just a single 'Lucas' block of 6 movies.

 

Irvin Kershner.

 

The original trilogy was just one of those 'once a generation' things that just worked.

Disney aren't going to be able to replicate that - I don't think anyone is going to be able to. It wasn't their vision and you can't just come up with a 'once a generation classic' by chucking money at it. But in their own way they are (in my opinion) really good films and whilst wary of over-saturation, its in good hands.

Count me in the anti-prequels brigade. Sorry I know some people like them but I thought they were bad films - badly acted and badly written. Whilst I dislike reboots in general, honestly I would be more than happy for Disney to re-do them (as long as they don't touch the originals).

So as for who handles Star Wars better - it depends. If we get the Lucas from the originals era then obviously him. If we get the Lucas from the prequels era then Disney. You can't turn back time though so its probably in better hands with Lucas (even if Lucas was happy to make more films).

 

George Lucas. It was his baby after all so he knew how to handle it the best

 

Answering now?

I love Lucas....however I judge everything according to the first film released ANH - OT Lucas was kept in check (mostly) PT Lucas ran amok... Disney has thus far stayed closer to the original film in style and aesthetic so I say Disney.

I acknowledge that I am a "more of the same" sort of guy, so films like TFA and RO are right up my alley where as the PT films seemed alien to what I had seen in the OT. I would imagine (with the PT) if you wanted new and different then you would have been in SW heaven though!

The only sour taste in my mouth Disney wise at the moment is the "make it up as they go along" thing... If it is indeed the case. I just think a big trilogy like the ST should have had the spine of the story all set!