Star Wars: Simon Pegg Misses George Lucas’ Influence in the New Films

After making a cameo appearance as the cranky Unkar Plutt in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, actor Simon Pegg gushed about getting the opportunity to appear in the franchise. But now, he thinks something is missing.

While speaking on The Adam Buxton Podcast and said there was a noticeable difference in the latest movies since Disney purchase Lucasfilm; the absence of George Lucas.

“I must admit, watching the last Star Wars film, the overriding feeling I got when I came out was, ‘I miss George Lucas.’ For all the complaining that I’d done about him in the prequels, there was something amazing about his imagination,” Pegg said. “I do feel like his voice is missing from the current ones.”

Pegg’s comments echo many Star Wars fans who disagree with the directions taken in The Force Awakens and, more recently, in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. But as Pegg himself noted, Star Wars fans have always been hyper critical of the latest movies. But the response to The Last Jedi has been immense, causing petitions to Disney to strike it from the canon and even a campaign for a fan remake.

The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams is returning to the franchise to helm Star Wars: Episode IX and end the trilogy. When asked by IndieWire if he plans to alter his take in order to appease the fanbase, the director balked at the idea.

“Not in the least,” Abrams said. “There’s a lot that I would like to say about it, but I feel like it’s a little early to be having the Episode IX conversation … I will say that the story of Rey and Poe and Finn and Kylo Ren — and if you look, there are three men and one woman, to those that are complaining that there are too many women in Star Wars — their story continues in a way that I couldn’t be more excited about and cannot wait for people to see.”

And despite a recent report indicating that Lucasfilm is looking at Episode IX as a “course correction” for the franchise, General Hux actor Domnhall Gleeson downplayed that possibility.

“Well, this is where my eagerness not to cause waves probably perks up, but I’ve not been aware of any corrective measures,” Gleeson said to The Times. “It just feels like the third part of a trilogy.”

We’ll find out how fans respond to the last film, and if Simon Pegg thinks it’s still lacking in imagination, when Star Wars: Episode IX premieres in theaters in December 2019.

[h/t Heroic Hollywood]