George Lucas Still Offers Advice on the Star Wars Films

08/14/2017 08:57 pm EDT

George Lucas might have sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012 and retired from the world of filmmaking, but according to Kathleen Kennedy, Lucas does still like to voice his opinion about the direction the world he created should go in. To follow up from last week's massive exploration of The Last Jedi, Entertainment Weekly recalled something Kennedy mentioned at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year that pointed out Lucas' involvement.

When EW asked if Lucas stays involved, Kennedy explained, "Not really," while noting, "But he'll whisper in my ear every now and then. Usually it's something specific or important to him about Jedi training. Things like that."

"I think he's starting to settle into this and just be a fan," she added. "It's taken a while. It's hard to let go, after 40 years. That's a lot of expectation and things he thought a lot about. Suddenly that next generation, that whole thematic idea he came up with, is in process."

Clearly Lucas is enjoying his time away from the spotlight, as he has become a lightning rod of both positive and negative criticism. When the filmmaker returned with the prequel trilogy that kicked off in 1999 with The Phantom Menace, the filmmaker was chastised for exploring elements that audiences felt didn't need to be explored and the use of heavy amounts of CGI.

Despite departing from the company he started, Lucas reportedly still visits the sets of the films to see the status of the world he created. According to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards, the only advice he received from Lucas was to not "screw up."

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is the second film in the new Star Wars sequel trilogy that began with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. The film will deal with Luke training Rey to become a, and possibly the last, Jedi. Meanwhile, the Resistance, including Poe Dameron and First Order defector Finn, continues to fight against the First Order, led by General Hux, while Supreme Leader Snoke and his Dark Side follower Kylo Ren continue their mysterious plot. The film is written and directed by Rian Johnson and stars Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Dern, and Kelly Marie Tran.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theaters December 15th, 2017.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.