27 Years Later, George Lucas is Still Defending His Most Controversial Prequel Trilogy Character

July 14, 2026, 8:00am

The Star Wars fandom has always been divided. Modern audiences focus on the sequel trilogy, but I was there when the prequels tore the fandom apart. There was a vocal backlash over Jar Jar Binks, It had a devastating impact on Binks actor Ahmed Best; speaking on the Disney + documentary Light & Magic, he recalled how it felt at the time, even leading to a moment of suicidal ideation. Throughout, Lucas supported Best and insisted Binks would be redeemed over time. He’s been proven correct; Jar Jar is now much more positively received, given the prequel generation has come of age.

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Speaking in a new interview with A Rabbit’s Foot, Lucas insisted he is never beholden to the audience. “I don’t like focus groups,” Lucas said. “The audience doesn’t know what they want to see…

“The critics and the fans who were 10 years old when they saw the first one and 13 when they saw the second one complained that they didn’t want to see a children’s film,” Lucas continued, adopting a mocking whine: “Oh, that’s terrible. Jar Jar Binks is terrible!” But, as he notes, “Everyone said the same thing about R2-D2 and C-3PO. At the beginning there was a huge push for me to get rid of C-3PO, and then in the third one [Return of the Jedi (1983)] people said the same thing about Ewoks. ‘What are you thinking? Get rid of these teddy bears, we want to see an adult movie!’”

George Lucas is Right About Jar Jar (& It’s Why Star Wars Has Gone Wrong)

I admit, I can’t help being amused at Lucas’ comments; he’s absolutely right that so many “childish” aspects of Star Wars are now viewed as iconic, simply because the generation of children who first watched them have now grown up, becoming a core part of the main fanbase. Star Wars has redeemed itself even for Ahmed Best, who’s now adored, who has returned in the role of Jedi Master Kelleran Beq in The Mandalorian Season 3. The prequels have become the center of modern Star Wars, with The Clone Wars and its associated spinoffs all drawing on that part of the Star Wars timeline.

Lucas’ criticisms have been proved right. He understood what Star Wars is – that it’s for kids, and that adults are a bonus audience – and so he secured the franchise’s future. In contrast, Disney has made the mistake of aiming for the adults; the sequels focused in on nostalgia rather than doing something new, and the various Star Wars Disney+ TV shows have focused on prequel nostalgia. Lucas famously criticized The Force Awakens for not daring to do anything new; when Lucasfilm tried that and got a backlash with The Last Jedi, the studio pivoted hard and panicked. It catered to the audience, rather than trusting the filmmakers’ vision.

But nostalgia has diminishing returns; The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s box office proves that. Next year is the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, and it’s effectively the franchise’s relaunch too, with Shawn Levy’s Starfighter drawing a lot of attention. I can’t help feeling it’s vital Lucasfilm’s new leadership learns from the master, recognizing that audiences don’t know what they want, and the filmmaker’s job is simply to make the best movie they can; do that, and the people will come. There will no doubt be many nostalgic notes to Starfighter, but fundamentally, this film has to be something new.

Circling back, it’s rather amusing to note that George Lucas is still mocking his critics 27 years later. He made the movies he wanted to make, bringing his vision to the big screen. That vision has stood the test of time, proving itself on a fantastic scale, and he is right to reflect back on it with confidence. The prequels may not quite be the Star Wars films I’d expected to see, back in 1999 – but they’re Star Wars all the same, they have a fantastic legacy, and they have been a launchpad to so much more.

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